{"id":87415,"date":"2026-09-03T20:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T20:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/87415\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T20:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T20:21:15","slug":"brisbane-festival-2026-comes-alive-today-the-scoop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/87415\/","title":{"rendered":"Brisbane Festival 2026 Comes Alive Today \u2022 The Scoop"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Today marks the spectacular opening of Brisbane Festival 2026, launching 23 glorious days of performance, public art and participation across the city, under the banner Switch On, Light Up, Come Alive. <\/p>\n

Running until Saturday 26 September, Artistic Director Ebony Bott\u2018s inaugural program ignites Brisbane\u2019s streets, stages and skies in a bold, day-to-night celebration of the city itself. The festival features almost 2,000 artists and over 750 performances \u2013 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. <\/p>\n

With more than 70% of the 2026 program completely free to the public, Bott has made accessibility a defining feature of her debut festival. Rather than simply 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. <\/p>\n

Emphasising her vision to connect the community from first light to after dark, Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Ebony Bott said:<\/p>\n

\u201cBringing 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. <\/p>\n

But wherever you are in Brisbane, there\u2019s 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\u2019t wait to share it with you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"The
\nNight Moves Choral Cthonics Photo by Mikhail Karikis<\/p>\n

Minister for Education and the Arts John-Paul Langbroek said:<\/p>\n

\u201cBrisbane Festival was a highlight on Queensland\u2019s premier cultural calendar of events and a powerful expression of the state\u2019s creative vibrancy. \u201cBrisbane Festival champions our homegrown arts industry, bringing together more than\u00a0300 Queensland artists and 59 local arts organisations working alongside leading national and international talent. <\/p>\n

The Crisafulli Government is proud to support Brisbane Festival which delivers on our 10-year arts and cultural strategy, Queensland\u2019s Time to Shine and our commitment to build the state\u2019s reputation for transformative arts experiences in the lead up to Brisbane 2032.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Minister for the Environment and Tourism Andrew Powell MP said Brisbane Festival showcased exactly why Queensland continued to attract visitors from across Australia and the world:<\/p>\n

\u201cBrisbane Festival puts our capital city on show, giving visitors every reason to come to Brisbane and experience the energy, culture and excitement of one of Australia\u2019s premier events. <\/p>\n

Brisbane Festival is the perfect gateway to a Queensland holiday, with visitors able to enjoy the Festival before heading out to explore our world class regions, from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast to the Reef and Outback.\u201d
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said Brisbane Festival transformed the city into one enormous stage for 23 days each September:<\/p>\n

\u201cBrisbane is Australia\u2019s lifestyle capital and there is no better time to experience it than when our parks, riversides and public spaces come alive during Brisbane Festival. More than 70 per cent of the program is free and much of it happens in the suburbs, from Brisbane Serenades in neighbourhood parks to the Moorooka Block Party.
We are proud to bring four special festival editions of the Lord Mayor\u2019s City Hall Concerts to the lunch hour this September, with live music, silent film and incredible local talent. Brisbane Festival is a great example of how we\u2019re creating more to see and do while making Australia\u2019s lifestyle capital even better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The
\nScorched Earth Photo by Pato Cassinoni<\/p>\n

VERSO PROJECTS. FESTIVAL VILLAGE, SOUTH BANK
At the heart of this year\u2019s program \u2013 literally and figuratively \u2013 is Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank: the festival\u2019s riverside playground at South Bank, Cultural Forecourt. Home to tonight\u2019s Opening Night celebrations and one of the city\u2019s premier Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust viewing locations, the precinct pulses with free and ticketed activity across the festival\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Operating from first light to after dark, the Verso Projects. Festival Village moves to the rhythm of the world\u2019s earliest rising city, opening each day with the weekly Sunrise Ceremony: Bikki Wantimaa and a rotating program of wellbeing sessions, including DAYBREAKER\u2018s alcohol-free morning dance party on Saturday 12 September. <\/p>\n

Each evening, the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent is transformed into the home of West End smash The Choir of Man, a raucous, roof-raising celebration of music and community that is already wowing Brisbane audiences since its opening earlier this week.<\/p>\n

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\nMagic Mirrors Spiegeltent Image supplied<\/p>\n

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 unbelievable aerial acrobatics, gravity-defying stunts and laugh-out-loud storytelling it\u2019s a magical, whole-of-family adventure. <\/p>\n

Pre- and post-show, Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank will play host to live music, DJs and late night action \u2013 including two special performances of Generations and Dynasties, one exploring the legacy of Uncle Graham Brady and Jungaji, and another celebrating the musical lineage of Deline, Naurita and Merindi Briscoe; Opera Queensland\u2018s acclaimed convergence of opera and country, Are You Lonesome Tonight; and the shared songs of Piano Man as he celebrates Queensland musical talent with a rotating roster of guest stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The precinct also serves as one of the city\u2019s premier viewing locations for the festival\u2019s opening weekend centrepiece, Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust, returning Saturday 5 September. One of Australia\u2019s most breathtaking annual events, Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust lights up the Brisbane night sky and unites the city with a shimmering fireworks display launched from bridges, barges and rooftops around town, preceded by a thrilling RAAF flyover.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The
\nStrong is the New Pretty cast Photo by Holly Ward<\/p>\n

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Strong is the New Pretty arrives at QPAC as one of the festival\u2019s most anticipated world premieres \u2013 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fresh from a critically acclaimed US premiere at New York\u2019s St. Ann\u2019s Warehouse, Scorched Earth, the bold new work from Luke Murphy\u2019s Attic Projects, examines the darkest questions of the Irish psyche inside a stark interrogation room. <\/p>\n

