Adelaide's brightest celebration of art, light, music and technology is back!
Returning from 2 - 20 July, Illuminate Adelaide brings global artists, innovators and luminaries to the city. Well-trodden streets, hidden gems and cultural icons will be seen in a whole new light, with the program encouraging visitors to shake off the winter blues and rekindle a sense of wonder.
The line-up includes a free winter village, amazing drone show, family-friendly prehistoric adventures and so much more—read on for six of our must-sees during Illuminate Adelaide.
Want more from your winter experience?
1. Horizons
In an Australian first, Illuminate Adelaide transforms Adelaide Oval into a living canvas of light, sound and sky for one night only, celebrating our place, people and future.
On the banks of Karrawirra Parri, Horizons fuses hundreds of illuminated drones with cutting-edge lighting, audio and screens for a multi-sensory spectacle. Journey through 60,000 years of South Australian stories, from dawn to dusk, in a single unforgettable night.
2. Universal Kingdom: The Next Era
Meet your favourite prehistoric giants, from the mighty Triceratops to the soaring Pterodactyl. Pat baby dinos, race raptors, unearth fossils and feel the ground shake beneath a towering T.rex at the next chapter of the popular Universal Kingdom adventure.
Enjoy state-of-the-art puppetry, dazzling light installations and a vibrant, interactive prehistoric world during this spectacular event.
3. City Lights
One of Illuminate's most popular events, City Lights returns with an all-new series of exciting free installations featuring interactive experiences, stunning projections and captivating roaming performances.
From immersive facades at the Art Gallery of South Australia and glittering angels at the Adelaide Central Market to Rundle Illuminations in the East End, you won't have to travel far to experience a piece of magic.
4. Base Camp
A free pop-up winter village in the East End, you'll find Base Camp nestled between City Lights and Night Visions on North Terrace.
Cosy up next to a firepit as you enjoy food and drink from some of South Australia's best vendors - it's the perfect spot to visit before or after your show (or make it the main event).
5. Unsound
Step into the unknown. Embrace the unpredictable. Unsound Adelaide beckons to where music defies boundaries and genres unravel. Returning for two electrifying nights spread over three new venues, Unsound promises a pulsating realm of experimental sound that needs to be seen to be believed.
Want more music? Try Supersonic in the West End.
6. Night Visions
An all-new exclusive event, dreamt up by the visionaries at Illuminate Adelaide. Night Visions transforms the Adelaide Botanic Garden into a portal to other worlds, where work from local and international artists converge to form one collective vision.
Fuelled by cutting-edge light, lasers, projections and sound, journey along an extraordinary path where the latest in immersive technology reimagines the beauty of nature into sensory realms of colour and sound.
Feature image credit: Tyr Liang at Xplorer Media