The Ukrainian Community of Queensland Inc. has serious concerns about the proposed Gold Coast Festival of Slavic Culture, also promoted as Slav Fest Gold Coast, scheduled to be held at Southport State High School on Saturday, 11 July 2026.
The event is hosted by SlavFest and the Gold Coast Russian Language School “Romashka”. Public material promotes the event as a broad “Slavic” multicultural festival and claims Ukrainian performers or community organisations will be represented.
UCQ has not been consulted, invited to endorse the event, or asked to provide advice on whether this framing is appropriate. UCQ is aware of Ukrainian ensembles that have elected not to engage with SlavFest organisers.
As the peak body representing Ukrainians in Queensland, and after consultation with Ukrainian churches, community organisations, cultural groups and community leaders, we are clear: this event does not have UCQ’s endorsement and should not be presented as having the support of Queensland’s Ukrainian community.
UCQ strongly supports multiculturalism and the respectful celebration of culture. Ukrainians have proudly shared our language, dance, food, music and traditions with Queensland for generations.
But this event is different.
Russia is currently waging a war of erasure against Ukraine. In that context, presenting Ukrainian culture under a Russian-linked “Slavic” banner is deeply inappropriate.
For Ukrainians, terms like “Slavic brotherhood”, “one people” and “shared culture” are not neutral. These ideas have been used for centuries by Russian Tsars, Soviet Premiers and Russian Presidents to deny Ukrainian identity, language, sovereignty and history. They are still used today to justify Russia’s invasion, occupation and cultural erasure of Ukraine.
There are genuine cultural and historical links between many Slavonic peoples, including Ukrainians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Belarusians, Bulgarians and others. That is not the issue.
The issue is Russian-linked organisers using a broad “Slavic” or post-Soviet frame to imply cultural authority over Ukrainian and other communities that have not endorsed the event.
If Russian community organisations want to hold a Russian cultural festival, they should do so transparently as a Russian cultural festival. They should not co-opt “Slavic” identity or present themselves as representatives of Ukrainian, Central European, Eastern European, Baltic or Central Asian communities.
When UCQ hosts Brisbane’s Ukrainian Festival and includes multicultural guest performers, that does not give UCQ the right to rebrand the event as a broader regional festival or to advocate on behalf of those performers’ wider communities. The same standard should apply here.
UCQ and Queensland’s legitimate Ukrainian churches, community organisations, cultural groups and community leaders have expressed serious concerns about this event, its framing and the claimed inclusion of Ukrainian culture.
These concerns are informed by previous SlavFest events, where established Ukrainian organisations had little or no voice, and where offensive material was displayed by Russian participants, including imagery glorifying Putin in a post-MH17 world.
This is also a cultural safety and child wellbeing issue. Many Ukrainians in Queensland have fled Russia’s war. Some children and young people in our community have experienced displacement, occupation, trauma, loss of family members, or separation from loved ones still living under threat in Ukraine.
Asking Ukrainians, especially children, to participate in Russian-linked cultural events framed around “Slavic” unity is not a neutral activity. For many, it is painful and unsafe.
UCQ is particularly concerned that this event is proposed to be held on Queensland Government property, at a State School. This risks creating the impression that the Queensland Government endorses the event, its organisers, or the framing of Ukrainian culture under a Russian-linked “Slavic” identity.
We have seen how previous Russian-linked community events have been reported in Russian community media, with the presence of government representatives used to suggest endorsement of the organisers and their activities.
UCQ has written to the Queensland Minister for Education and the Arts, copied to the Premier of Queensland, the Minister for Multiculturalism and the Principal of Southport State High School. We have called on the Department of Education to urgently review the use of Southport State High School for this event.
We have asked the Queensland Government to:
- Prevent this festival from being hosted on Queensland Government property.
- Encourage Russian community organisations, if they wish to hold a Russian cultural festival, to do so transparently as a Russian cultural festival.
- Ensure Queensland Government property, presence or association is not used in a way that could imply endorsement of Russian soft power, organisers with links to the Russian government, or narratives that minimise Russia’s war against Ukraine or Russia’s history with Ukraine and Ukrainians.
Queensland has stood strongly with Ukraine. We ask that this support also be reflected in decisions about the use of Queensland Government property, facilities and public platforms.
UCQ does not object to genuine cultural celebration.
We object to Queensland Government property being used for an event that risks legitimising Russian soft power, misrepresenting Ukrainian culture, and folding Ukrainian identity into a Russian-aligned “Slavic” or neo-Soviet narrative.
The Ukrainian Community of Queensland Inc. will continue to advocate for the distinct identity, dignity and safety of Ukrainians in Queensland.