6 Exceptional Gold Coast Events To Look Forward To

If your diary’s been a little light on incredible festivals and events lately, we’ve got some excellent news. The Gold Coast events calendar is packed and stacked with a line-up of festivals and shows spanning all kinds of visual and performing arts.

We do cultural events a little differently here and our enviable outdoor lifestyle spills over into our arts and creative offerings. Think music, sculpture and circus arts, open air galleries on the sand, live gigs in the great outdoors and immersive experiences where audience participation is not just encouraged,  but compulsory. Yep, the remainder of 2021 is looking like a good time on the Gold Coast!

Here’s the run-down on where to head for a hearty dose of inspiration and entertainment in the coming months. These are the 6 exceptional Gold Coast events to look forward to.

BLEACH*

CANCELLATION STATEMENT – August 4th, 2021 : Recent COVID-19 developments across South-East Queensland have forced the cancellation of BLEACH* for 2021 (August 12-22), with the festival set to return in 2022. 

Festival director Rosie Dennis said: “While today’s announcement is devastating for our community and industry, we find ourselves operating within a challenging set of circumstances at an improbable time. The 10th Bleach* Festival was ambitious in its vision, and ready to grapple with our complex relationship to place and identity. This kind of vision can only be realised with extraordinary artists, an extraordinary team, and extraordinary local champions by our side.

“Thanks to everyone – our artists and creatives, crew, suppliers, partners, sponsors and donors – who helped us get this far. Here’s to the next 10 years of Bleach*.”

One of the  highlights of the Gold Coast events calendar is undoubtedly BLEACH*. A festival of arts, culture and music, this festival somehow gets bigger and better every year and 2021 is no exception. The Yugambeh Aboriginal Dancers will open the festival with a dawn performance of fire and song on Burleigh beach, there’ll be feasting, chats with local creatives, more music, more art and more performances. Get involved whenever and wherever you can! There are 10 days of events and performances (both free and ticketed events) in many different locations, a lot of them outdoors, because that’s how we do festivals on the Gold Coast.
When: August 12th – 22nd
Where: Various locations across the Gold Coast

SPRINGTIME MUSIC FESTIVAL

CANCELLATION STATEMENT – August 4th, 2021 : With very heavy hearts, today we made the difficult decision to postpone SPRINGTIME Music Festival 2021. The current situation unfolding around Australia has meant it has become increasingly challenging to put on the live music festival experience we had planned with the artists we had planned to perform from around Australia.

 Whilst everyone involved in this incredible free festival would have loved to go ahead and create those good times on the Gold Coast, we are committed to putting the safety of our fans, artists, crew and wider community at the forefront of everything we do.

 As hard as these decisions are to make, we would like to acknowledge our festival partners and thank them for their ongoing support, including the Australian Government through the Recovery for Regional Tourism program, the City of Gold Coast, Destination Gold Coast, Tourism and Events Queensland, the Gold Coast Music Awards and the local music community.

An exciting new music festival is set to touch down on our sparkly shores in 2021. It’s called SPRINGTIME and will be held in the streets and on the beach of Surfers Paradise to kick off Spring. Over three days and nights, the Coast will come alive with stacks of live gigs – some free and some ticketed – showcasing a swathe of Australia’s favourite artists. Ball Park Music, Hermitude and Ali Barter will be there, not to mention plenty of local acts and more variety than you can poke a stick at.
When: September 3rd – 5th
Where: Surfers Paradise

SWELL SCULPTURE FESTIVAL

Every year  SWELL Sculpture Festival blows our minds with the large-scale sculptures displayed in an incredible outdoor setting. The artworks are integrated into the natural environment creating quite the spectacle. In the past sculptures have been built into the side of rock formations, emerging from the sand and taking pride of place along the footpath beside beautiful Currumbin Beach. Our beloved festival is entirely outdoors and on one of the most pristine beaches in the world, no less. Get a taste for how the locals live – experience incredible art while strolling barefoot in the sand before a quick dip in the ocean followed by a coffee at one of the beachfront cafés.
When: September 10^th – 19^th
Where: Currumbin Beach

CONTEMPORARY MASTERS FROM NEW YORK AT HOTA

In a world premiere exhibition exclusive, HOTA Gallery will present Contemporary Masters from New York: Art from the Mugrabi Collection. From (the uber famous) soup cans to graffiti tags, artists like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jeff Koons revolutionised contemporary art, bringing an edgy accessibility to the New York art scene. Chosen from a private collection that rarely leaves NYC, it will be the first time these works have been shown in Australia and therefore an incredible opportunity to see them in real life. A massive cultural coup for our new gallery!
When: November 13th, 2021 – February 27th, 2022
Where: HOTA Gallery, Bundall

GOLD COAST CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

There are a number of incredible performances coming to one of the Coast’s most impressive entertainment venues. Over the next few months, the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre will see some of Australia’s most-loved names play live and you’re invited. Jimmy Barnes’ Flesh and Blood Tour hits the stage on July 25^th, Carl Barron will make you cackle on September 4^th, Delta Goodrem’s Bridge Over Troubled Dreams Tour is coming on October 2^nd, Guy Sebastian’s T.R.U.T.H Tour will stop over on November 6^th and Keith Urban: The Speed of Now will wrap things up on December 19^th.
When: July 25^th – December 19th
Where: Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach

INFAMOUS

If you’ve not yet had the pleasure of being dazzled by the cabaret-style circus that is Infamous, you’re in for a treat. Featuring everything from daring acrobatics to a tipsy (partially nude) Janitor, you’ll be entertained from start to finish. The show is fully licensed, so you can sip on a sparkling while you giggle, pick your jaw up off the floor and generally get immersed in a guaranteed good time.
When: Infamous runs until Sunday, August 8^th.
Where: Broadwater Parklands, Southport

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