Brisbane’s pink and white banners are flying once again, signalling the return of the country’s biggest international arts festival. Spanning 23 gloriously jam-packed days from September 5 to 27, Brisbane Festival 2025 will offer a smorgasbord of 1,000-plus performances, featuring more than 500 free events and 21 world premieres. Wowza!
There’s heaps to get hyped about this year, starting with Riverfire, when the city’s biggest firework spectacular explodes over the Brisbane River. We’re also super excited for the return of First Nations-designed drone show Skylore, plus the transformation of three of Brisbane’s most popular pedestrian bridges into a spectacular open-air art trail, featuring inflatable installations and colourful projections designed by internationally renowned Aussie artists Craig & Karl.
This year, Brisbane Festival has secured four Australian exclusives, including Gems – a world premiere dance trilogy by internationally renowned choreographer Benjamin Millepied and LA Dance Project, and 100 Guitars – an immersive sound experience featuring 100 electric guitarists from around the city. But the world premiere we’re absolutely stocked for is Afterglow – a mesmerising journey through a dreamscape of fire sculpture, candlelit artworks and live performances in the City Botanic Gardens. Sounds lit, right?
Theatre lovers can look forward to a joyous Tina Turner tribute by drag icon Miss Ellaneous (Ben Graetz), the reawakening of Twelfth Night Theatre for sell-out cabaret Gatsby at the Green Light, a pop-fuelled reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shake & Stir (titled The Lovers), and so much more. Seriously, you’ll need a solid 30 minutes to scroll through the program.
More into music? Festivalgoers can catch Australia’s biggest names at Night at the Parkland – an epic outdoor concert under the stars featuring the likes of Icehouse, Lime Cordiale, Xavier Rudd and Amy Shark. Other Aussie favourites to look out for on this year’s program include Kate Miller-Heidke, Sarah Blasko and Winston Surfshirt, plus the return of Brisbane Serenades – a series of free outdoor concerts across the city. Is it just us or is everyone else buzzing with excitement overload?
You can explore the full Brisbane Festival program – did we mention more than a third of the events are free? – and get your tickets here.
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