Batman's 80th Anniversary

Celebrate the caped crusader's anniversary by following the character's luminous Bat-Signal to Federation Square.
Sarah Ward
August 19, 2019

Overview

Over the past two decades, Federation Square has been home to many things — underground restaurants, controversies about its redevelopment, films on its big screen, free snags, oh-so-many flocks of birds and more. But, on Saturday, September 21, it'll welcome something that Melburnians haven't seen in the sprawling public space to date: the Bat-Signal.

With 2019 marking a whopping 80 years since Batman first burst onto the comic book scene, and the second-last Saturday in September being dubbed International Batman Day, Warner Bros and DC are celebrating, naturally. And they're doing so by unleashing the caped crusader's luminous symbol on the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

The Bat-Signal dates back 77 years, has graced plenty of printed pages and many a Batman movie, and will now brighten up this slice of inner-city Melbourne. If you're a Bat-fan, consider it your own call to arms. Melbourne will be just one of many cities around globe — including Paris, LA and Hong Kong — where the Bat-Signal will light up buildings and skies.

Batman aficionados are also welcome to don their best Bat-outfits and truly pretend they're in Gotham City. Attendees will be able to take photos, of course, and even meet Batman, too. No, you won't be shaking hands with the late Adam West, or with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck or Robert Pattinson; however, the Dark Knight has always transcended the person behind the suit.

Head along at 8pm for the Bat-shenanigans, with the Bat-Signal beaming away at exactly 8.08pm. Keep an eye on the Batman 80th Anniversary website for more Bat-fun as well.

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UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 18: This event was previously scheduled to kick off at 6.45pm, but organisers have changed the start time to 8pm. This article has been updated accordingly.

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