When is Grand Final Eve?
Grand Final Eve is a regional public holiday held in Victoria, Australia. It is usually observed on the day before the AFL Grand Final match on the Friday before the final Saturday in September. This website will be updated with the exact date upon release of the updated AFL schedule.
Full-time and part-time employees who take the public holiday off “should be paid their base rate of pay for the hours they otherwise would have worked” Business Victoria confirms. “Employees are only entitled to payment if the public holiday falls on a day that they normally work.”
History of Grand Final Eve
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match. It is traditionally held on the final Saturday in September to determine the Australian Football League champions for that year.
The final takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia. The holiday gives a chance for opposing fans to gather in a holiday atmosphere before the big game.
The day also provides a chance for fans to get up and close to the players as the teams involved in the final take part in the AFL Grand Final Parade in Melbourne. The parade, which has been a pre-game tradition since 1977, starts from the Old Treasury Building and ends at the AFL Grand Final Live Site near the MCG in Yarra Park.
Australian rules football is the most popular sport in Australia. It was invented in Melbourne in 1858 and is a combination of soccer and rugby resulting in a contact sport similar to Gaelic football.
As far as we know, Victoria is the only region in the world that celebrates not one, but two sporting events as public holidays. In addition to AFL Grand Final Eve, Victoria also observes a holiday for the Melbourne Cup horse race, which takes place in early November.
Public transport services will operate to a Saturday timetable, but some services may be altered or will not run.
