ABC continues celebrating at Garma Festival – ABC will continue its partnership with the Yothu Yindi Foundation as an official media partner of the Garma Festival in 2026.
The broadcaster will be on Yolngu Country for four days of culture, connection and celebration. Its presence includes news coverage across ABC TV, radio, digital and social platforms.
The ABC Garma Festival program also includes a big-screen festival screening of Bluey episodes translated into Yolngu Matha. The episodes are already available on ABC iview.
For ABC audiences, the partnership brings a major First Nations event into national coverage. It also connects the festival with families through one of Australia’s best-known children’s programs.
Bluey in Yolngu Matha
ABC announced the Indigenous language Bluey project for NAIDOC Week. The initiative brings the Heeler family to audiences in Yolngu Matha, a First Nations language of Northeast Arnhem Land.
Five episodes have been translated: The Beach, The Creek, Sleepytime, Grandad and Rug Island. ABC said the episodes were chosen because of their themes of family and Country.
The episodes launched on ABC iview on Sunday, 5 July. They will also screen at Garma Festival in August, where the local community will have the chance to meet Bluey.
Garma partnership continues
Yothu Yindi Foundation CEO Denise Bowden welcomed ABC’s continued commitment to the festival. She said ABC’s coverage helps Australians share in the Garma experience.
Bowden also said the local community was excited to watch the five Bluey episodes in Yolngu Matha on the big screen.
ABC Board Chair Kim Williams will attend Garma in 2026. He said ABC values the chance to take part in the national event and to support Indigenous presenters, journalists and executives.
Williams said ABC has a responsibility to carry diverse Australian stories across its platforms. He also said the broadcaster wants to strengthen its relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The Garma Festival is held at Gulkula, about 40 kilometres from Nhulunbuy in North-East Arnhem Land.
ABC coverage plans
ABC News journalists will cover Garma across TV, radio, digital and social platforms. The Indigenous Affairs team will lead the coverage.
- ABC News Channel will cross live to Garma for interviews and highlights.
- BTN reporters will return to the Garma Youth Forum as mentors.
- ABC News will cover the Key Forum, First Nations leaders and political discussions.
- Asia Pacific Newsroom will follow exchanges between Yolngu leaders and guests from Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.
- ABC Radio will include festival updates in news bulletins.
- ABC TV audiences can watch a festival news wrap in local ABC News 7PM bulletins.
For more ABC coverage, visit TV Central’s ABC section. Watch Bluey in Yolngu Matha through ABC iview.
