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Events
All Events
Collections
Blak Out
Summer School
Info
Plan Your Festival
Meet The Artists
About Us
Safety and inclusivity
Accessibility
Festival Feasts
Venues
Government Partners
Work With Us
Stories
Support Us
Make a Donation
Philanthropy
Festival Sponsors
Volunteer
Festival Archives
Festival Archives
2025
The final year of Festival Director Olivia Ansell's tenure, Sydney Festival's 49th edition was splashed across theatres, parks, galleries, a courthouse, hidden gardens, town halls and by the shoreline. Across 23 days the Festival welcome 1,008 artists and staged 136 events, including 26 world premieres, 28 Australian exclusives and more than 12 nights of free live music.
Festival Archives
2024
2024 saw an exhilarating summer of live performance and art installation for Sydney Festival 2024. More than 1250 artists from home and abroad gathered across Sydney to stage 148 events, including 28 world premieres and 58 free events. 2024 was also the inaugural year of a new Festival precinct, The Thirsty Mile, at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.
Festival Archives
2023
Across 25 days in January, Sydney Festival 2023 reimagined venues old, beloved and undiscovered, with site-specific programming that had Sydneysiders seeing the city anew. Our art of summer program contained over 100 events, 1,000+ Australian and International artists featured, 18 world premieres and 14 Australian exclusives.
Festival Archives
2022
The 2022 Sydney Festival program was designed to be outdoor, indoor and online, and despite several challenges including the ongoing global pandemic, we’ve successfully delivered over 80 events and employed 756 artists at a time of great uncertainty for the live performance sector.
Festival Archives
2021
Embracing the city and its cultural instigators like never before, artistic director Wesley Enoch and the Sydney Festival team realised an entirely “Australian Made” program that manifested throughout the city through over 130 events across three weeks from 6–26 January 2021.
Festival Archives
2020
In 2020 Sydney Festival had 44 newly commissioned works in collaboration with partners from around the world and the nation. From the intimate to the spectacular, with an array of outdoor parades, indoor magic, and so much more.
Festival Archives
2019
Sydney Festival 2019 was Wesley Enoch's third in the role of Festival Director, and saw a continued strong commitment to Australian and Indigenous work in a program spanning theatre, dance, circus, visual art and music, reaching from Sydney’s CBD to Parramatta.
Festival Archives
2018
Sydney Festival 2018 was Wesley Enoch's second in the role of Festival Director, and saw a continued strong commitment to Australian and Indigenous work in a program spanning theatre, dance, circus, visual art and music, reaching from Sydney’s CBD to Parramatta.
Festival Archives
2017
Sydney Festival celebrated its 41st year with a new Artistic Director, Wesley Enoch, and a host of exciting new programs, precincts, venues and companies.
Festival Archives
2016
Sydney Festival marked 40 years as a cultural leader in our spectacular city with birthday art projects celebrating the collaborative spirit of the Festival. We infused our annual events with memories of the past and imaginings for the future, while presenting a lively program of free and ticketed events by some of the world’s great artists.
Festival Archives
2015
2015 heralded the return of Sydney Festival favourites along with brand new productions. New Australian work featured strongly with the world premiere of Masquerade by Kate Mulvany, Kate Champion’s provocative final work with Force Majeure, Nothing to Lose, and composer David Chisolm and his collaborators with The Experiment.
Festival Archives
2014
The 2014 Sydney Festival was awash with Australian premieres and sold out shows, with a mix of ticketed and free programming. This year’s Festival included a renewed focus on classical music and large-scale visual arts projects. Two hugely popular installations were Sacrilege, Jeremy Deller’s inflatable Stonehenge, and Merchants Store, Leandro Elrich’s gravity-defying interactive artwork.
Festival Archives
2013
From a giant rubber duck in Darling Harbour to a Handel-Westwood opera feast, the 2013 Sydney Festival, the first from new Festival Director Lieven Bertels, had something for everyone.
Festival Archives
2012
Festival First Night opened Sydney Festival with an afternoon of kid’s entertainment as Holly Throsby performed her children’s album, before DJ Norman Jay parked his iconic double-decker bus in Hyde Park, keeping Sydney dancing before the breathtaking dusk aerial performance As The World Tipped.
Festival Archives
2011
The enormously popular Festival First NIght kicked off in the afternoon with Lah-Lah’s Big Band and circus company Circa. In the evening, Hyde Park turned into a vaudevillian playground.
Festival Archives
2010
In Lindy Hume’s first year as Festival Director, Sydney Festival opened with another spectacular Festival First Night. This time the Domain stage was headlined by Al Green, in his first ever Australian performance, along with The Black Arm Band featuring Jimmy Little, Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter and Dan Sultan.
