Record regional crowd for Illuminate Adelaide in Victor

Switching off for 2022, the final of three regional installations as part of this year’s Illuminate Adelaide program is celebrating a record-high regional crowd.

A total of 21,742 people flocked to Fleurieu Peninsula’s seaside town of Victor Harbor over two weeks and three weekends for Harbor Lights, which finished on September 11.

Harbor Lights transformed the town’s foreshore with a collection of immersive installations, lighting, and mind-blowing projections.

It followed regional activations of Illuminate Adelaide 2022 in Renmark, which attracted 11,000 visitors over four weeks, and Mount Gambier, which saw 17,000 people head to the state’s south-east over two and a half weeks.

The highlight of Harbor Lights was Monuments, an internationally renowned work by Craig Walsh, which celebrated influential First Nations peoples from across Ramindjeri and wider Ngarrindjeri Country.

Other artists featured at Victor Harbor included Affirmation Stations by Vans The Omega, Submergence by Squidsoup, and Under The Neon Sea and I Am Here by Carla O’Brien.

The regional presentations are an initiative supported by the South Australian Tourism Commission, in partnership with innovative regional councils and award-winning artists, with the aim to shine a light on South Australia in winter and drive visitation across the state.

Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison said it was a fantastic result for the Illuminate Adelaide regional program, with a record regional attendance at Harbor Lights and a winter that has come alive across the state.

"Nearly 50,000 visitors enticed to installations across the Riverland, Limestone Coast and Fleurieu Peninsula in the middle of winter – that’s an incredible win for regional South Australia," she said.

"On the back of more than 1.2 million attendances at the CBD program of Illuminate Adelaide, it shows the appetite for this new major annual festival is huge and demonstrates how we’re working to extend the benefits of events across the state."

Illuminate Adelaide Co- Founders and Creative Directors, Rachael Azzopardi and Lee Cumberlidge said the number of people who embraced Harbor Lights has been "astounding".

"We are overwhelmed and delighted to have shared this event with so many locals and visitors to Victor Harbor," they said. 

"Working with the State Government through the South Australian Tourism Commission, as well as the local Council and business community has been fantastic, a truly successful collaboration."

Fleurieu Peninsula Regional Tourism Manager, Dylan Beach said it was incredible to walk through Harbor Lights and see so many people enjoy the event over the past few weeks.

"It bought a buzz to the region during a period that would generally be quieter. It’s not a surprise though, the Illuminate Adelaide team has done such an amazing job with all their events this year," he said. 

"When Harbor Lights came together with the South Australian Tourism Commission and the City of Victor it was always going to showcase the foreshore in an array of lights, technology and unique installations inspired by the local area which would draw interest and people to explore it."