Midsumma hits Autumn with premiere event: Midsumma Festival Live at the Bowl
Australia’s LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural experience, Midsumma Festival, in partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne, today announces the inaugural Midsumma Festival Live at the Bowl.
Celebrating diverse journeys and communities, the event will present a spectacular line-up of live performance, comedy and music hosted at the iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Friday 30th April and Saturday 1st May.
Due to requirements assessed by Midsumma Festival to meet current COVIDSafe government restrictions, the annual Midsumma Carnival will unfortunately not be able to go ahead this year.
Focusing on ‘the art of the possible’ this year Midsumma Festival has the unique opportunity to activate an iconic venue in an entirely new way. Midsumma Festival Live at the Bowl will host a soirée of FREE queer live entertainment across the two nights, in the second week of the 17-day festival.
“As our cities, streets and venues have laid empty for so long we have come to realise the significance of ‘owning’ our cities through activations and the all-important sense of place we bring to them. I am thrilled that in this year our communities and artists will take over the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in a joyous smorgasbord of the very best queer performances on offer.” - Karen Bryant, Midsumma Festival CEO
With Sidney Myer Music Bowl transformed into a socially distanced and COVIDSafe space, Midsumma Festival Live at the Bowl will bring together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities, and audiences, premiering its FREE two-night extravaganza for 6,000 audiences members as part of Midsumma Festival 2021. Free tickets to Midsumma Festival Live at the Bowl will be released from 7pm on 18 March, following the Midsumma Festival 2021 program launch, with Midsumma subscribers granted pre-sale access on 16 March (to find out about pre-sale midsumma.org.au/subscribe). The final tickets will be released on 9 April.
The exciting line-up will be announced via the Midsumma Festival website from 18 March and is planned to feature a sensational stage of queer icons from across Australia. Each night will have the same line-up performing, giving Midsumma Festival audiences two opportunities to see the show. The concert will also be live-streamed from the Midsumma Festival Facebook page, giving everyone the opportunity to see this premiere event, and to ensure that Midsumma Festival Live at the Bowl is as accessible as possible for any audiences that may be vulnerable, regional or interstate, who want to be a part of the important connection that Midsumma Festival brings. The event will be Auslan interpreted as well as the livestream event assisted by captions.
Midsumma Festival returns to Melbourne from 19 April to 5 May, with the annual Midsumma Pride March taking place on Sunday 23 May. Further information about Midsumma Festival and its exciting 2021 program will be constantly updated at www.midsumma.org.au. The full program of Midsumma Festival 2021 will be launched 18 March 2021.