Festival Archives
2009
After the incredible success of Festival First Night the year prior, the event returned with an equally impressive line-up headed by Grace Jones. Artists such as Fanfare Ciocarlia, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Santogold, Dan Zanes & Friends, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Chunky Move and A-Trak/Java performed all over the CBD.
Festival Archives
2008
Sydney Festival hit the national spotlight with their first ever Festival First Night. Taking over the CBD and surrounding areas, the party was headlined by none other than The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Meanwhile on other stages, there were performances from Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Paul Kelly, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Shooglenifty, Babylon Circus, Airvag, Pink Martini, Shuffle Club Big Band, Plump DJs, Spank Rock and many more.
Festival Archives
2007
The 2007 Sydney Festival kicked off with a sky borne symphony when seven hot air balloons, each with speakers attached, taking off at sunrise to fly across the West of the city, in Sky Symphony.
Festival Archives
2006
2006 Sydney Festival was Fergus Linehan’s first year as Festival Director. The About An Hour program was introduced with theatre, music and dance in bite-sized performances, under 60 minutes in duration. The new program included works by Chunky Move (I Want to Dance Better at Parties), Teatr Piesn Kozla, The Tiger Lillies, Jo Strømgren Kompani, Rainpan 43, Saul Williams and Splinter Group.
Festival Archives
2005
The 2005 Sydney Festival opened with The Lazy The Kings by Transe Express at Sydney Olympic Park. The Festival expanded its Parramatta program to include Jazz in Parramatta Park, a free concert open to people of all ages.
Festival Archives
2004
In 2004, Sydney Festival audiences were stunned by the majestic Transmission installation, set up on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on Opening Night. The Australian premiere of Nam June Paik’s neon and laser tower installation was not-to-be-missed.
Festival Archives
2003
The 2003 Sydney Festival opened with Improbable Theatre in collaboration with The World Famous and their installation Sticky. Hundreds of sparklers, thousands of feet of sticky tape, a crane, fire, machinery, smoke and a full musical score took over the Sydney Opera House forecourt.
Festival Archives
2002
The 2002 Festival opened with a free theatrical performance by the internationally acclaimed Transe Express on the Sydney Opera House forecourt, followed by projected lighting of the majestic colonial buildings starting with Customs House, created by Electric Canvas in a Festival commission.
Festival Archives
2001
Sydney Festival celebrated 25 years in 2001. Local audiences were treated to a celebration of gospel music with America’s First Lady of Gospel, Shirley Caesar, in her Australian Premiere. The opera rarity Mitridate rê di Ponto by Mozart was performed in Australia for the very first time, and beloved Festival artist Robert Lepage returned with The Far Side Of The Moon, scored by Laurie Anderson.
Festival Archives
2000
2000 marked the year the city would host the Olympic Games, but prior to that, Sydney Festival put on its own spectacular show. As part of the Festival, internationally renowned Australian designer Marc Newson was commissioned to create a celebratory lighting scheme for the Sydney Opera House. The first of these, Sunset, was projected during the Festival, and the other three during the Olympic Arts Festival later in the year.
Festival Archives
1999
The 1999 Sydney Festival opened in splendid style with William Walton’s mighty choral work Belshazzar’s Feast, performed by 80 members of the London Symphony Chorus, members of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and the Sydney Festival Orchestra.
Festival Archives
1998
With new director Leo Schofield preparing his first Sydney Festival program, plenty of new exciting ventures were undertaken in 1998. Open Air Cinema had its first series of screenings on the Fleet Steps, at Mrs Macquarie’s Point, Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain.
Festival Archives
1997
In his third and final year as Festival Director, Anthony Steel pulled out all the stops with Kelly’s Republic, staged on the Sydney Opera House forecourt. It was the largest work ever commissioned by the Festival, and one of six world premieres of Australian theatre productions.
Festival Archives
1996
The Festival celebrated its 20th birthday. A distinct focus was placed on the harbour precinct stretching from The Rocks around Circular Quay to the forecourt of the Opera House, an area which came alive with visual and performing arts every evening of the Festival.
Festival Archives
1995
In 1995, Anthony Steel was appointed Festival Director and was only the second person to lead the Festival of Sydney in 18 years.
Festival Archives
1994
World premieres and Australian firsts abounded in 1994, including the play That Eye The Sky, directed by Richard Roxburgh. Shark Island Stories saw audiences catching a special ferry to Shark Island as part of the Griffin Theatre Company production. Lano & Woodley had their world premiere at Belvoir Street Theatre, and the West Australian Ballet came to Sydney for the first time.
