Poland in Australia

On May 21, 2022, at the Utzon Room, at the prestigious Sydney Opera House, a gala concert was held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and Australia, organized by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Sydney. The event was attended, among others, by  Her Excellency the Hon Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales, President of the New South Wales Legislative Council, The Hon  Matthew Mason Cox MLC, MPs from the New South Wales Parliament, representatives of the diplomatic and consular corps, representatives of science and business, and the Australian Polish community.

In her speech, The Governor recalled the participation of Poles in the building and development of Australia and emphasized the contribution of people with Polish roots in shaping the identity of the  Australian society. The Consul General of the Republic of Poland, Monika Kończyk highlighted in her speech  many years of good cooperation between the two countries on many levels and thanked the Polish community for their activities to promote the culture, tradition and history of Poland. A separate speech was given by a special guest, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Sydney, Jaroslav Duma, who solemnly thanked Poland and Poles for their help and support.

The rich artistic program of the evening included visual arts, a string music concert by L'Estro Armonico String Orchestra conducted by Zdzisław Kowalik, an opera performance by Daniela Leska, Soprano, and a piano recital for piano and strings, arranged and performed by a sextet led by Konrad Olszewski.

Art project ‘Here and Now’, created especially for this occasion by the artist Damian Reluga, took the guests on a visual and musical journey through the common history of two countries.