River Festival

For three weeks each September, the Queensland capital swings into festive mode for the Brisbane Festival. Be prepared for a spirited program that steers clear of the comfort zone and instead mixes it up with acclaimed international and Australian artists and theatre productions along with outdoor concerts just made for Brisbane's balmy spring climate, and events from the controversial to the cutting edge and off-beat.

 

At festival time, the action spreads into suburban streets and parklands, plays out in small theatres and covers a broad program engaging a range of audiences. There's theatre, music, dance, visual arts and plenty to intrigue, delight and inspire, starting with an opening extravaganza that promises to be noisy and colourful and unite hundreds of thousands of people in a celebration of music, visual spectacle and dancing throughout Brisbane's city centre and moving out to suburban streets, parks and private back gardens.

 

One of Australia's premier festivals, the Brisbane Festival was launched in 1996. Riverfestival was developed as a river-based celebration combined with community involvement, focused on the Brisbane River. Two of the festival's signature events - the International Riversymposium, an international conference on river management, and Riverfire, South East Queensland's largest fireworks display - will this year once again be incorporated in the Brisbane Festival.