Nup to the Cup Parade 2026

Hit the streets of Melbourne to celebrate animals instead of exploiting them

Following last year’s successful test run of replacing the traditional Melbourne Cup Parade with a Nup to the Cup parade on the day before the Cup, we’re making this year’s parade even better.

With the nation’s focus firmly fixed on Melbourne, it’s a perfect opportunity for animal lovers to unite and raise awareness of the cruelty of horse racing and other exploitative animal industries.

We’ve chosen the slogan “Celebrating Animals, Not Exploiting Them” as we want to give all animal lovers the opportunity to celebrate animals and have a positive and fun experience.

We’ll be starting the Nup to the Cup Parade at Flinders Street Station (Cnr Flinders St. and Swanston St.) in Melbourne on Monday 2 November at 11am and we expect to finish up around 1pm.

Banners, flags, and placards will be provided, and organisations are very welcome to bring their own animal friendly placards if they wish. See you there for the animals.