The visceral, high octane and genuinely breathtaking, 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 is New York puppetry company Wakka Wakka presents Dead as a Dodo, a mesmerising musical odyssey set deep in the underworld.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From New Zealand, a sweeping new adaptation of Witi Ihimaera\u2018s epic tale, Woman Far Walking spans 185 years of Aotearoa\u2019s history, led by award-winning actors Miriama McDowell and N\u012b Dekkers-Reihana, while Binge Culture\u2019s Werewolf brings a gripping, darkly funny immersive horror-comedy inspired by the classic game of social deduction to the festival. <\/p>\n

Acclaimed choreographer Tupua Tigafua brings his delightfully mischievous dance work Shel We to Brisbane, a playful homage to Shel Silverstein \u2013 best known for children\u2019s book The Giving Tree \u2013 that has already entranced audiences across New Zealand and Sweden with its deeply felt tribute to family and the ties that bind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The
\nMama Does Derby Photo by Claudio Raschella<\/p>\n

Written by 2024 Scotsman First Fringe Award winner Virginia Gay and directed by Clare Watson, Mama Does Derby brings the sweaty, radical world of roller derby to Brisbane Powerhouse. Told through theatre, live punk band and roller derby\u2019s radical spirit, it\u2019s a rollicking new work about a single mum and daughter finding their feet in a regional town where neither quite belongs. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gold Coast company The Farm\u2019s No One Gets Out of Here Alive takes on mortality itself, drawing on opera, ballet, dance, voice and music to transform life\u2019s big and small endings into a visceral, darkly funny and unexpectedly cathartic communal experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Lior joins forces with renowned 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\u2019s work, with Glass\u2019s own pianist travelling from the US to join Tenzin and Conservatorium students on stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Night at the Parkland returns, gathering local and international names beneath the stars \u2013 Human Nature, Icehouse, The Temper Trap, the Cruel Sea with Magic Dirt, Missy Higgins and PNAU among them. <\/p>\n

For a change of pace, organist Calvin Bowman takes on The Complete Bach Cycle, working through the composer\u2019s entire organ repertoire, from hushed, spiritually charged chorale preludes to virtuosic preludes and fugues, on QPAC\u2019s Concert Hall pipe organ.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The
\nQAGOMA presents The Pop Up Sock Puppet Studio Photo by Callistemon<\/p>\n

ALL AGES FESTIVAL FUN
Brisbane Festival 2026 brings a rich mix of performances and hands-on activities designed for young festivalgoers and families alike. <\/p>\n

Exclusively at QAGOMA, Make, Believe, Magic: The Worlds of The Jim Henson Company takes visitors on an unmissable journey through the creative magic behind some of the most cherished characters in screen history and the fantastical worlds of The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and Fraggle Rock. <\/p>\n

Nearby at QPAC\u2019s Cremorne Theatre, Betsy Balloon and the Very Great Terrible Flood brings Bill Manhire\u2018s rambunctious modern fable to life in the story of a girl from a balloon-factory island whose world quite\u00a0literally pops, sending her to a rain-soaked city that is slowly, inexorably sinking. <\/p>\n

Across the 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. At the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, family favourite The Listies: This Show is a Joke delivers the anarchic, laugh-a-minute chaos the beloved duo are known for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The
\nSt Lucia Serenades Photo by Mellumae<\/p>\n

Throughout the September school holidays there will be plenty more to keep the kids busy, from face-painting and roving performers, to children\u2019s disco and The Knock \u2018Em Downs curious carnival tent. These experiences, along with a full slate of performances, workshops and activities, come together in one vibrant celebration on Sunday 20 September, with a dedicated Family Fun Day, supported by Brisbane Airport, running throughout the Village.<\/p>\n

FOR AND BY THE COMMUNITY<\/p>\n

Brisbane Serenades returns with a vibrant series of free outdoor concerts across the city\u2019s parks and neighbourhoods, while the Moorooka Block Party chalks up five years with a stacked lineup of live music, dance and family-friendly activities.<\/p>\n

Now in its second season, Community Choir: The Musical is a heartwarming and hilarious tale performed almost entirely by locals, blurring the line between choir and theatre to celebrate collective creativity and everyday voices made extraordinary.<\/p>\n

Alongside it, Brisbane\u2019s most beloved dance battle of the \u2018burbs, the Common People Dance Eisteddfod, sees seven southeast Queensland teams jazz-sliding, body-rolling and high-kicking their way to glory. The suburban celebration continues across the city with neighborhood favorites like the coastal live music showcase Manly Serenades and the family-friendly St Lucia Block Party on The University of Queensland grounds.<\/p>\n

\"The
\nQuandamooka Festival Photo by Nikki Michail<\/p>\n

The annual Quandamooka Festival continues as one of the most significant First Nations cultural gatherings in Queensland with a celebration of the living culture, art and stories of the Quandamooka people of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).<\/p>\n

Four special Festival-edition Lord Mayor\u2019s City Hall Concerts add some extra sparkle to the lunch hour this September: David Bailey\u2018s live original score for Buster Keaton\u2019s silent classics, the storytelling and rich traditional rhythms of East of West, the UQ Music Gala\u2018s showcase of bold local talent, and the Lord Mayor\u2019s Children\u2019s Program favourite TheatreDome.<\/p>\n

Brisbane Festival runs 4 \u2013 26 September 2026.\u00a0See the full program, subscribe for updates and purchase tickets at the website.<\/p>\n

Website:\u00a0https:\/\/www.brisbanefestival.com.au\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Socials:\u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/brisbanefestival\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hero image: Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust. Photo by JD Lin<\/p>\n

Follow The Scoop and join thousands of others on our socials for exclusive video content from media days, launches & opening nights!<\/p>\n