As one of the world’s most multicultural cities, Melbourne is Australia’s hub for arts and culture, hosting over eight-thousand events, exhibitions and festivals every year.
Melbourne’s live music scene is regarded globally for its quality and hundreds of venues, more than any other Australian city, which hosts international and local performers every single night. The East End Theatre District is home to notable venues like the Princess Theatre, Regent Theatre, Forum Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Athenaeum, and Her Majesty's Theatre, primarily hosting commercial productions of musicals, plays, and other events. Publicly funded arts companies reside in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, which stretches along the river from Fed Square to Southbank and includes several prominent venues including Southbank Theatre, home to the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Melbourne Recital Theatre and Arts Centre Melbourne. Arts Centre Melbourne is the premier hub for arts and events, with six performance spaces that hold over a thousand events every year. These include The State Theatre, which hosts performances from Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet, Hamer Hall, which is the premier venue for orchestral music performances, and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for open-air concerts.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival is one of the three largest stand-up comedy festivals in the world, while Melbourne Fashion Week is Australia’s largest major fashion event, with most featured looks available to buy from local Melbourne retailers. Family favourites include the winter Firelands Festival drawing crowds into Docklands with incredible fire displays, live music and festive food, as well as Moomba, which is Melbourne’s’ largest free community festival centred around the Yarra River, featuring epic water sports, a parade, live music and fireworks over the Labour Day Long Weekend.