Brisbane Festival | |
---|---|
Frequency | Annual |
Location(s) | Brisbane, Queensland |
Country | Australia |
Inaugurated | 1996 |
Most recent | September 5, 2015 | –September 26, 2015
Organised by | Brisbane City Council; Queensland Government |
Website | |
brisbanefestival |
Brisbane Festival is one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, and is held each September in Brisbane, Australia.
Its presence dominates the city for three weeks in September and its line-up of classical and contemporary music, theatre, dance, comedy, opera, circus and major public events such as Sunsuper Riverfire attracts an audience of around one million people every year. The combination of local, national and international acts has fostered strong community involvement and publicity for the Queensland city.
Brisbane Festival was first held in 1996 as a joint initiative of the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council, intended to foster the arts. The festival evolved from Brisbane’s Warana Festival, first held in 1961. Originally held biennially, Brisbane Festival became an annual event in 2009 when it merged with Riverfestival. The festival has had four artistic directors; Tony Gould (1996–2004), Lyndon Terracini (2006–2009), Noel Staunton (2010–2014) and David Berthold (2015–2018).