The sun creeps above the horizon, and the lights in the city’s high-rises dance from off to on. We close our eyes, and the flicker of lights turns to camera flashes in stadium tunnels lined with fans. The giants we put on podiums, provoke our legs to move. The road well travelled stained with their experience, rich like an unearthly veneer covering the heart of the city we love. The spirit of the city watches eternally. It’s there, through knee grazes, dummy spits, losses and tears. The city that understands that the path to success is not paved with gold, but its intent is.


We are uncompromising in our dreams, just like the immortals before us; enshrined like statues made of high-rises that dominate the sky. The laneways we manoeuvre stand on the sidelines cheering, unanimous and unconditional in their war cries to dream.


We are everyone’s story, a hope made into reality. A team of five million strong chanting with arms sprawled in walking embrace, wandering into the darkness of the future’s unknown — together. We fight for the everyday hero with their own design of greatness. Nothing too big or too small. We are artists plotting our masterpiece. We hone our craft; our tools differ, but our palette is the same. We are cut from the streets of our city, where doe eyed children become stars. Where the only ceiling is the one that our spirit pushes out of our way each day. Where the afterglow of our dreams reverberates through the streets, echoing against the wide eyes of youth to make stars of us all.


We are the city of Melbourne, and our dreams are lit by stadium lights and street lights. We dream of everything — we dream together.