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Festival fever is an unofficial condition that spreads far and wide in Australia. Whether music and culture or food and drink, we're a nation of festival-lovin' peeps who’ll happily travel for a good time, great tunes and even better eats. If you're looking to bulk up your festival calendar in 2026, we've got an underrated gem to put on your radar – and it's just been crowned the best festival in Australia.
This week, the Abbey Medieval Festival in Queensland's Moreton Bay won gold in the Festivals and Events category at the prestigious annual Qantas Australian Tourism Awards. More than 170 finalists vied for top honours across 26 categories, with winners decided through a rigorous national judging process featuring nominees from every state and territory.
Despite being Australia’s biggest medieval celebration, there's a high chance you've never heard of this historic festival. Held each July just north of Brisbane, the 35-year-old festival transforms the grounds of the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology into a medieval village full of pomp and pageantry. Visitors, whose numbers have spiked to more than 20,000 attendees over the years, travel back in time to see knights in shining armour, jousting tournaments, medieval-style marketplaces and roaming minstrels. Thousands of performers and historical re-enactors recreate daily life from 600 to 1600 AD, turning the entire site into a living history experience where the sights, sounds and stories of the Middle Ages come to life.
This year’s Abbey Medieval Festival returns to Moreton Bay from July 10 to 12, with program highlights including a knighting ceremony, grand medieval banquet, traditional dancing, old-school games and three thrilling tournaments – jousting, archery and Turkish oil wrestling. Who knows – perhaps you'll find your knight in shining armour too?
The event beat out some impressive competition. Taking silver was Perth's Subi Blooms x Gather festival, which turns the suburb’s streets into a kaleidoscope of flower power. Bronze went to the Streaky Sounds Music Festival, a family-friendly, open-air music fest held each year on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.
You can check out all the finalists here.