In addition to homegrown talent and unique Aboriginal cultural events and attractions, Australia is a major drawcard for touring companies from around the globe. Luckily, those companies have a wealth of world-class venues to choose from.
Australia’s most famous event venue is the iconic Sydney Opera House, perhaps our most visible landmark and cultural symbol internationally. Performing arts events are hosted here over 40 times a week, meaning there’s a show for every interest. This architectural marvel is surrounded by numerous avenues for entertainment. Follow your own path or book a guided tour through the nearby 30-hectare Royal Botanic Gardens, skip over Circular Quay to embark on the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb, or quench your thirst with cocktails at Opera Bar. Or, simply do all three. The Opera House doesn’t limit itself to opera, despite its name. The venue screens films accompanied by orchestra, both classical and contemporary artists, along with comedy shows and kids events like magic. International acts are drawn to the status that performing at the Opera House brings.
The Opera House isn’t the only venue in Australia benefitting from deserved international regard. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Victoria is the largest stadium in the southern hemisphere, seating over 100 000. Events held here regularly set attendance records, with some of the world’s biggest acts playing to their largest-ever crowds at this venue. Usually, arts events are confined to outside of the Aussie rules season, but catching a variety of sports at the stadium wouldn’t be a waste of time. Despite its international obscurity, AFL is one of the largest spectator sports in the world, and calls ‘the G’ home for seven months of the year. Obviously cricket is the other main national sport that the venue hosts, but soccer and rugby are played here also. If sport’s not your thing, Melbourne has many other venues to get your arts fix. Margaret Court Arena and Rod Laver Arena are often the first choice for music acts, and the Arts Centre Melbourne holds resident companies including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and the Melbourne Theatre Company.
There are, of course, famous music festivals that attract punters from around the world, touring across Australia’s indoor and outdoor venues. Annual festivals such as Beyond the Valley, Laneway Festival, Listen Out and Groovin The Moo have cemented themselves as commercial successes that regularly draw international stardom over the last ten years, but that is barely scratching the surface of the vast number of music festival events available across Australia. Byron Bay in particular is a hotspot, home to multiple big-ticket items in the Byron Bay Bluesfest, Falls Festival (also available in Fremantle, Western Australia), and Splendour in the Grass.
While support for international acts is strong, Indigenous arts is consistently celebrated. Festivals, theatre, art exhibitions and dance catered to and showcasing Indigenous communities spread from Australia’s top end to the inner city, with support for those communities involved baked in to the productions. The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF), for example, accessible online and in-person on Larrakia Country, hosts a platform for cultural education and the ethical purchase of Indigenous art, bringing in over 28 000 visitors in 2024 to experience the rich cultural background of the featured artists as a unique event nationwide. While visual art is a highlight (see; The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, displaying Australia’s largest quantity of First Nations art), Indigenous theatre is a key component of Aboriginal arts hubs in major cities. Melbourne-based ILBIJERRI Theatre Company tours nationally as one of the longest-established Indigenous theatre companies, and the Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company in Perth continues to be nationally-recognised, debuting over 50 new productions at major festivals throughout their 32 year history.