Brisbane Festival Returns In 2026 With A Riverside Spiegeltent, World Premieres And The Veronicas

Brisbane’s streets, rivers and stages are set to Switch On, Light Up, Come Alive thanks to Brisbane Festival 2026: a bold celebration of art, community and our glorious River City. 

Returning from 4 to 26 September, this Brisbane Festival is a doozy as it also marks the debut program for new Artistic Director Ebony Bott. Creating an agenda that captures the cultural identity of a whole city is no small task, but Bott has risen to the challenge with a truly world-class offering tailored to the beat of Brisbane. 

“This year, Brisbane Festival is tuned to the frequency of this city—from first light through to after dark,” said Bott. “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.”

So, what are we putting on the top of our to-do list when Brisbane Festival comes around? Here are the highlights:

Festival Village

At the heart of this year’s program is the Festival Village, South Bank—transforming the South Bank Cultural Forecourt into an energetic hub of free and ticketed things to do. Think of it like the Athlete’s Village, but instead of Olympians you can find live gigs, performances and interactive installations by the riverside. 

The Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent will be making its long-anticipated return to play host to a slew of unmissable shows, including West End smash-hit The Choir of Man. The outdoor Village Green will feature an action-packed school holiday lineup from Indigenous-led contemporary circus Living Sculptures: How The Birds Got Their Colours to sock puppet and circus workshops. And, if you love a bit of karaoke, you need to check out the field of microphones that make up the Giant Sing Along: a feel-good installation that invites festival-goers to add their voices to a live mass choir. 

Image credit: Bright Nights | Sean Dowling and Atmosphere Photography

As the earliest rising city in the world, Brisbane mornings will also be getting the festival treatment with global alcohol-free morning dance and wellness phenomenon DAYBREAKER. Then when evening falls, head to the riverbank and set your sights on Bright Nights by ANZ—the festival’s nightly spectacular on the Brisbane River with floating fountains, waterscreens, lasers and water jets tuned to an exclusive soundtrack by homegrown legends The Veronicas. 

Theatre

Brisbane Festival and the most anticipated world premieres are basically synonymous, and this year celebrated Australian playwright Suzie Miller (the force behind international phenomenon Prima Facie) will be bringing to the Brisbane stage Strong Is The New Pretty which tells the untold story of how the AFLW was born.

Image credit: Strong Is The New Pretty | Compadre Picture Co

Mama Does Derby brings theatre to the roller rink inside Brisbane Powerhouse with a live punk band. Binge Culture’s Werewolf is a darkly funny and immersive horror-comedy theatre show inspired by the classic game of social deduction. True crime lovers will back Scorched Earth: a critically acclaimed work set in a stark interrogation room that just premiered in New York. And speaking of the Big Apple, puppetry company Wakka Wakka will present Dead as a Dodo which combines humour, music and stunning visual effects set deep in the underworld. 

Image credit: Scorched Earth | Pato Cassinoni

Music & Dance

Jaws will drop across the gravity-defying acrobatics, breathtaking choreography and moving soundtracks in the program. No One Gets Out Of Here Alive from Gold Coast company The Farm is a cathartic confrontation of mortality through opera, ballet, dance and music. The Fijian Flying Circus will make their Australian premiere under the big top at South Bank’s Piazza. Bleachers is a visually striking disability-led dance-theatre work featuring a collective of ten d/Deaf and disabled artists from Bundjalung Country. And acclaimed choreographer Tupua Tigafua will bring his mischievous dance work Shel We across the ditch, paying homage to Shel Silverstein. 

Image credit: No One Gets Out Of Here Alive | Set in Stone Media

Night at the Parkland will also return to Roma Street Parkland with an epic lineup that includes soul legend Aloe Blacc, ARIA Hall of Famers Human Nature, rock icons Icehouse, Aussie darling Missy Higgins and electronic powerhouses PNAU. Plus, RocKwiz will celebrate Brisbane’s extraordinary musical legacy, from the Bee Gees to Savage Garden. 

Image credit: Night at the Parkland | Supplied

Tickets to Brisbane Festival performances are on sale now here. The full program is an absolute whopper so we’ll keep you updated on all the shows and things to do you can’t miss on Facebook and Instagram. And, of course, we can’t forget Riverfire which will be lighting up the night sky on Saturday 5 September—more on that soon. 

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Main image credit: Brisbane Festival | Sean Dowling and Atmosphere Photography