The Desert Song Festival in Central Australia has concluded its final performance after eleven years of drawing global visitors to the Red Centre. Organisers cite funding constraints and rising costs as reasons for the festival's end but express hope that its legacy will endure and continue to inspire.
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00:00Harmonies that are thousands of years old.
00:16Western Arundhati and Finjara languages echoing off the rocks as the Central Australian Aboriginal
00:22Women's Choir take to this outdoor stage for the last time.
00:26It feels awesome to sing out on country, you know, in this beautiful place called Kwaratumba,
00:34Ormiston Gorge.
00:35A gorge-turned-natural amphitheatre around 100 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the
00:41West Macdonald Ranges, where hundreds of people are drinking in the swan song of the annual
00:48Desert Song Festival on the banks of a sacred waterhole.
01:02This iconic outdoor a cappella event bringing together choirs from across the world for
01:07the festival's 11th and final year.
01:10The work that we've done would command any stage anywhere in the world, in fact I've
01:15been told that.
01:16A celebration of music, community and culture, which locals say is a touchstone event in
01:22the town's calendar.
01:23It's just beautiful, I want to join them, I want to go up and join them but listen to
01:29the different vocals and the diversity that they have is very nice.
01:34It brings so much different music and a lot of collaborations.
01:38Also bringing together visitors from across borders.
01:42We were very fortunate to come today and find that this was on because it's very special.
01:47As the festival's final notes ring out, organisers say its rippling impact is more valuable than
01:54the millions of dollars the event has brought in for territory communities.
01:58It is a little bittersweet that this is the last Desert Song, but I have a feeling that
02:04there's a lot of traditions and activations that the community has built over the years,
02:10and I think those are going to continue.
02:12So I'm hoping that people will come together and make the sequel better.
02:15Bring me home, bring me home, bring me home, bring me home, bring me home, bring me home.
02:29A resounding legacy, soaring through an ancient landscape.