Sydney Festival is Australia’s ultimate summer event and one of the most prominent arts festivals in the world.

Since 1977, we’ve been creating the city's most memorable moments and kick-starting the cultural calendar – and there’s nothing quite like Sydney in summer.

We present big and bold arts events and showcase the many facets of Sydney: the beauty and the rich underbelly that lies beneath; our history and our future.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Speakers Corner is synonymous worldwide as a cauldron for debate, freedom of expression and the liberation of ideas. Speakers Corner at Sydney Festival is a summer music club inspired by the free thought of many a Sydney character, situated right in the heart of the city at Cathedral Square, corner of College & William Streets, Sydney.

Speakers Corner will entice Sydneysiders to gather and celebrate the new year with a swinging line-up of Australian and international music acts.

Hordern Pavilion will be home to one of Sydney Festival’s headline shows: Qween Lear. Set in ancient Sydney before the Sydney Olympics… Qween Lear is a large-scale, theatrical & immersive experience that explores Sydney’s queer protest and party culture from the 1978 march through to the height of the RAT parties. Qween investigates the stories and characters of our city’s queer history; before Sydney’s party lights were turned off.

The Hordern will also play host to one of the world’s finest live draws, Fat Freddy’s Drop. The seven-piece band delivers a potent mixture of jazz virtuosity and diaphragm-wrecking digital sonics.

Airship Orchestra is an immersive art installation at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour.

Sixteen otherworldly inflatable characters are triggered by motion and “blink” their LED eyes at visitors, playing a special musical note. The music intensifies and progresses as more people join the experience, creating a fun and interactive family adventure for day and night.

The nearby Tumbalong Park playground is one of the most visited in Australia, attracting families from all over Sydney. Previous installations of Airship Orchestra have drawn up to 9,000 visitors per day.

Symphony Under the Stars is a much-loved Sydney Festival tradition which is free for everyone to enjoy.

This large-scale outdoor concert is held in The Crescent in Parramatta Park and features over two hours of classical music performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

The evening’s performance ends with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture complete with canons and an impressive fireworks display.

In addition to Symphony Under the Stars, next year we will explore a contemporary music concert to connect with even more people in the community and make full use of the beautiful surrounds of Parramatta Park.

BECOME A CORPORATE PARTNER

Sydney Festival is a non-profit organisation and relies on the generous support of private donors, state and local government and corporate partners to deliver a vibrant event every January.
Sydney Festival collaborates with a variety of organisations to create bespoke partnerships that support a diverse range of business objectives including: