Brisbane Festival gives a sneak peek at its 2026 season with The Choir of Man set to headline
Brisbane Festival has dropped the first taste of its 2026 program – and it’s a big one. Roof-raising West End hit The Choir of Man will headline the festival with a strictly limited Queensland premiere season, marking the first major reveal under new artistic director Ebony Bott and offering a glimpse of what’s to come.
From September 4–26, Brisbane Festival will take over the South Bank Cultural Forecourt, transforming the riverside precinct into a brand-new hub called Festival Village – a nod to the 2032 athletes village. With programming from first light through to late night, the reimagined precinct will bring together indoor and outdoor performance spaces, alongside food and drink offerings, and plenty of spots to play, dance and dine.
The newly announced The Choir of Man will take over the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent – the centrepiece of the Festival Village – from September 3–13, transforming the iconic venue into ‘the world’s greatest pub’. Expect a working on-stage bar with flowing beers and a talented cast that shifts between hair-raising harmonies and foot-stomping singalongs just metres from the audience.
“Bringing the Festival back to the Cultural Forecourt allows us to establish a true civic heart, and with the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent at its centre we are building a high-energy Festival Village that feels intimate, generous and alive,” explains Brisbane Festival artistic director Ebony Bott.
You might like
“The Choir of Man leads the program because it captures that spirit so completely. It is exceptional, full of drive and vitality, and transforms the venue into something shared, like a neighbourhood local lifted to a world-class stage.”
Powered by a soundtrack of hits from artists like Queen, Adele, Sia and Paul Simon, The Choir of Man blends live music with theatrical flair. Since its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, it has gone on to a five-year West End run and international tours, playing to more than three million people worldwide, including sold-out Australian seasons.
Originally scheduled to open in Brisbane in April 2020 before its cancellation, the show’s arrival this September marks a long-awaited debut for Queensland audiences.
Tickets to The Choir of Man go on sale on Friday April 24 via QTIX, with the full Brisbane Festival 2026 program set to be announced in June.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.