Fifth edition of Illuminate Adelaide to shine brighter than ever this winter
From drones to luminous horses, parallel universes to international music legends, - art, technology, light and immersive eating and drinking experiences, Illuminate Adelaide is back with another trailblazing program this July.
Consistently attracting over a million attendances each year, South Australia’s annual celebration of art, light, music and technology attracts local, interstate, and international visitors to Adelaide, supporting businesses over the traditionally quieter winter season.
The 2025 headline event is already proving a hit, with Horizons adding a second session already due to popular demand. The world premiere, Adelaide-exclusive event will transform the iconic Adelaide Oval into a living, breathing creative canvas with hundreds of illuminated drones on 18 July.
From tonight until 20 July, the Adelaide Botanic Garden will host Night Visions, which draws on cutting-edge light, lasers, projections and sound, taking visitors on a multi-sensory journey through vibrant realms.
Other key ticketed events include the Australian debut of Dutch digital detox initiative, Offline Club, 10-Minute Dance Parties, Streetlights and Long Nights, and family favourite Universal Kingdom: The Next Era at Adelaide Zoo.
The City Lights event returns across the CBD with an all-new series of installations and performances over 17 nights. From the East End to Festival Plaza, heritage landmarks including Government House, and the Art Gallery of South Australia will light up nightly from 5:30pm with the talents of local, national and international artists.
Music lovers can enjoy the return of Unsound Adelaide, headlined by the legendary John Cale of The Velvet Underground, as well as the brand-new music event, Supersonic taking over several West End venues for 12 hours on 19 July.
The 2025 program spotlights South Australia’s premium food and wine with culinary activities at Adelaide Central Market, Chalk Hill Wines, the ILA, Station Road, and more.
After the resounding success of its 2024 iteration in the grounds of Lot Fourteen, Illuminate Adelaide’s evening hub, Base Camp, returns with free entry.
Last year, the event recorded more than 1.3 million attendances – with 23,563 interstate and overseas visitors contributing to 78,367 attendances - and generated a record-breaking $74.5 million for South Australia’s visitor economy.
The festival adds to South Australia’s non-stop blockbuster events calendar, which features the historic British & Irish Lions match at Adelaide Oval next week, as well as Winter Reds in Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu Food Festival and SALA Festival.
Illuminate Adelaide is supported by the State Government through the South Australian Tourism Commission.
For the full Illuminate Adelaide 2025 program and to book tickets, www.illuminateadelaide.com.
Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said as a festival that champions innovation across so many realms such as art, technology, music and light, the Illuminate Adelaide team is always pushing its own creative boundaries to stay fresh – magically reinventing its program each year.
"Inspiring in its scope and originality, I’m confident 2025 will build on past successes, tempting more record visitor numbers into town through what is a typically quieter time through winter, and generating millions of dollars in economic activity for South Australia," Minister Bettison said.
Illuminate Adelaide Co-founders and Creative Directors Lee Cumberlidge and Rachael Azzopardi said, "for our fifth Illuminate Adelaide we really pushed the envelope in terms of technology and innovation, collaborating with some of the world’s most ingenious visual and musical creatives."
"There are over 350 people who have been working tirelessly behind-the scenes to make this year’s event come to life. Across nine world premieres and 23 Australian-firsts and exclusives, Illuminate Adelaide will present 134 spellbinding experiences, and feature over 175 artists, including a host of homegrown luminaries alongside acclaimed overseas companies," Mr Cumberlidge and Ms Azzopardi said.
"We’ve created two brand new productions for our fifth year, our event centre piece, Night Visions and our one night only spectacular, Horizons.
"We also celebrate the launch of our all-new culinary offering and a mega musical lineup that teams the perennially popular Unsound Adelaide program, headlined by the legendary John Cale, with edgy newcomers like the 12-hour Supersonic festival in the West End and Lot Fourteen’s 10-Minute Dance Parties - Illuminate Adelaide 2025 will surpass all expectations."