Brisbane Festival unveils its blockbuster 2026 program
Brisbane Festival has pulled back the curtain on its 2026 program, unveiling a packed line-up of world premieres, international productions, free outdoor concerts and community events that will illuminate the city from September 4–26. The first festival under new artistic director Ebony Bott features everything from AFLW-inspired theatre and the Fijian Flying Circus to coffee-fuelled sunrise dance parties, giant sing-a-longs, thrilling musical performances and a spectacular riverside light show.
This year’s festival is built around the theme Switch On, Light Up, Come Alive and, fittingly, extends across every corner of the city. Parks, riverbanks, public spaces and cultural precincts across Brisbane will become stages for more than three weeks of performances, installations, concerts and community events designed to keep the city buzzing from sunrise to well after dark.
At the heart of the program is the Festival Village at South Bank, a sprawling riverside hub that will host everything from family-friendly workshops and wellness sessions to live music, talks and nightly entertainment. The long-awaited return of the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent brings international hit The Choir of Man to Brisbane, while visitors can also catch family comedy from The Listies and the country-meets-opera spectacle Are You Lonesome Tonight.
Among the festival’s biggest drawcards is Bright Nights by ANZ, a free nightly river spectacle combining lasers, fountains, waterscreens and water jets soaring up to 80 metres into the air, all set to an exclusive soundtrack by The Veronicas. Festival-goers can also join Giant Sing Along, an interactive installation that transforms individual voices into a spontaneous choir, or kick-start the day with global wellbeing phenomenon DAYBREAKER, which combines yoga, dance and DJ sets at sunrise.
Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust returns on Saturday September 5, once again lighting up the skyline with its signature fireworks display and RAAF flyover.
You might like
The Brisbane Festival program also features several major productions, including the world premiere of Strong is the New Pretty, a new work from acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller exploring the untold story behind the creation of AFLW. International highlights include ESCAPE from Los Angeles company DIAVOLO, which combines dance, acrobatics, circus arts and giant moving architectural structures, while New York puppetry company Wakka Wakka brings its visually inventive musical adventure Dead as Dodo to Brisbane.
Family audiences are in for a treat, with the big top at South Bank’s Piazza hosting the Australian premiere of Fijian Flying Circus, a colourful production packed with aerial acrobatics, storytelling and larger-than-life characters. Gold Coast company The Farm will present No One Gets Out of Here Alive, a darkly funny exploration of mortality, while Irish choreographer Luke Murphy’s acclaimed thriller Scorched Earth arrives fresh from a celebrated New York season.
Music lovers are also well catered for, with Night at the Parkland returning to Roma Street Parkland for a series of open-air concerts featuring Missy Higgins, PNAU, Human Nature, Aloe Blacc, Icehouse, The Temper Trap, The Cruel Sea and Magic Dirt, with Katie Noonan performing Jeff Buckley’s Grace in full.
Elsewhere, the festival’s packed program spans everything from free live music and all-ages activities on the Village Green to must-see productions including disability-led dance-theatre work Bleachers, Michelle Lim Davidson’s heartfelt comedy Koreaboo and the darkly funny afterlife adventure LEGENDS (of the Golden Arches). RocKwiz will also roll into town with a Brisbane-inspired celebration of the city’s musical history, paying tribute to artists ranging from The Bee Gees and The Saints through to Savage Garden and The Go-Betweens.
Community favourites also return in force, including the fifth annual Moorooka Block Party, which will bring live music, dance, food and family-friendly fun to Peggs Park. The Common People Dance Eisteddfod is back with its signature suburban dance-off, while Community Choir: The Musical returns for a second season of local talent and laughs. The Alexander Ball, curated by ballroom icon Ella Ganza, will once again showcase walkers from across Australia and beyond in a vibrant celebration of Brisbane’s ballroom culture.
Brisbane Festival artistic director Ebony Bott, said this year’s festival is tuned to the frequency of the city.
“It is a Festival shaped by Brisbane’s energy, outdoor life and sense of momentum and possibility, bringing extraordinary artists from Queensland, across Australia and around the world into theatres, parks, riverbanks and the Festival Village, South Bank,” she said.
The full program is now live on the Brisbane Festival website.
This article was written in partnership with our good friends at Brisbane Festival.
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.