Vivid Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales © Destination NSW
Australia’s best events
Broaden your mind, let your hair down and soak up the Aussie spirit at our top 10 festivals and events.
If there’s any event to ring in the new year, it’s Sydney Harbour’s dazzling New Year’s Eve fireworks. As the year draws to a close, the countdown to one of Australia’s best and biggest parties sends ripples of excitement through the city. Pick your perfect spot to watch the jaw-dropping displays, starting with the 9pm family fireworks and finishing with the midnight spectacular. Both set the city aglow with neon colours and a raft of entertainment.
The Australian Open isn’t just a world-class tennis tournament; it’s a two-week-long celebration that casts a buzz across the city of Melbourne. Join 550,000 spectators and watch the world’s best players battle at the first Grand Slam in the tennis calendar. Grab an arena ticket, enjoy the fanfare fun with a grounds pass or catch a live stream from the vibrant Federation Square. One thing we know for sure – Melbourne knows how to party.
Few festivals captivate quite like the Adelaide Fringe. Across 31 summer days, more than 6,000 independent artists take the stage at the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest arts festival. You’ll find over 1,400 shows to choose from, showcasing a diverse range of comedy, cabaret, theatre, music, visual arts, circus and much more. As a beacon for inclusivity and diversity, expect unique, quirky shows that will intrigue even the most curious minds.
From Sydney’s purple jacarandas to Western Australia’s wildflowers, our landscapes pop with the vibrant colours of spring. It’s in our capital of Canberra though, where you’ll find the most brilliant blooms. Floriade, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest flower festival, celebrates spring with a month-long events program. Join the festivities, from workshops to theatre shows, all centred around an extensive display of beautiful garden beds.
If you’ve seen the daring artworks on display in the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), you’ll know that any festival at its helm will be far from ordinary. Held every June in Hobart, MONA’s Dark Mofo runs a lineup of events exploring themes of ancient mythology, dark and light, and birth and death. Whether you’re joining the bare bottoms for the nude solstice swim or witnessing parades of burning sculptures, the events of Dark Mofo will give you goosebumps.
Take a food festival, but make it quintessentially Aussie – the Noosa Eat and Drink Festival sure hits the brief. Set against the tropical backdrop of Noosa Main Beach, this four-day gourmet spectacle brings together some of Australia’s most renowned culinary talent and foodies to toast the town’s top restaurants, distilleries and more. Watch live cooking demonstrations, meet the makers and dance off the food to live music, among an array of delicious entertainment.
With its ochre desert, rich Aboriginal culture and quirky wildlife, Alice Springs makes for an awakening experience. Every autumn, the desert is lit up in a kaleidoscope of colours for 10 days of Parrtjima – the only authentic Aboriginal light festival of its kind. Immerse yourself in the world’s oldest living culture with its spectacular line-up of free light installations, interactive workshops, talks, films, live music and entertainment.
Australia’s largest celebration of LGBTQIA+ communities returns to the streets of Sydney every March for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. For 17 days, the festival showers the city in rainbows, glitter and a heart-warming sense of love, pride and inclusivity. Show off your sparkles at the array of events, from dance parties to theatre and live music. Don't miss the main event: Oxford Street’s parade, featuring over 12,500 marchers and 200 colourful floats.
Come August, the Whitsunday’s azure waters are dotted with hundreds of yachts for Hamilton Island Race Week, Australia’s biggest sailing regatta. While the competition unfolds around the sparkling 74 islands, the camaraderie kicks off on Hamilton Island. The typically relaxed island buzzes with a festival program of Champagne lunches, wine-tasting classes, beach dinners and live music entertainment hosted around the island’s most prestigious resorts.
Australia’s art, tech and creative scenes collide for Vivid Sydney, the world’s biggest festival of light, music and ideas. Every winter, thousands flock to experience the harbour’s mind-boggling drone shows and immersive light installations projected onto iconic Australian landmarks. The buzz extends far beyond the harbour, too. Across the city, explore street performances, night markets and inspiring talks featuring some of the most creative minds of our time.
