NITV and SBS bring Australians to the heart of Garma

The Garma Festival returns from 31 July-3 August, with NITV and SBS delivering comprehensive, multiplatform and multilingual coverage across the four-day event, bringing Australians closer to one of the country’s most significant First Nations cultural gatherings.

This year’s theme, Bukmak (Everyone), celebrates unity, diversity and connection, inviting all Australians to come together through culture, dialogue and shared understanding. Through NITV and SBS’s coverage, audiences across the country will experience the conversations, ceremonies and cultural moments that define Garma, wherever they are.

Across four days, NITV and SBS will broadcast key forums, major announcements and cultural highlights, giving audiences access not only to the festival itself, but also to the storytellers, creatives, cultural leaders and communities whose voices make Garma such an important gathering. Coverage of the iconic Buŋgul cultural ceremony, alongside speeches and discussions from leading voices, will be available on television, streaming, digital, audio and social platforms, bringing Australians closer to Garma than ever before.

Held on Gumatj Country in northeast Arnhem Land, Garma is the country’s largest Indigenous cultural gathering and a leading forum for national conversations on Indigenous affairs. Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, the festival brings together leaders from government, business, academia and community alongside a celebration of Yolŋu culture, ceremony, art, dance, music and storytelling.

As Supporting Media Partner, NITV continues its longstanding relationship with the Yothu Yindi Foundation, ensuring First Nations stories, voices and cultural expression from Garma reach audiences across Australia.

Tanya Denning-Orman, SBS Director of First Nations said: “Garma is a place of First Nations cultural strength, authority and exchange, where some of the most important conversations in this country take place.

“Through SBS and NITV, audiences across Australia can experience those conversations alongside ceremony, culture and celebration. Our coverage provides access not only to the festival itself, but to the storytellers, creatives, cultural leaders and communities whose voices shape Garma and enrich our national conversation.

“Connecting Australians with First Nations perspectives is at the heart of what we do. We feel a special connection to this year’s Garma theme, Bukmak (Everyone), and invite all Australians to come together, share in the festival and deepen their understanding of First Nations cultures.”

Dan Bourchier, General Manager of NITV said: “Our coverage of Garma brings NITV’s purpose to life. It’s about coming together on Country – listening, learning and sharing the conversations, ceremony and cultural moments as they unfold with audiences across Australia.

“More than simply broadcasting the four-day festival, NITV’s role is to provide the context. Our coverage connects culture with contemporary Australia, community voices with national conversations, and audiences with the significance of what they’re seeing and hearing.

“Our team brings cultural knowledge and lived experience to every story, ensuring audiences can engage not only with what is happening at Garma, but why it matters.”

Coverage 

Daily live coverage, updates and highlights will be led by NITV’s Indigenous News and Current Affairs team, including Mudburra and Wagadagam woman, Head of Indigenous News and Current Affairs, Natalie Ahmat; Wuthathi and Meriam man, SBS National Indigenous Affairs Editor and host of The Point, John Paul Janke; and Yorta Yorta and Gunditjmara man, NITV News Presenter and Senior Producer, Michael Rennie.

In addition to NITV and SBS’s live simulcast coverage of key events, SBS News will report from Garma across SBS World News and digital platforms with Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson, on the ground.

For the fifth consecutive year, SBS Audio will broadcast from the festival in multiple languages, with Helen Chen reporting for SBS Chinese and Dilpreet Taggar for SBS South Asian. In addition to NITV Radio, SBS Audio will share news, insights and conversations from Garma connecting Australia’s diverse communities with First Nations stories, perspectives and culture.

As part of the Australia Explained series, SBS Audio will also publish a ‘What is Garma?’ article and audio explainer in more than 50 languages, introducing multilingual audiences to the festival’s significance, history and enduring cultural importance.

NITV on SBS On Demand will be the home for all Garma Festival content, with audiences able to tune into live streams and catch up on forums, speeches, cultural ceremonies and special programming throughout the festival.

Each year, NITV and SBS’s coverage of Garma contributes to SBS’s Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan commitments, demonstrating the important role media can play in building understanding, connection and respect between First Nations peoples and the broader Australian community.

Program highlights

NITV News: Nula
3-3.30pm, Friday 31 July
Simulcast live on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand

Natalie Ahmat and the NITV News team present a special half-hour edition of Nula, live from the 26th Garma Festival at Gulkula. Featuring interviews, analysis and stories from the local region, the program captures the voices, stories and spirit of one of Australia’s important cultural gatherings.

Garma Opening Ceremony
4-5.30pm, Friday 31 July
Simulcast live on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand

Natalie Ahmat and John Paul Janke host the official opening of Garma Festival 2026. Under this year’s theme, Bukmak (Everyone), the ceremony celebrates unity, diversity and connection through addresses from Yolŋu leaders and special guests, followed by a vibrant Buŋgul featuring miny’tji (art), manikay (song), dance and storytelling in a powerful expression of culture and connection to Country.

Garma on the Ground with NITV
12pm-3pm, Saturday 1 August and Sunday 2 August
Simulcast live on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand

Natalie Ahmat, John Paul Janke and Michael Rennie lead NITV’s live coverage from the Garma Forum at the Garrtjambal Auditorium.

Bringing audiences the festival’s key speeches, panel discussions and major announcements, the program captures the conversations shaping Australia’s future, alongside cultural insights and expert analysis from NITV’s First Nations journalists. Featuring Yolŋu leaders, Elders, community representatives, academics, politicians, business leaders and young people, the coverage provides context and cultural insight into the issues that matter most to First Nations communities.

Garma Buŋgul
3-4pm, Sunday 2 August
Simulcast on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand

Filmed on Yolŋu Country against the backdrop of northeast Arnhem Land, Garma Buŋgul offers audiences a rare and respectful window into the world’s oldest living culture by experiencing one of the festival’s most significant traditions.

Through miny’tji (art), manikay (song), dance and storytelling, Yolŋu clans share ancient knowledge, ancestral stories and deep connections to Country, which have been passed down through generations. NITV’s coverage also explores the cultural significance behind each performance, providing audiences with a deeper understanding of the ceremony and its enduring importance. 

Garma Festival 2026 In Review (Garma Wrap Program)
5:30pm, Monday 3 August
Simulcast on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand

Hosted by Natalie Ahmat, this one-hour special revisits the defining moments of Garma Festival 2026, bringing together the festival’s most memorable speeches, performances, cultural highlights and conversations from four days of celebration, ceremony and national dialogue.

Garma Sound Lines
10:35-12:05am, Saturday 8 August

NITV and SBS On Demand

Capturing the powerful music and performances from the Garma Festival. 

For further information and interview requests please contact:

Jessica Parry | Jessica.parry@sbs.com.au | 0428 767 836

Emma Blong | emma.blong@sbs.com.au | 0421 008 517

Photo caption: Gumatj clan members performing ceremony at the 2025 Garma Festival photo credit Leicolhn McKellar

For a PDF copy of this media release, click here.