Adelaide Fringe

The Adelaide Fringe is renowned for fresh ideas, risk, imagination, spontaneity and fun. It’s the largest arts event in Australia and only rivaled by the Edinburgh Fringe on a worldwide scale.

Adelaide Fringe began in 1960 as an alternative to the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. In 2011, attendance reached reaching a staggering 1.45 million with a massive 334,000 tickets sold to the tune of $8 million.

Artists from around Australia and across the globe participate in art forms spanning cabaret, comedy, circus, dance, film, theatre, puppetry, music, visual art and design.

Adelaide Fringe takes over the entire city with 800 events staged in pop-up venues in parks, warehouses, laneways and empty buildings as well as established venues such as theatres, hotels, art galleries, cafés and town halls.

The theme and tagline for Adelaide Fringe 2012 is the Tour of the Unexpected. In keeping with the theme, free Tours of the Unexpected Buses will circle the city to take people on adventures to different venues throughout town.

Adelaide Fringe Opening Night will feature the Fringe Parade running through the centre of the city from Victoria Square down King William Street. After the parade, the celebrations kick on in every Fringe venue throughout the city.

A curated ‘mini-festival within a festival’, held over the third weekend of Adelaide Fringe, will focus on the family. Take the whole family to see international street theatre acts and check out one of the ticketed family-friendly Fringe shows on throughout the weekend.

The Spirit Festival will celebrate Australia’s indigenous culture. In 2012 it will extend over three days and nights throughout the opening weekend of the Fringe.

Keep an eye on the Adelaide Fringe website over the coming weeks as hundreds of acts are announced.

Where to stay in Adelaide and Kangaroo Island