Foreign Minister Bob Carr today welcomed the commencement of India's "Oz Fest," a four-month celebration of contemporary Australian culture in 18 Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur.

"Oz Fest offers hundreds of thousands of Indians a chance to experience Australian films, literature and artistic performances," Senator Carr said.

"With support from the Australian Government, Oz Fest is a great opportunity to promote Australia's links with India and to market Australian talent overseas."

Oz Fest will open on October 16, 2012 in New Delhi with performances by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, didgeridoo virtuoso Mark Atkins and Indian artist Anoushka Shankar.

Later events include:

• Performances by youth bands Karnivool and Sheppard in Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi;
• A match between the Jaipur and West Australian polo teams in Jaipur;
• A roadshow by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival;
• A tour of Indian cities by two of the judges from MasterChef Australia;
• The premiere of Australian feature film Save Your Legs! at the Mumbai Film Festival; and
• Appearances by Australian children's author and illustrator Frané Lessac at the Bookaroo Children's Literature Festival in Delhi.

Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, household names in India through MasterChef Australia, have been named Oz Fest Ambassadors together with Australian Bollywood star Pallavi Sharda and cricket great Brett Lee.

Oz Fest is supported by a Federal contribution of around $1 million from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and over $2 million from Federal, state, university, institutional and corporate partners.

Media enquiries

• Minister's office: (02) 6277 7500
• DFAT Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555