Melbourne Festival used to be known to many people as one of the major international art festivals in Australia and one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world. It was established in 1986 under the initiative of John Cain, the Premier of Victoria. This festival was to become a sister festival of another world renowned event, the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.
The very first name of the festival was Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, but it was renamed the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts in 1990, and the Melbourne International Arts Festival, commonly shortened to just Melbourne Festival, in 2003.
Although the Festival dei Due Mondi originated as an opera festival, Melbourne Festival wasn’t just about opera. Its program was richer and consisted of different events, including dance, theater, cinema, circus, multimedia, and visual arts.
Over 1,000 artists from all over the world came to the festival every year, and its audience included over 400,000 people! Popular and young artists gave their performances to the most demanding audience. Some performances that had premiered at the festival, won the love of public and critical acclaim in Australia. Many events of the festival had no age limit, so parents were able to attend the festival with their kids.
The festival events were scattered around Melbourne and its venues: theaters, universities, art centers, churches etc. Many performances took place on the streets and squares of Melbourne right under the blue sky. There were free events for everyone to see and events that required tickets to enter. Every artist gave several performances, so everyone could enjoy the show.
The last Melbourne Festival was held in 2019. Starting in 2021, it was replaced by a new event called RISING.
Photo: David Harris Photography
