Riverfire photo submitted by Marty Pouwelse
Brisbane will have two of its favourite festivals merged into one when the Brisbane Festival and Riverfestival unite in 2009.
Called the Brisbane Festival, it will run from Saturday 12 September to Saturday 3 October 2009.
It will include: The Spiegeltent, QBE Riverfire, extraordinary international productions and artists, the free Across Brisbane community programme, Indigenous events, RiverBBQ, under the radar theatre fringe festival, the popular Brisbane Backyards series and much more.
The merger of these two major events into one month-long festival will make the new Brisbane Festival the largest and most diverse arts festival in Australia.
Lyndon Terracini, CEO of Major Brisbane Festivals, will also be the Brisbane Festival 2009 Artistic Director.
The original Brisbane Festival was first staged in 1996 as an initiative by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council to foster the arts. Held only every two years, it has developed to become one of Australia’s most highly respected and acclaimed performing arts festivals.
The first Riverfestival was held in September 1998. It is a major annual community and environmental festival celebrating Brisbane’s waterways and culture by focusing on the city’s natural landmark, the Brisbane River.
The new merged festival will have $5.29 million a year in overall joint funding to create an extravaganza of entertainment and the arts.
