MIDSUMMA FESTIVAL Kicks Off This Weekend

This weekend Midsumma Festival 2025 will kick off with the highly anticipated Midsumma Carnival in the Alexandra Gardens. The annual queer-day-out will launch three weeks of arts and culture with the huge community opening event running from 11.00 am – 9.00 pm beside the Yarra River in Melbourne’s CBD and celebrating the festival's 2025 theme of COLLECTIVE IDENTITY(S).

Adam Noviello, Hera Björk and Jimi The Kween will headline this iconic full-day outdoor extravaganza with artists including The Huxleys, Ruby Slippers, Cerulean, Jens Radda, Florian Wild, Frock Hudson, DJ Alex Morris, DJ ENN, DJ Gay Dad, DJ Sugar Plump Fairy, DJ Tong Ni, the Women’s Circus and more! There will be endless things to see, do, and eat along with three  stages of entertainment filled with fun. Families are invited to head along for a great day out including free face painting, skate lessons with YMCA, Auslan Storytimes and roving performers. Dog lovers can visit the Midsumma Carnival Dog Show on the Picnic Stage, hosted by Nic Dorward, with judges Jo Ball and Dave McDermott. Fun prizes include Cutest Bitch, Best Dressed and Best Owner / Dog Combo to name a few! Punters will also have the opportunity to bring their best lip sync game with the Lip Sync Limelight show starting at 5.10 pm on the Picnic Stage.

Carnival will host four bars across the gardens with plenty of opportunities to eat and drink your way across the day including plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available. There really is something for everybody at Carnival with the festival designed for a diverse community. Midsumma Festival is Australia’s premier LGBTQIA+ Arts Organisation and this year’s celebration will present a jam-packed calendar with about 200 events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community across Naarm/Melbourne and regional Victoria. 

“At Midsumma Festival 2025, we invite our communities to ‘come in together’ rather than call people out,” said Karen Bryant, Chief Executive and Creative Director of Midsumma Festival. “This is a celebration of arts, diversity, and collective strength, reminding us of the power of shared stories and creative experiences regardless of difference. Together, we can dance with many diverse bodies, sing with many diverse voices, and hold kindly space for us all.”

This year’s theme is COLLECTIVE IDENTITY(S) with the festival bringing the State alive with . The theme invites audiences to reflect on how we can foster true connection across all diverse LGBTQIA+ communities and intersections. COLLECTIVE IDENTITY(S) includes all ages, identities, cultures, faiths, geographical locations, and disabilities in an age marked by digital overload, fleeting interactions and emotional separation.

Whilst Midsumma Carnival will get the party started, the following Sunday will see Midsumma Pride Marchcelebrate a landmark 30 years, testament to three decades of resilience, unity, and collective and ongoing progress. The streets of St Kilda will become flush with colour and pride honouring a shared history and vision of equality and inclusion. Closing the festival will be Victoria’s Pride Street Party on Sunday, 9 February 2025 presented by Midsumma Festival and the Victorian State Government. Filipino/Australian artist, musician, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker Chelsea Wheatley, known as 'Chela et Cetera,' will headline this exciting party. The street party will transform the iconic Gertrude and Smith Street precinct into an all-day, free celebration. This jam-packed block party for all ages will feature two live music stages, multiple DJ decks, and laneway activations, bringing together an array of community members, emerging artists, and high-profile performers to celebrate Victoria’s diverse and vibrant LGBTQIA+ communities.

Beyond the big community events, audiences are invited to locations from Arts Centre Melbourne to Abbotsford Convent to the State Library of Victoria for a multitude of presentations. Highlights include the Olivier Award-nominated play Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen presented at Arts Centre Melbourne, Truth to Power Café and A Body at Work at Theatre Works,  and Women’s Circus Small Acts of Resistance at Gasworks Arts Park. The Queer Imaginings program, assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia will invite audiences to share space, food, music, and ideas with intergenerational artists and creative leaders through six dynamic projects. Highlights include HONŌUR, at Fed Square developed with BEAT Entertainment and honoring Queer POC Elders through music, storytelling, and visual performance in a ceremony of love and recognition. 

Melbourne is ready for Carnival as the joy of Midsumma will bring the city alive with comedy, cabaret, circus arts, talks, tours, awards and more. Now is the time for Victoria to come together to celebrate our COLLECTIVE IDENTITIE(S) through the Summer.  

"Midsumma Carnival is a vibrant celebration of unity and diversity, where the spirit of COLLECTIVE IDENTITY(S) comes alive.” Said Karen Bryant, Chief Executive and Creative Director of Midsumma Festival. “It's a day to embrace connection, creativity, and the joy of community as we launch three weeks of incredible events that honour the heart and soul of LGBTQIA+ culture."

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