Today marks the dazzling opening of Brisbane Festival 2025, launching 23 days of performance, public art, and participation across the city. Running until 27 September, this year’s program is one of the largest in the Festival’s history, featuring 106 productions, 1,069 performances and 2,260 artists — including 21 world premieres, with more than 43% of events free.
“This year’s festival is a vibrant tribute to Brisbane – its energy, its creativity, and its people,” said Artistic Director Louise Bezzina, who signs off with her final program after seven years at the helm.
“From large-scale spectacles to intimate community experiences, every event is rooted in a love for this city. I invite everyone to join us this September and be part of something truly special.”
Backing Brisbane’s Creative Future
Queensland Minister for the Arts John-Paul Langbroek praised the Festival’s scale and impact:
“Brisbane Festival delivers extraordinary, inclusive and engaging arts experiences featuring local, national and international artists. It boosts the State’s reputation as a creative powerhouse and supports Queensland’s Time to Shine arts strategy as we prepare for the global platform of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner added:
“Brisbane Festival is more than an arts event – it’s the jewel in our festival calendar. It brings people together, activates our suburbs, and adds to our fantastic lifestyle. We look forward to welcoming visitors into our hotels, restaurants and precincts while spotlighting Brisbane’s incredible arts industry.”
City Spectacles: Transforming the Urban Landscape
From bridges to riverbanks, laneways to rooftops, the city itself becomes a stage during Brisbane Festival 2025.
ANZ’s Walk This Way sees international design duo Craig & Karl transform three major Brisbane bridges — Neville Bonner, Goodwill and Kangaroo Point — with bold, surreal wraps, extending into a self-guided public art trail and culminating in their exhibition Double Vision at Griffith University Art Museum.
The opening weekend ignites with Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust, the iconic fireworks tradition that this year introduces nearly 600 heavy-payload pyrotechnic drones in a Queensland first.
On the river, acclaimed creative visionary Stephen Page unveils Baleen Moondjan (18–21 Sept), a monumental ceremony set among giant floating whale bones — his first major commission since leaving Bangarra, honouring the whale songlines of his grandmother’s Ngugi/Nunukul/Moondjan people of Minjerribah.
Afterglow transforms the City Botanic Gardens with thousands of candlelit sculptures, glowing organic forms, and fire installations in a dreamlike nocturnal journey.
Closing the Festival, Skylore – Nieergoo: Spirit of the Whale (25–27 Sept) returns with over 400 synchronised drones in a breathtaking First Nations-led storytelling spectacle.
Dance & Movement: From the Lyrical to the Radical
Gems – World premiere of a trilogy by Benjamin Millepied (L.A. Dance Project), blending dance, design, fashion and digital innovation.
Bad Nature – A daring Australasian Dance Collective and Club Guy & Roni collaboration with dancers, live musicians, and fashion provocateurs MAISON the FAUX.
The Chronicles – Stephanie Lake’s exploration of life cycles, danced by 12 leading contemporary performers to Robin Fox’s electro-acoustic score.
Elements of Freestyle – Dutch collective ISH explodes onto Brisbane Powerhouse with BMX, skateboarding, breakdance and free running in a high-energy mash-up of urban expression.
Theatre & Cabaret: Voices and Visions
From political to playful, Brisbane Festival’s theatre program spans truth-telling and spectacle.
Back to Bilo – The powerful true story of the Nadesalingam family’s fight to stay in Australia, written by Katherine Lyall-Watson and directed by Caroline Dunphy.
Gatsby at The Green Light – Caper & Crow’s glamorous reawakening of Twelfth Night Theatre, set to the jazz-inspired soundscape of Kim Moyes (The Presets).
The Lovers – Laura Murphy’s glitter-pop reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring Natalie Abbott and Jason Arrow.
AMPLIFIED: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett – Sheridan Harbridge celebrates the fierce Divinyls frontwoman in a theatrical concert tribute.
Plus bold new works from Leah Shelton (BATSHIT), William Yang (Milestone), and Francis Greenslade (The Platypus).
First Nations Focus: Ceremony, Country & Connection
First Nations voices are central to the 2025 program.
Preparing Ground – Six years in the making, a powerful new dance work by Marilyn Miller, Jasmin Sheppard and Katina Olsen.
Unveiling Shadows – Joshua Taliani’s fearless debut solo blending hip-hop, vogue and dance theatre.
TINA – A Tropical Love Story – Drag star Miss Ellaneous celebrates Tina Turner in a cabaret tribute.
The Bogong’s Song: A Call to Country – A new Bangarra work for families, filled with puppetry, dance and story.
Music, Community & Festival Spirit
With more than 500 free events across suburbs, Brisbane Festival invites the city to sing, dance and connect.
Community Choir: The Musical, Common People Dance Eisteddfod, Beacons and 100 Guitars transform everyday voices and instruments into epic spectacles.
A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen serves food and storytelling on stage.
Tivoli in the Round, The Princess Theatre, and Brisbane Serenades bring live music across genres, from Mallrat to Indo Warehouse.
Lord Mayor’s City Hall Concerts return with free midday performances.
At night, the Festival Club at QPAC’s Melbourne St Green pulses with cabaret, DJs, and drag icons, cementing Brisbane Festival as the city’s cultural heartbeat.
A Triumphant Finale for Louise Bezzina
Brisbane Festival 2025 is a landmark moment — a bold finale to Louise Bezzina’s tenure as Artistic Director. With international collaborations, world premieres, and community spirit at its heart, this year’s program reaffirms Brisbane’s place on the global cultural stage.
Brisbane Festival runs 5 – 27 September 2025. Full program and tickets at brisbanefestival.com.au.
