JOY BLOG

14 Jan 2026

JOY 94.9 and Vision Australia share special live simulcast from Midsumma Carnival 2026

JOY Media, a Media Partner of Midsumma Festival, and Vision Australia Radio, an Inclusion and Access Partner of Midsumma Festival, will be broadcasting together live from Midsumma Carnival this Sunday, January 18 2026.

The first hour, exclusive to Vision Australia Radio from 10:00am, will feature radio reading content, sharing articles from LGBTIQA+ publications, mainstream media and Midsumma’s own materials.

From 11:00am, the simulcast between both stations will begin, during which listeners can enjoy interviews, music and coverage of Carnival festivities until 2:00pm.

JOY Media CEO Paul Scott-Williams is excited at the prospect of the community spirit to be on display on the day.

“We’re proud to partner with Vision Australia Radio in this wonderful community event, and amplify the voices of disability and queer communities through this special simulcast. JOY’s yearly coverage of Midsumma Carnival always seeks to bring the excitement, colour, and pride of the day to those who are unable to attend in person, and our hope is that through this collaboration with Vision Australia Radio, we may open up new conversations and opportunities for involvement in our diverse shared communities.”

Vision Australia Radio and Audio Services Manager Conrad Browne says the opportunity to bring together community radio stations like this is a powerful way to showcase the power of community broadcasting.

“The opportunity to collaborate with JOY Media at Midsumma Carnival 2026 on an outside broadcast is not only a great example of the way that community broadcasting works together in such a positive way but is also an incredible way for us to collectively highlight and celebrate the intersectionality of queerness and disability at this major Melbourne event. We look forward to bringing our audiences and communities together for this fantastic broadcast and laying the foundations for more collaborations in the future.”

Midsumma Festival is Melbourne’s biggest yearly queer arts festival, spanning 22 days and drawing more than a hundred thousand attendees across key events Carnival, Pride March, and Victoria’s Pride Street Party.

Visit the JOY and Vision Australia booths at Midsumma Carnival to see the broadcast take place, and tune in across Vision Australia Radio and JOY 94.9.

10:00am: Reading content on VAR

11:00am: Simulcast on JOY 94.9 and VAR