Winter event list shows Melbourne shaking off its gloomy image

A packed schedule of activities over winter is set to attract five million people to events in the City of Melbourne and generate more than $2.5 billion, according to the council.

While winter in Melbourne used to be “quite drab” it was now “incredibly active and vibrant”, the City’s director of Experience Melbourne, Emer Harrington, told the Future Melbourne Committee on June 2, with major festivals, big sporting moments and lots of local cultural events taking place.

A new initiative this year, Light Up Melbourne, will see the City invest in both temporary and permanent infrastructure “to light up laneways, buildings and bridges to warm up the city day and night”.

Another council-led event, the Now or Never festival (August 19 to 30) brings together Melbourne’s knowledge and music weeks to create “a really amazing cutting-edge festival of art, ideas, sounds and technology,” Ms Harrington said.

On Friday, September 11, Australia’s first American football match – between the LA Rams and the San Francisco 49ers at the MCG – is set to be a big event for the city.

Melbourne’s other highlight winter cultural and sporting events for 2026 include RISING international arts festival (which ran from May 27 to June 8), QVM’s winter night market (June 3 to August 26), Lightscape in the Royal Botanical Gardens (June 12 to August 2) and a Cartier exhibition at the NGV (June 12 to October 4).

Then there is NRL State of Origin at the MCG (June 17), Docklands’ Firelight Festival (July 3 to 5), the MOULD X PINOT PALOOZA cheese and wine festival (July 3 to 5), NAIDOC week (July 5 to 12) and the Bastille Day French Festival (July 11 to 12).

Sure to attract a crowd are the Run Melbourne half marathon (July 19), Open House Melbourne (July 24 to 26), the Melbourne International Film Festival (August 6-23) and the Indian Film Festival (August 13-23), along with two works by the Australian Ballet, including Romeo and Juliet (June 6-16) at the Regent Theatre.

An exciting new marketing campaign launched at the end of May is putting a twist on the city’s cold, dark reputation, Ms Harrington said, with a “raucous” short video highlighting the colour and action on offer.

Events and people’s coming together helped build community connectedness, empathy and a shared love of the city, the events boss said.

That was important “to counteract some of the prejudices that exist in our society,” she believed.