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Pictured: City Lights Piano Walk by Amigo & Amigo
A favourite winter event is making a grand return this July, as Illuminate Adelaide is back to light up the city from July 1st to 19th with its biggest and boldest program yet.
Now in its sixth fully curated year, the city-wide festival will transform Adelaide into an after-dark playground, packed with immersive art, cutting-edge technology, world-class music, unforgettable dining experiences, and a huge lineup of free and ticketed events. With more than 100 experiences on offer, including 11 world premieres and 11 Adelaide exclusives, this year’s program is sure to be one of the most exciting yet.
Night Visions by Tyr Liang
Leading the charge is the Australian debut of Augmented Games, an enormous interactive experience from Canadian creative powerhouse Moment Factory. The team behind beloved Illuminate favourites Light Cycles and Resonate are back, this time transforming the Ridley Centre at Adelaide Showground into a giant, life-sized arcade where players become part of the game. With eight multiplayer challenges blending physical movement and digital wizardry, it’s sure to be one of winter’s hottest tickets.
Returning by popular demand, Night Visions will once again illuminate the Adelaide Botanic Garden. This spectacular after-dark trail invites visitors into a world where light, lasers, sound and nature collide across six immersive zones. For those wanting to elevate the experience, Botanic Lodge will once again offer a specially curated dining experience alongside the walk.
Audiences can dive headfirst into a breathtaking digital underwater realm with Digital Abyss, a new work by internationally acclaimed French artist Miguel Chevalier. Presented as part of Immersive Light and Art, this extraordinary installation will use artificial intelligence to create evolving marine ecosystems that respond to human interaction.
Universal Kingdom Ice Age
Families are also in for a prehistoric treat, with Universal Kingdom: Ice Age taking over Adelaide Zoo. The final chapter in the hugely popular Universal Kingdom series will transport visitors back to a frozen world filled with towering woolly mammoths, sabre-toothed tigers, dinosaurs and illuminated installations.
And then there’s City Lights. Completely free and bigger than ever, the beloved trail will cover the CBD, extending all the way into Rymill Park. More than 50 installations, interactive artworks, large-scale projections and roaming performances will light up the city, including the towering Birdmen from Dutch theatre company Close-Act.
City Lights Frankie the Creative
Music is also a highlight, with Unsound Adelaide returning for another boundary-pushing season of experimental sound. Supersonic will also make its highly anticipated comeback, taking over Hindley Street Music Hall for one massive night headlined by Australian electronic sensation Skin on Skin.
Illuminate Adelaide’s culinary offering is also reaching new levels in 2026. The popular Illuminate Hosts Program will return with more than 30 venues across the city, while immersive dining experiences like Ocean To Plate, Symphony of the Senses at Sofitel Adelaide, and a luxurious cheese and caviar masterclass at Adelaide Central Market will ensure Adelaide’s food scene shines just as brightly as its installations.
With a program spanning interactive games, experimental art, spectacular light trails, live music, family adventures and unforgettable dining, Illuminate Adelaide is once again proving that winter might just be Adelaide’s best season.
Tickets go on sale on April 27th. Trust us, you’ll want to get in early.
For more information, click here.
