And similar numbers were expected on Sunday.

The huge numbers were nothing new for the two-day Paniyiri Festival held at Musgrave Park, which has become a mainstay of Brisbane's cultural calendar.

Coffee Club founder John Lazarou, a member of the Paniyiri organising committee, said the festival meant a lot to him and the entire Greek community.

"For me, I'm showcasing my culture that I'm extremely proud of," he said.

"I happen to be the biggest Greek wog ever and I'm extremely proud of my culture," he said.

"I'm not only sharing it with non-Greeks – showcasing our heritage, our food, our dancing, our music – but I'm also ensuring the youth of the Greek-Australian community becomes passionate and familiar with our culture as well."

Mr Lazarou said the 25,000-strong crowd on day one, helped along by the "amazing" Brisbane autumn sun, showed the festival was on to a winning formula.

"I believe people come back to what they know and love," he said.

"What we do to keep it fresh, though, is to include new celebrities and new characters every year.

"We've got an amazing cast here for Greek Dancing with the Stars tonight.

"We've got (surfing champion) Layne Beachley and her husband Kirk Pengilly from INXS.

"These guys are going to have an hour with a professional Greek dancer and then they're going to go on the dance floor, in front of 20-odd thousand people, and perform Greek dancing solo.

"Now that takes guts."

The second day of Paniyiri 2014 starts at 10am on Sunday, with festivities coming to a close at 7pm.