And so it begins. Brisbane Festival 2026 is off and running with 23 days of performance, public art and participation across the city, under the banner Switch On, Light Up, Come Alive.

Running until September 26, artistic director Ebony Bott’s inaugural program ignites Brisbane’s streets, stages and skies in a bold, day-to-night celebration of the city. The festival features almost 2000 artists and more than 750 performances – from world premieres and major international productions to an expansive program of free community experiences and a colourful riverside takeover with the pop-up Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank.

With more than 70 per cent of this year’s program free to the public, Bott has made accessibility a defining feature of her debut Brisbane Festival. Rather than watching from the sidelines, festival-goers are invited to become active participants, with experiences designed to bring people of all ages together in moments of shared wonder, mischief and fun.

Emphasising her vision to connect the community from first light to after dark, Bott says: “Bringing Brisbane Festival home to South Bank feels like opening our arms to the whole city, creating a village where everyone can find their own kind of magic. But wherever you are in Brisbane, there’s something waiting to surprise, delight or connect you. Across theatres, parks, streets and neighbourhoods, Brisbane is at its most creative, most generous and most alive, and we can’t wait to share it with you.”

State Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek says Brisbane Festival is a highlight on Queensland’s cultural calendar of events and a powerful expression of the state’s creative vibrancy.

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“Brisbane Festival champions our homegrown arts industry, bringing together more than 1300 Queensland artists and 59 local arts organisations working alongside leading national and international talent, ” he says.

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At the heart of this year’s program – literally and figuratively – is Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank, the festival’s riverside playground at South Bank, Cultural Forecourt. Home to tonight’s Opening Night celebrations (September 4) and one of the city’s premier Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust viewing locations, the precinct will pulse with free and ticketed activity across 23 days, including the long-awaited return of the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, the nightly river spectacular Bright Nights by ANZ, and the interactive mass-choir installation Giant Sing Along by acclaimed Montreal studio Daily tous les jours.

Operating from first light to after dark, the Verso Projects. Festival Village moves to the rhythm of the world’s earliest rising city, opening each day with the weekly Sunrise Ceremony: Bikki Wantimaa and a rotating program of wellbeing sessions, including DAYBREAKER’s alcohol-free morning dance party on September 12.

At night, the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent will be transformed into the home of West End, UK, smash The Choir of Man, a raucous, roof-raising celebration of music and community. Nearby at South Bank Piazza, Fijian Flying Circus makes its Australian premiere under the big top, bringing a dazzling, high-energy celebration of spirit and culture from Fijian dance tribe VOU. Fusing aerial acrobatics, gravity-defying stunts and laugh-out-loud storytelling, it’s a magical, family adventure. Pre- and post-show, Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank will play host to live music, DJs and late night action.

Strong is the New Pretty arrives at QPAC as one of the festival’s most anticipated world premieres – a co-production between Brisbane Festival, Sydney Theatre Company and Trish Wadley Productions, seeing celebrated playwright Suzie Miller (Prima Facie, RBG: Of Many, One) turn her talents to the untold story of how the AFLW was born.

Fresh from a critically acclaimed US premiere at New York’s St. Ann’s Warehouse, Scorched Earth, the bold new work from Luke Murphy’s Attic Projects, examines the darkest questions of the Irish psyche inside a stark interrogation room.

The visceral, high-octane ESCAPE is the latest production from Los Angeles company DIAVOLO Architecture in Motion, turning moving architectural structures into the stage for elite athletic performance across dance, acrobatics, stunt work and circus arts. Also direct from the US, New York puppetry company Wakka Wakka presents Dead as a Dodo, a musical odyssey set deep in the underworld

Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Lior joins forces with conductor Kelly Lovelady and the Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra for Compassion, a symphony of universal peace and love, while Be the Sky, curated by Professor Vanessa Tomlinson, sees Tibetan musician Tenzin Choegyal collaborate with Philip Glass in a meditative rendering of the composer’s work, with Glass’s own pianist travelling from the US to join Tenzin and conservatorium students on stage.

Night at the Parkland returns, gathering local and international names beneath the stars – Human Nature, Icehouse, The Temper Trap, the Cruel Sea with Magic Dirt, Missy Higgins and PNAU among them.

And for a change of pace, organist Calvin Bowman takes on The Complete Bach Cycle, working through the composer’s entire organ repertoire, from hushed, spiritually charged chorale preludes to virtuosic preludes and fugues, on QPAC’s Concert Hall pipe organ.

There’s plenty for young festivalgoers and families alike. At Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank, children can dance along with ABC favourite Dance With Tom, while First Nations storytelling comes to life through acrobatics and movement in Living Sculptures: How the Birds Got Their Colours.

Meanwhile, Brisbane Serenades returns with a vibrant series of free outdoor concerts across the city’s parks and neighbourhoods, while the Moorooka Block Party chalks up five years with a stacked lineup of live music, dance and family-friendly activities.

Now in its second season, Community Choir: The Musical is a heartwarming tale performed almost entirely by locals, blurring the line between choir and theatre to celebrate collective creativity and everyday voices made extraordinary. Alongside it, Brisbane’s most beloved dance battle of the ‘burbs, the Common People Dance Eisteddfod, sees seven South-East Queensland teams jazz-sliding, body-rolling and high-kicking their way to glory.

But wait! There’s more! So much more …

brisbanefestival.com.au