Illuminate Adelaide 2025 is set to light up winter this July with a program that boasts hundreds of drones over Adelaide Oval, a dance party in 10 minutes, career highlights from Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, dinosaurs at the Zoo, a Dutch digital detox initiative, a new 12-hour music festival, audio works in vintage cars, and dinner ‘inside’ a winter forest.
With 9 world premieres and 23 Australian exclusives and premieres, 2025’s incarnation of Illuminate Adelaide offers 134 incredible opportunities for audiences to experience new and astonishing events, artists and creations.
The 2025 program includes the Adelaide exclusive Horizons, transforming Adelaide Oval into a living, breathing canvas using drones, light, sound and sky. The extraordinary sensory journey Night Visions at the Botanic Gardens – a portal of parallel dimensions utilising cutting-edge light, lasers, projections and sound.
A stellar lineup of local, national, and international artists will feature in the City Lights free program, bringing to life the bustling CBD. The Australian premiere, exclusive to Adelaide, of Offline Club, inviting guests to step away from their devices and rediscover the joy of real-world connection. Unsound Adelaide featuring an epic lineup of experimental music. And Supersonic, a brand new music event running for over 12 hours in the West End.
Illuminate Adelaide Co-founders and Creative Directors, Lee Cumberlidge and Rachael Azzopardi said:
“In this, our fifth edition of Illuminate, we are excited to present world-leading artists and creatives in art, light, music and technology to bring the city to life in July.
We are forging new frontiers by producing and presenting two new Illuminate Adelaide productions in Night Visions at the Botanic Gardens and Horizons at Adelaide Oval in conjunction with some visionary collaborators from all over the world.
We continue to commission local artists to make new installations as well as inviting the best makers of immersive and interactive artworks from around the globe, and a new illuminated street performance element to light up our city in the depths of winter with another new and giant free program for City Lights.
In music, we feature a hugely diverse offering from international music legends like John Cale and Ólafur Arnalds to an array of incredibly talented South Australian and Australian artists across our Unsound and Supersonic programs.
With Universal Kingdom at Adelaide Zoo, Offline Club and our foray into the world of Adelaide’s delicious food and wine offerings, Illuminate 2025 is looking to be our best yet.”
Highlights of the ticketed program include:
A world premiere, and exclusive to Illuminate Adelaide, Horizons is a one-night-only production presented by RAA in association with Adelaide Oval, AGB Creative and KOJO. Adelaide Oval will transform into a living, breathing canvas using drones, light, sound and sky to celebrate our place, our people and our bright future.
Taking place on the banks of Karrawirra Parri / River Torrens, Horizons explores the theme of human connection and spans 60,000 years of history. It tells the story of South Australia’s past, present, and future. From the site’s deep cultural significance as a gathering place for the Kaurna People, to its role in recent history as a stage for legendary sporting moments, it looks ahead to an inspiring vision of our future.
An extraordinary sensory journey exclusively conceived by Illuminate Adelaide, Night Visions will transform the Adelaide Botanic Gardens into a portal of parallel dimensions utilising cutting-edge light, lasers, projections and sound.
A powerhouse of audio and visual luminaries will be involved in Night Visions. They include UK light sculpture artist Amelia Kosminsky, groundbreaking Melbourne audio-visual creator Robin Fox, Sydney’s site-responsive projection artist Craig Walsh. Joining them will be South Australian locals Jayden Sutherland, founder of The Bakery Design Co, and Chris Petridis, lighting designer and Night Visions’ Associate Creative Director.
They unite with Melbourne-based composer and sound designer Jethro Woodward for an other-worldly vision, blending the natural after-dark beauty of Adelaide Botanic Gardens with vibrant realms of colour and sound.
Dutch digital detox initiative Offline Club will be presented in Australia for the first time in an exclusive series of experiences. These include a lunch at Paper Shell Farm with guidance from founders Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom, and Valentijn Klok.
In a world dominated by screens and digital noise, Offline Club invites guests to step away from their devices and rediscover the joy of real-world connection. With devices locked away, guests will immerse themselves in a plethora of meaningful interactions, all within uniquely curated spaces across the city.
Redefining the way audiences choose to party, 10-Minute Dance Party is a high-energy, immersive, pop-up experience inside a shipping container. Popular Melbourne-based artist and DJ, Joseph O’Farrell (JOF) invites guests to step inside a fun filled, lighting extravaganza in a fully decked out container at Lot Fourteen, North Terrace, and encourages them to let loose.
The prehistoric world will come roaring back to life with Universal Kingdom: The Next Era. A spectacular after-dark experience at Adelaide Zoo, it’s set to transport visitors to a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Building on the success of previous immersive events, this year’s adventure is the second in the trilogy and promises a thrilling mix of interactive experiences. Visitors can discover T-Rex, Triceratops and Pterodactyls, pat baby dinosaurs, race raptors, and unearth ancient fossils in a specially designed kids’ zone.
Highlights of Illuminate Adelaide’s 2025 music program include:
Unsound Adelaide, the Southern Hemisphere’s only outpost of Europe’s cult experimental music festival Unsound, returns over two electrifying nights. Featuring legendary Velvet Underground founding member John Cale, improvisational US noise duo Yellow Swans, German producer and DJ Wolfgang Voigt and UK avant-garde musician aya.
Curated by Unsound Artistic Directors, Mat Schulz and Gosia Plysa, it sees artists at the vanguard of electronic, experimental and club music come together from around the world for Australian premieres and exclusive live shows that revel in a spirit of adventure.
Unsound teams up with legendary Adelaide venue Ancient World for the Unsound Closing Party, an intimate after party that will host two unique DJ sets, both from artists breaking down conventions and genres. They will play alongside a stellar lineup of South Australian DJs.
Supersonic is a brand-new music event taking over the city’s West End for one night only, marking a bold new chapter for the city’s night-time culture. Running from 5pm to 5am, it will span some of the West’s most iconic venues, where audiences can move between free and ticketed events.
Music on offer ranges from indie jams and experimental sounds to vibrant techno curated by Motez at Lion Arts Factory. The Sound of Revolution Film Program, curated by Shalom Almond, will play on the big screen at Mercury Cinema. Whatever the adventure, Supersonic invites audiences to choose their own path.
Kiasmos will return for first time back in Australia in over eight years. With legions of fans around the world, Kiasmos (good friends Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen) are game changers in the electronic music space. Their unique blend of minimal techno and orchestral flourishes creating a sound that’s both emotionally evocative and wildly infectious.
South Australian Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said:
“2025 will be the fifth year Illuminate Adelaide has presented a widely accessible program of both free and ticketed events and experiences, helping Adelaide come alive in Winter while attracting over a million attendances each year.
Over the years this Illuminate Adelaide has become one of South Australia’s most popular events capturing the hearts and imagination of locals and interstate guests driving dollars into our local economy. The event has helped bring our city to life during the traditionally quieter winter months, encouraging people to explore and experience the immersive magic of these artistic unique installations.”
For tickets and information about Illuminate Adelaide’s other ticketed events, free events and to learn about the new culinary program, visit the website at the link below.
Illuminate Adelaide runs from 2 – 20 July at various locations around Adelaide.
Website: https://www.illuminateadelaide.com/
