CANBERRA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Floriade, Australia's biggest celebration of spring, has opened in the nation's capital Canberra.

The 37th edition of the annual flower and entertainment festival launched on Saturday in Canberra's Commonwealth Park.

One of Canberra's largest events, Floriade is expected to attract over 450,000 people - almost the equivalent of the city's entire population - with nearly half of the attendees coming from overseas or interstate.

The festival will feature over one million flower bulbs that have been planted in Commonwealth Park and an additional 300,000 that have been distributed to community organizations to display across the city.

"In its 37th year, Floriade's theme this year is Art in Bloom, transforming Commonwealth Park into a colorful canvas with flowerbed designs drawing inspiration from art forms," Andrew Barr, chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said in a statement on Thursday.

"Visitors can wander through artistic floral displays, sculptures and representations of architecture, literature, music, cinema, and theater. The Floriade experience brings the arts to life through live entertainment, workshops, and activities."

The 2023 event contributed 51.1 million Australian dollars (34.2 million U.S. dollars) to the ACT economy.

On Sept. 17, the festival will welcome home Australia's Olympians and Paralympians.

Flowers bloomed earlier than expected in the lead-up to the opening of the event on Saturday and Barr told reporters on Thursday that the event could be moved forward in the future due to climate change.

"We'll see how we go over this month. And we'll take some advice from horticulturists on that," he said.

Floriade runs until October 13, with gates open for free entry from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. local time every day. Enditem

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