Illuminate – the popular festival that literally shines a light into the dark nights of winter – is once again brightening up Adelaide.
From a mass drone show at Adelaide Oval to cutting-edge laser and sound displays in our Botanic Garden, international music legends to a pop-up winter village at Lot Fourteen, Illuminate is delivering a trailblazing program across July.
The festival, launched in 2021 as a way to bring life to the city in the traditionally quiet winter season, has been a smash hit, consistently attracting over a million attendances each year and local, interstate and international visitors to Adelaide.
The 2025 program will see the world premiere of Horizons, the Adelaide-exclusive that will transform Adelaide Oval into a living, breathing creative canvas using hundreds of illuminated drones on 18 July.
From July 2 to 20, the Adelaide Botanic Garden will host Night Visions, which draws on cutting-edge light, lasers, projections and sound, taking visitors on a multi-sensory journey through vibrant realms.
Crowd favourite City Lights returns across the CBD with an all-new series of installations and performances over 17 nights.
From the East End to Festival Plaza, heritage landmarks including Government House and the Art Gallery of South Australia will light up nightly from 5:30pm with the talents of local, national and international artists.
Other key ticketed events include the Australian debut of Dutch digital detox initiative Offline Club, 10-Minute Dance Parties, Streetlights and Long Nights, and family favourite Universal Kingdom: The Next Era at Adelaide Zoo.
And there is plenty on the Illuminate program for music lovers, including a performance from John Cale (pictured), founding member of legendary New York rock band The Velvet Underground.
There will also be a brand-new music festival, Supersonic, taking over venues across the West End on 19 July.
Illuminate Adelaide co-founder and co-creative director Lee Cumberlidge said this year’s festival "pushed the envelope in terms of technology and innovation, collaborating with some of the world’s most ingenious visual and musical creatives".
"Across nine world premieres and 23 Australian-firsts and exclusives, Illuminate Adelaide will present 134 spellbinding experiences, and feature over 175 artists, including a host of homegrown luminaries alongside acclaimed overseas companies," Mr Cumberlidge said.
Fellow co-founder and co-creative director Rachael Azzopardi said: "We’ve created two brand new productions for our fifth year, our event centre piece, Night Visions and our one night only spectacular, Horizons.
"We also celebrate the launch of our all-new culinary offering and a mega musical lineup that teams the perennially popular Unsound Adelaide program, headlined by the legendary John Cale, with edgy newcomers like the 12-hour Supersonic festival in the West End and Lot Fourteen’s 10 Minute Dance Parties - Illuminate Adelaide 2025 will surpass all expectations."
For the full 2025 program and to book tickets, visit Illuminate Adelaide.
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