Both the Adelaide Festival and the Fringe are celebrating after achieving the highest box office records in their histories.  

The Adelaide Festival, which stretched across 17 days with 70 unique events for its audiences, saw box office income up by 31% before it even opened its doors. The line-up of theatre, contemporary and classical music, dance, film and visual arts tickled festival goer’s tastebuds with record takings on its opening day, beating the previous one set in 2018.

Sold-out shows included The Magic Flute, Two Feet, Un Poyo Rojo, La Reprise, 13 Ways to Look at Birds, The Stretensky Monastery Choir, Uncle Vanya, and Chamber Landscapes.

The 2019 program was the third program by Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy.

Meanwhile, the Adelaide Fringe also enjoyed a record-breaking year with a 17% increase on last year,  with 825,000 tickets sold. What led to this rise? Organisers believe it was the diversity and accessibility of the 2019 program combined with spectacular weather and the introduction of e-ticketing.

Next year marks the Adelaide Fringe’s 60^th birthday, so there’s no doubt that CEO Heather Croall and the team will be hoping to make it even more special by beating this year’s fantastic achievements.