AN ATHEIST convention in Melbourne has sold out six weeks before it opens despite no aid from any level of government, organisers said yesterday.

Convention organiser and Atheist Foundation of Australia president David Nicholls said the state government had ''stabbed the people of Victoria in the back'' by not helping, forcing organisers to hire smaller venues.

The Global Atheist Convention will feature the world's best-known atheist, Richard Dawkins. Credit:Nick Moir

The Global Atheist Convention, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 12-14, features a stellar line-up of presenters, including the world's best-known atheist, Richard Dawkins.

''We think this is a turning point for secularism in Australia, and it will be looked at by the rest of the world,'' Mr Nicholls said. ''We will see it happening more through the free planet, and our aim is to make the whole planet free.''