Covid restrictions are out, major events are back in. And Adelaide in 2023 is looking up in the world of major events. South Australia’s Premier, Peter Malinauskas took to an Instagram post to share the top festivals that are heading our way this year. From music festivals, annual and inaugural events, and sporting competitions, there’s something for everyone to get excited for in Adelaide 2023.
1. Adelaide International
From Sunday 1 until Saturday 14 January, fans of all things tennis are set to descend upon our city for the Adelaide International, which this year, sees not just one, but two tournaments between some of the world’s best players at The Drive within the Adelaide Oval precinct.
Although we’re nearing the end of the event, this week the Adelaide International will host a WTA 500 and ATP 250 tournament at the recently redeveloped site. And it ain’t all about tennis, there’s refreshing bars, delectable South Australian food vendors, a family-zone, and other entertinment too.
2. Santos Tour Down Under
From Friday 13 until Sunday 22 January, South Australia will once again transform into a cycler’s haven for the annual Santos Tour Down Under. The ten days of world-class cycling across Adelaide and its regional surrounds is the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere and brings both male and female Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) WorldTour professional cycling teams to race. And this year, the women’s race will be elevated to UCI WorldTour status – it’s about dang time.
As well as all things bikes, there’s plenty of entertainment for everyone to get involved in, including an opening night performance headlined by pop icon, Vanessa Amorosi, joined by a beaut line-up of musical acts at the festival’s City of Adelaide Tour Village in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga on Friday 13 January.
3. Adelaide Fringe
From Tuesday 17 February through to Sunday 19 March the Adelaide Fringe festival is making its grand and annual return to Adelaide – aka the most wonderful time of the year in South Australia. The Adelaide Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the southern hemisphere and hosts over 6000 independent artists in over 300 venues for shows that include cabaret, theatre, comedy, circus, music, visual arts, workshops, and heaps more.
The streets of Adelaide also turn into magical socialising spaces with plenty of dancing in the streets, free entertainment and circus-y displays which exudes a truly mesmerising energy to all those head out. With beginnings in 1960, the Adelaide Fringe has grown exponentially with 632,667 tickets having sold during the 2021 Fringe season, even in a state of Covid.
4. WOMADelaide
From Friday 10 until Monday 13 March, yet another massive festival of international talent is flooding the Botanic Parklands/Tainmuntilla in the city centre – World of Music, Arts and Dance, better known as WOMADelaide.
The four-day, award-winning festival is welcoming overseas, interstate, and local artists to take to the seven stages of the earthy grounds, and this year the line-up is simply divine. Think: Florence + The Machine, Aurora, Bon Iver, Dem Mob, Madeleine Peyroux, The Proclaimers, and Sampa The Great – to name a very few.
As well as the performers, WOMADelaide serves as a great platform for discussions of thinkers, scientists, activists, writers, environmentalists, journalists, economists, and communicators with The Planet Talks. And for lovers of food, at Taste the World you can share a feast with festival performers as they share their stories over dishes from home. And check out a mammoth art installation that uses NASA imagery currently touring the globe.
5. Adelaide Motorsport Festival
On both Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 March a fast and furious display of wheels, Adelaide Motorsport Festival, is rolling into town. Dubbed a ‘museum in motion’ as well as an action-packed weekend, the Adelaide Motorsport Festival will display historic, rare, and significant vehicles and epic races across the weekend.
Sportscars, touring cars, motorbikes and more will take to the track, with a different category every zooming around the joint every 10 minutes – from historic Formula 1 cars to fire-breathing Time Attacks. Sit back and witness the speed or mosey around with the local food and drinks on offer.
6. AFL Gather Round
The Festival of Footy AFL Gather Round is heading to South Australia from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 April. The inaugural event sees every team, footy legends, and kickin’ entertainment descend upon Adelaide for the 2023 Premiership Season, round five – it’s going to be a ball.
Across the four-day period, all AFL teams will play at either the Adelaide Oval, Norwood Oval, or the Summit Sport and Recreation Park in Mount Barker. 100,000 tickets have already been sold for the AFL Gather Round in South Australia – anticipation levels around the state are flying high.
7. LIV Golf
Yet another major sporting event is heading our way, with the LIV Golf hitting the Grange Golf Club from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 April. 12 world-class teams are set to get on the green with golfing icons like Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson joining in on the competition.
As well as the sticks and balls, there’ll be a fan village with exclusive access clubs like Birdie Shack, Gallery Club, and Club 54, live music, and you can even tee up with one of the pros to learn the tricks of the trade.
8. Tasting Australia
Back again for yet another fabulous year, Tasting Australia is putting on their annual show from Friday 28 April until Sunay 7 May for a celebration of eating and drinking with a focus on South Australia and its produce, producers and people.
Enjoy incredible lunches, boutique beverages by the firepit in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga, and spreads created by world-class chefs in a variety of spectacular venues in and around Adelaide; you can even board a Tasting Australia fight to take you out yonder for more than just a taste bud adventure. Entertainment and live music are on the cards once again for Tasting Australia’s autumn foodie festival.
9. Ampol State of Origin
This year, the NRL Ampol State of Origin is tackling its way into town with Game One held in Adelaide for the first time. Adelaide Oval will host the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons on Wednesday 31 May for a killer start to the Ampol State of Origin season.
10. Exhibition of Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were two artists that dominated the scene of post-revolution Mexico from the 1920s to the 1950s with love, passion, and politics at the forefront heart of their public lives. The pair grew to become two of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and they are featuring at the Art Gallery of South Australia in Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution from Friday 23 June until Sunday 17 September.
The exhibition will feature over 150 works including paintings, works on paper, photographs and period clothing, this major exhibition from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. It also includes works by Mexican contemporaries, Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, María Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida, David Alfaro Siqueiros and others.
11. FIFA Women’s World Cup: Australia and New Zealand
In huge new, Adelaide was drawn to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand from Monday 24 July until Tuesday 8 August at the Hindmarsh Stadium. Our state will welcome England, Brazil, China PR, Korea Republic, and Morocco for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Adelaide this year.
12. Illuminate Adelaide
The name of the festival says it all – the city will be well and truly illuminated with the third season of Illuminate Adelaide 2023. The main event has seen the Adelaide Botanic Gardens transform into a magical display of light and sound by Montreal Studio Moment Factory’s Light Cycles. Installations using light, scenography, audio, video content and special effects have previously enchanted and enveloped audiences who journeyed through the lush surroundings on a curated trail. We can only hope the sell-out installation returns for Illuminate Adelaide 2023, with the dates yet to be announced.
13. Valo Adelaide 500
And just as it came to an end, the Valo Adelaide 500 (more commonly known amongst South Australians as the Clipsal 500) has announced its dates for 2023 and their headline act. From Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 November, the annual motor racing event for supercars is taking to the streets – Australia’s largest domestic event of its kind, in fact. And it’s so much more than just cars – Robbie Williams will be headlining the Valo Adelaide 500 for his XXV tour, showcasing 25 years of hits.