Darwin's Greek GleNTi Festival cancelled due to supply issues

Glenti 2022

Darwin's GleNTi festival, one of the Northern Territory's largest Greek community cultural events, has been cancelled for the second time in three years.

Nick Poniris, president of the Greek Orthodox Community for North Australia, said the three-day event had been encountering a number of issues that had compelled organisers to cancel.

"After considering financial and operational factors it has been determined that the GleNTi cannot be successfully held in 2022 whilst complying with the directions of the CHO," he said in a statement.

"Therefore, it is with great regret that we announce that the GleNTi will not go ahead this year."

Organisers said a smaller one-day festival would replace GleNTi on June 12 at the Greek Orthodox School in Rapid Creek. 

Mr Poniris denied vaccination rates among festival staff were to blame for the scrapping of the event and pointed toward supply issues.

"We have lots of products and services that come from interstate and overseas and we were told last year that we'll be struggling to get a full requirement to host the GleNTi in its full capacity," he told ABC Radio Darwin.

"We're talking about food product lines, everything to do with food.

"It's the quantities. We go through 10 tonnes of food on a GleNTi weekend.

Food Glenti 2022
Souvlakia at Glenti

"We didn't want to go out with a compromised product."

The NT's current health directions require all public-facing workers and volunteers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

"GleNTi is renowned Australia-wide and now it's recognised overseas for the last seven years since we've been live streaming as a premier occasion of the Northern Territory in Australia.

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