Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Festival Centre at night with the River Torrens in the foreground
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King William Street Adelaide, South Australia Australia |
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| Coordinates | 34°55′10″S 138°35′52″E / 34.91944°S 138.59778°ECoordinates: 34°55′10″S 138°35′52″E / 34.91944°S 138.59778°E |
| Owner | Adelaide Festival Centre Trust |
| Type | Performing arts centre |
| Capacity | Festival Theatre: 2000 Dunstan Playhouse: 590 Space Theatre: 350 Her Majesty's Theatre: 1,009 |
| Opened | 2 June 1973 |
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The Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre, was built in 1973 and opened three months before the Sydney Opera House. The Festival Centre is located approximately 50 metres north of the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, lying near the banks of the River Torrens and adjacent to Elder Park. It is distinguished by its three white geometric dome roofs and its plaza consisting of lego block-like structures to the south and lies on a 45-degree angle to the city's grid. It is the home of South Australia's performing arts. The Adelaide Festival Centre replaced the City Baths, which stood in this spot for many decades.
The Centre is managed by a statutory authority under the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust Act 1971 which is responsible for encouraging and facilitating artistic, cultural and performing arts activities, as well as maintaining and improving the building and facilities of the Adelaide Festival Centre complex.
The Centre hosts the annual Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June, OzAsia Festival in September, and the biennial Adelaide International Guitar Festival in July.
The Adelaide Festival Centre was built in three parts from April 1970 to 1980. The main building, the Festival Theatre, was completed in 1973, within its budget of $10 million. (The Centre was completed for $21 million.) In comparison, the Sydney Opera House, also completed in 1973, cost $102 million. The Festival Centre is known for the quality of its acoustics.
The Southern Plaza was completed in March 1977, comprising a then-controversial environmental sculpture by West German artist . The sculpture was conceived as a concrete garden and iconic City Sign and is suffering from poor maintenance. The lego-like forms and colourful paint work across the plaza were designed to conceal an air-conditioning vent at the same time as provide a playful place to congregate. However, Adelaide's citizens never warmed to the idea, and it remains one of Adelaide's most under-utilised public spaces.
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