Brisbane Festival has unveiled its 2026 program, with new Artistic Director Ebony Bott promising a city-wide celebration that stretches from dawn until late night and aims to position Brisbane as a leading cultural destination in the Asia-Pacific.

The 4-26 September festival, themed “Switch On, Light Up, Come Alive,” marks Bott’s first program since taking the helm and combines major international productions, new Australian commissions, large-scale public events and an expanded offering of free community programming.

Festival organisers say the 2026 edition is designed to reflect Brisbane’s outdoor lifestyle and growing global profile as the city moves toward hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“This year, Brisbane Festival is tuned to the frequency of this city – from first light through to after dark,” Bott said. “It is a Festival shaped by Brisbane’s energy, outdoor life and sense of momentum and possibility.”

Brisbane Festival: Riverfire. Photo © Mellumae

At the heart of the program is the new Festival Village at South Bank, a large-scale riverside precinct that organisers describe as both a nod to Brisbane’s Olympic future and the festival’s central gathering place. The precinct will host free and ticketed events across the three-week festival, including performances, workshops, talks, wellness activities and nightly entertainment.

A key attraction will be the return of the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, home to international hit The Choir of Man, a pub-themed music and theatre production that has toured globally. The venue will also host family comedy show This Show is a Joke by The Listies and Are You Lonesome Tonight, a crossover performance blending opera and country music.

Another major public attraction will be Bright Nights, a free nightly riverside show featuring floating fountains, waterscreens, lasers and water jets reaching up to 80 metres high. The production will be accompanied by an original soundtrack created by Brisbane pop duo The Veronicas and begin each evening with a Welcome to Country and storytelling by Yuggera and Turrbal man Shannon Ruska.

Brisbane Festival: Strong is the New Pretty. Photo supplied

Among the festival’s headline theatre productions is the world premiere of the Olivier Award-winning Australian playwright Suzie Miller’s Strong is the New Pretty, which tells the story behind the creation of the AFL Women’s competition. The work, co-produced by Brisbane Festival, Sydney Theatre Company and Trish Wadley Productions, traces the seven-year campaign that led to the launch of AFLW.

International programming includes DIAVOLO’s ESCAPE, a high-energy fusion of dance, acrobatics and architecture from the Los Angeles-based company, and Luke Murphy’s Scorched Earth, arriving in Brisbane following a critically acclaimed run at New York’s St. Ann’s Warehouse.

The festival will also present New York puppetry company Wakka Wakka’s Dead as Dodo, Gold Coast ensemble The Farm’s mortality-themed performance No One Gets Out of Here Alive, and the Australian premiere of Fijian Flying Circus, a family-friendly spectacle from internationally renowned Fijian troupe VOU.

Beyond the stage, the program extends into visual arts, with the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art hosting Make, Believe, Magic: The Worlds of The Jim Henson Company, an exhibition exploring the creative legacy behind characters including Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the cast of Fraggle Rock.

Reflecting Queensland’s strong Pasifika and New Zealand connections, the festival will feature four productions from Aotearoa New Zealand. They include Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking, adapted from a work by celebrated Māori author Witi Ihimaera; choreographer Tupua Tigafua’s dance piece Shel We; staged reading Betsy Balloon and the Very Great Terrible Flood; and immersive horror-comedy Werewolf by Binge Culture.

Brisbane Festival. Photo © Atmosphere Photography

Music remains a major pillar of the festival, with the popular Night at the Parkland concert series returning to Roma Street Parkland. This year’s line-up includes Aloe Blacc, Human Nature, Icehouse, The Temper Trap, The Cruel Sea, Magic Dirt, Missy Higgins, PNAU and Katie Noonan performing Jeff Buckley’s landmark album Grace in full.

The festival will also host a Brisbane-themed edition of RocKwiz, celebrating the city’s musical heritage through live performances, trivia and guest appearances.

Community participation features strongly throughout the program. Free events include Brisbane Serenades, outdoor concerts staged across suburban parks and public spaces, while the Moorooka Block Party marks its fifth anniversary with music, workshops and family activities.

Other returning favourites include the Quandamooka Festival, celebrating the culture and stories of the Quandamooka people on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), the Common People Dance Eisteddfod, Community Choir: The Musical, and the Alexander Ball, a showcase of ballroom culture curated by Ella Ganza.

For more information on Brisbane Festival 2026, visit brisbanefestival.com.au