That’s a wrap on Darwin Festival 2024
After 20 nights of awe-inspiring entertainment, Darwin Festival 2024 has ended on a high note, with sell-out crowds at closing weekend performances and the event overall notching up a massive 83 events across a record 40 venues.
Darwin Festival continued the success of last’s years big crowds, with over 55,000 tickets sold and record attendances in Festival Park.
The Festival also saw the welcome return of the ever-popular Darwin Amphitheatre as a major venue while successfully expanding to Palmerston and into Darwin Waterfront with free interactive family entertainment, as well as the introduction of the sell-out Taste of Darwin food and beverage experiences.
There were also a number of world premieres including Song Spirals by Rosealee Pearson; Tracks Dance’s mesmerising Cloud Split; POD, a magical and interactive adventure for all ages; and Vital Forces, a new musical work by Dr Aunty Bilawara Lee and Netanela Mizrahi performed by the DSO.
Proving its commitment to celebrating local talent, 60% of performers hailed from the Northern Territory.
In addition, the Festival brought some extraordinary nationally touring shows to Darwin, including Big Name, No Blankets; Missy Higgins; Tom Gleeson; Marlon Williams; The Cat Empire; Kate Miller-Heidke; Fourteen; The Party; The Mirror; The Tap Pack and more.
Darwin Festival CEO James Gough said: “There is nothing like Darwin Festival when it comes to igniting creativity and community connection in Darwin. The strong ticket sales and attendances show that people of all ages love the unique and diverse offering that is Darwin Festival.”
Darwin Festival Artistic Director Kate Fell added that this year was full of many magical moments and was a true celebration of arts and culture in the Top End.
“This was a huge year and one of the most exciting line-ups the Festival has had. Audiences loved the diversity of the program – from interactive shows for children to late-night adults only shows in the Spiegeltent, from music concerts as the sun was setting at the Ski Club to incredible visual art exhibitions and everything in between! And Festival Park again was the jewel of the festival for people to relax, enjoy art, roving performers, delicious food, drinks and live music,” she said.
Darwin Festival had 42 sold-out performances including Tina – A Tropical Love Story, Merrick Watts An Idiots Guide to Wine, and JAZZPARTY. There were also many free events and activities, with more than 25% of the festival events free of charge.
Darwin Festival Board Chair Chris Osborne said: “It’s been another wonderful Festival and I would like to sincerely thank our government partners, corporate sponsors, donors and Friends of the Festival for all of their support. We also couldn’t do it without the amazing team, the artists who all gave us such memorable performances, volunteers, and, of course, the audiences who make it all worthwhile. We are so proud of the unifying effect that this event creates for the community and we are certainly looking forward to creating another incredible event next year.”
Next year, Darwin Festival will be held 7 – 24 August 2025, so save the dates!
