With a sellout crowd of 12,000 people and the world record of 6,594 dancers doing Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits” for five minutes, Broken Hill’s Mundi Mundi Bash was a festival to remember. This event alone raised more than $100,000 to support the RFDS.
A younger sister festival to the successful Big Red Bash near Birdsville, this is the second year running and it has found its feet in a big way.
Off stage, the festival has featured a stacked programme of unique family-friendly activities including a Mundi Undi charity fun run, a Doggie Fashions on the Plains competition, plus Dunny Door Painting, scenic helicopter rides, sunrise yoga sessions, camel rides and more.
Over three nights performances from Icehouse, The Angels, Human Nature and the Hoodoo Gurus amongst many more, kept the assembled audience entertained. Unfortunately, rainstorms cut the Hoodoo Gurus set short on the first evening. Fortunately, the weather was sunny and pleasant for the rest of the event. A special Tina Turner tribute performance from Grace Knight, Wendy Matthews, Kate Ceberano and more was particularly appreciated.
The festival is arranged in a semi-circle on the iconic Mundi Mundi plains, the location for the first Mad Max movie. The Mad Max dress-up competition was hotly contested, with incredible costumes on display.
What sets this festival apart from many, is that the remoteness creates a camaraderie amongst the audience. Many people travelled as a group and set up their campsites in a small group together. Everything needs to be trucked in and nothing is left behind when packing up to leave.
Now that word has spread, tickets for next year will no doubt sell out quickly. Mark this event in your diary for a truly unique Australian experience.
