Just In: The Line-Up for the 50th Sydney Festival Has Been Announced

The line-up for the 50th edition of the Sydney Festival was announced this morning. New festival director Kris Nelson is pulling out all the stops to celebrate half a century of Syd Fest.

Nelson joins the festival after more than six years at the London International Festival of Theatre.

“My vision is to create festivals that transform us – shaping not just the shows we present, but how Sydneysiders experience art, and inspiring us to imagine the future of this great city together,” said Nelson in a statement.

This year’s line-up covers all bases with music, art, dance and, of course, a theatre program that matches Nelson’s calibre.

Expect the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to go alfresco for another edition of Symphony Under the Stars, which will be performed at Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour. A gig series will take over City Recital Hall, with acts including popular UK singer-songwriter Paris Paloma whose feminist anthem Labor has made waves on social media. London band Hot Chip is also returning for a two-night residency at the Sydney Opera House.

A key feature of the arts program is Observer, Observed, an interactive sculptural installation from artist Julia Phillips. Phillips’s piece comes to Darling Harbour fresh from New York City, where it was displayed on the High Line. The piece is unassuming – at first. A pair of bronze binoculars invites passers-by to appreciate the view, while hidden cameras in the binoculars broadcast their eyes to a nearby screen.

A highlight of the dance program is a piece by South Korean choreographer Eun-Me Ahn, who has been referred to as the enfant terrible of the country’s dance scene. Her piece is performed by eight dancers who wear more than 90 costumes throughout the performance.

The theatre program includes a festival commission – a roller derby comedy – from Virginia Gay. French production LACRIMA will make its Australian debut at the festival, before moving over to Perth. Originally performed at Théâtre National de Strasbourg, French critics likened the drama set in a fashion house to a prestige television series. Khalid Abdalla of The Crown fame will also perform in a solo show, which chronicles his personal history as it intertwines with global political changes. Canadian artists Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim will bring asses.masses to life, a seven-hour play-slash-video-game where the action is controlled by the audience.

2026 also marks Jacob Nash’s final year as creative artist-in-residence for the Blak Out program. The program celebrates Blak artists and the Blak experience. As part of the program, Bangarra Dance Theatre will perform The Bogong’s Song: A Call to Country, a family-friendly show, which tells Dreaming stories through shadow puppetry, dance and song. Ben Graetz’s outrageous drag alter ego will take over Wharf 1 Theatre for A Night of Rock & Roll with Bogan Villea.

Sydney Festival runs from January 8 to January 25, 2026. The full program is available online.

sydneyfestival.org.au

@sydney_festival