Brisbane is set to become a vibrant stage this September, as Brisbane Festival unveils its most ambitious and expansive program to date. From the 5th to the 27th of September 2025, the city will pulsate with an extraordinary celebration of art, culture, and community, marking Artistic Director Louise Bezzina’s sixth and final festival at the helm.
This blockbuster program promises to transform Brisbane, inviting audiences to experience familiar landmarks and hidden corners anew. Expect towering whale bones emerging from the river, bridges reimagined as colossal art installations, and a world-premiere dance trilogy that headlines a truly global and local showcase.
A Festival of Unprecedented Scale
Across 23 days, the 2025 program boasts an astounding 2,260 artists, 106 productions, and 1,069 performances. A remarkable 21 world premieres are slated, solidifying Brisbane Festival’s position as a cornerstone event on Australia's cultural calendar. In a testament to its commitment to accessibility, over 39% of the program will be offered free to the public, ensuring that world-class art is enjoyed by everyone across the city.
Louise Bezzina’s tenure has been defined by a bold creative vision that has redefined contemporary arts festivals. Her final program is a powerful culmination of this vision, rich in international collaborations, deeply rooted in First Nations and culturally diverse voices, fuelled by community participation, and bursting with homegrown talent.
“This year’s program is a love letter to Brisbane — bold, joyful, and created with and for the city,” said Artistic Director Louise Bezzina. “My final festival is a celebration of everything Brisbane Festival has become: a world-class event with a fiercely local heart. From world premieres to deeply resonant community works, this year’s program is ambitious in scale and grounded in storytelling, deeply connected to the people and places that make this city so special. As the city comes alive this September, I welcome everyone to take their place in the story.”
Dance Takes Centre Stage with Global and Local Visionaries
Dance Australia readers will be particularly thrilled by the festival’s extraordinary dance offerings. In a landmark Australian exclusive, internationally renowned choreographer Benjamin Millepied and L.A. Dance Project will present Gems, a world-premiere triptych of dance works. Commissioned by French luxury house Van Cleef & Arpels, Gems unites a constellation of creative talents including composer Philip Glass, artist Barbara Kruger, and designer Alessandro Sartori, promising a striking fusion of dance, music, visual art, and fashion.
Closer to home, visionary First Nations artist Stephen Page, founder of Bangarra Dance Theatre, returns to his hometown with Baleen Moondjan. This breathtaking contemporary ceremony will unfold on Brisbane’s riverbank, transforming the space with a powerful large-scale performance staged on a floating barge. Towering sculptural whale bones will rise from the water, as Page draws on his Ngugi, Nunukul, and Moondjan ancestry to honour the deep, totemic connection between baleen whales and Country, blending music, movement, and storytelling in a profound expression of culture, memory, and place.
An epic world premiere not to be missed is Bad Nature, an unflinching and visually bold exploration of humanity's complex relationship with the natural world. This thrilling international collaboration between Australasian Dance Collective and the Netherlands’ Club Guy & Roni brings together twelve powerhouse dancers and musicians from HIIIT, acclaimed designer Boris Acket, and fashion provocateurs MAISON the FAUX, promising a bold, multisensory experience that pushes the boundaries of perception.
Further showcasing powerful First Nations voices, Preparing Ground, co-directed by leading Queensland choreographers Marilyn Miller, Jasmin Sheppard, and Katina Olsen, is a new dance work that moves with the weight of history and the fire of resistance. This world premiere channels movement, language, sound, and projection to evoke a landscape both sacred and stolen.
Homegrown Heroes and International Flair
Brisbane’s own globally renowned art and design visionaries, Craig & Karl, return home for their largest and most ambitious project to date. For ANZ’s Walk This Way by Craig & Karl, the duo will transform three of Brisbane’s most prominent pedestrian bridges – the Neville Bonner Bridge, the Goodwill Bridge, and the new Kangaroo Point Bridge – into vibrant, large-scale artistic interventions. This citywide public art trail invites audiences to explore Brisbane through an artist’s eyes. Their homecoming extends to Craig & Karl: Double Vision, a dynamic exhibition presented in partnership with Griffith University’s Art Museum, celebrating their local roots and global influence.
The festival also celebrates the magnetic solo debut of choreographer and ballroom innovator Josh Taliani, Father of Australia’s legendary House of Alexander. His performance promises a bold fusion of vogue, street dance, and fearless storytelling. Adding equal flair and heart, First Nations drag icon Miss Ellaneous (Ben Graetz) presents TINA – A Tropical Love Story, a joyous tribute to Tina Turner brimming with sequins, soul, and sky-high heels.
Fresh from the festival circuit, ISH Dance Collective from the Netherlands brings Elements of Freestyle, a high-adrenaline fusion of dance, theatre, and extreme sports. Featuring BMX, skateboarding, freerunning, and breakdance, this electrifying show transforms gravity-defying tricks into breathtaking choreography, celebrating movement in all its wild, powerful, and poetic forms.
Stephanie Lake’s The Chronicles brings together twelve leading dancers in a striking meditation on the cycles of life and the inevitability of change, further enriching the festival’s diverse dance landscape.
A City Transformed
Beyond the stage, Brisbane Festival will light up the city after dark with three extraordinary events. Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust ignites the opening weekend with one of Australia’s most spectacular fireworks displays. Skylore returns with 400 drones telling the traditional stories of Brisbane’s First Nations people. Meanwhile, Afterglow invites audiences on a mesmerising journey through a dreamscape of fire sculptures, candlelit artworks, and live performances as the City Botanic Gardens come alive at night.
The beloved Brisbane institution, the Twelfth Night Theatre, will be reawakened for the festival, completely reimagined to host Gatsby at the Green Light, a luminous night of cabaret, variety, and contemporary music.
Inclusivity is at the heart of Brisbane Festival, with public participation front and centre. Common People Dance Eisteddfod, the high-energy, sequin-studded suburban dance battle, brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate movement, community, and unfiltered expression on the dancefloor.
Brisbane Festival 2025 is poised to be a citywide symphony of art, light, and human connection, spilling into the streets, stages, parks, and laneways for 23 spectacular days. From large-scale public artworks and world premieres to free neighbourhood events and community-led performances, the Festival will energise the city and invite all of Brisbane to take part in something truly extraordinary and utterly unmissable.
Brisbane Festival By Numbers
- 106 productions
- 1,069 performances
- 2,260 artists
- 21 world premieres
- 4 Australian exclusives
- 18 dance productions
- 17 First Nations productions
- 43 free productions
- 475 free performances
Brisbane Festival returns 5 – 27 September 2025. Tickets go on sale from 10am, Wednesday 11 June. For the full program, updates, and to purchase tickets, visit Brisbane Festival Website