Festival Archives
1993
1993 saw an incredible change in Sydney’s entertainment landscape with the launch of the inaugural Summer Mega-Festival, when three very distinct cultural events ran concurrently - Sydney Festival, Carnivale and The Biennale of Sydney.
Festival Archives
1992
By 1992, the Festival had become the city’s main public event. With the year signifying Sydney County Council’s 150th anniversary, the Sydney Sesqui celebrations began during the Festival time.
Festival Archives
1991
In 1991, the Festival of Sydney broadened its focus to include the Western Sydney, with events taking place in performing arts centres in Parramatta, Penrith and Baulkham Hills, bringing curated entertainment to Western Sydney.
Festival Archives
1990
The 1990 Festival of Sydney saw great local and international talent taking the stage. Well-known Australian actor Leo McKern performed in Boswell For The Defence and the United Kingdom’s Victor Spinetti, known for his roles in The Beatles’ films, performed his one-man show A Very Private Diary. Local audiences were also delighted by the stunning production of The Rover from the State Theatre Company of South Australia.
Festival Archives
1989
Following the massive two-month celebrations of the previous year, 1989’s Festival of Sydney continued with a strong and varied program that included exciting new theatre from Spain, Canada and France, along with music from the United Kingdom, Bulgaria and Spain.
Festival Archives
1988
1988 marked Sydney’s Bicentennial 200th anniversary, which was celebrated with a two month Bicentennial Festival of Sydney.
Festival Archives
1987
The 1987 Festival of Sydney had a particularly strong international program: from the United Kingdom the Festival presented Michael Clark and his dance company; from Chicago the Steppenwolf Theatre Company; from Eire the Druid Theatre Company; from Minneapolis, solo performer Kevin Kling, and from New York, Bill Irwin. Not to mention the distinguished Slovak Chamber Orchestra, superb English pianist John Bingham, and the 90 strong Pendyrus Male Voice Choir from Wales.
Festival Archives
1986
The tenth anniversary of the Festival of Sydney saw the expansion of already successful program elements. An exciting array of activities took over Hyde Park, including exhibitions, food stalls, craft workshops, music, street theatre, clowns and buskers. The Martin Place Amphitheatre hosted live music, dance, mime and magic throughout the Festival period, and the Domain was again home to free jazz, opera and classical music concerts.
Festival Archives
1985
The 1985 Festival of Sydney was the year for endurance performances. Roger Woodward concluded his marathon series of the complete works of Frederic Chopin after five years of Festival appearances. At the Sydney Entertainment Centre, 14 bands took the stage in a Twelve Hour Rockathon, from 8pm to 8am the following day.
Festival Archives
1984
Perhaps the most memorable occurrence at the Festival of Sydney 1984 was the sinking of the ferry Karrabbee after the Australia Day Ferrython. Having completed the race in third place, with its hull dangerously low, it made it back to Circular Quay just in time. Moments after passengers had disembarked, the ferry sank into the Harbour. Recovery efforts lasted a whole week.
Festival Archives
1983
The Festival of Sydney had come a long way since its beginnings six festivals ago. Being celebrated by 2.5 million Sydneysiders, the Festival entertained during a time of social and economic uncertainty in Australia.
Festival Archives
1982
The Festival of Sydney experienced a series of firsts in 1982 that would go on to become frequent occurrences in programs for years to come, the most beloved being Opera In The Domain. The Australian Opera and the Festival joined forces to present a free performance of Verdi’s La Traviatai in The Domain. This was the first time Dame Joan Sutherland had sung in a free outdoor performance – but certainly not the last.
Festival Archives
1981
The Festival of Sydney celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Australia with a birthday party like no other. The day-time celebrations in Hyde Park included brass bands, folk groups and a range of free outdoor entertainment.
Festival Archives
1980
The fourth Festival of Sydney saw a new spin on New Year’s Day, as they hosted the largest Highland Gathering and Games in the Southern Hemisphere. Another new feature of the program was Dancexplosion 1980, with dance companies from around Australia performing their latest works in a series of premiere performances.
Festival Archives
1979
The New Year’s Eve Gala Opening Concert launched the 1979 Festival of Sydney with a dazzling array of talent on the Sydney Opera House forecourt including performances from Sherbert, John Paul Young and Johnny Farnham.
Festival Archives
1978
After the success of their inaugural year, the Festival of Sydney returned, kicking off on New Year's Eve, with almost 200,000 people attending the Sydney Opera House celebrations.
Festival Archives
1977
The first ever Sydney Festival (then called Festival of Sydney) ran from 31 December to 31 January 1977. It was originally conceived by the Sydney Committee, the NSW State Government and the City of Sydney with a view to attracting people into the city centre during the holiday month of January. Its program of more than 180 events ranged from high culture and large-scale community celebrations to sports competitions and basic craft.
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