Adelaide Festival is an international arts festival held in Adelaide, Australia. Its full name is the Adelaide Festival of Arts. The festival is held each March. It attracts well-known performers from overseas, encourages local talent, and stimulates creative and performing arts in Australia. Each festival program includes opera, theater, dance, classical and contemporary music, cabaret, new media events, Adelaide Writers’ Week (a literary festival), outdoor entertainment, visual arts exhibitions, master classes, forums, and a late-night club.
The festival is organized and presented by a small permanent staff who work with an honorary board of governors. Voluntary advisory committees also help. State and federal governments provide subsidies. The Adelaide City Council, local businesses, and private citizens also donate funds. In 1958, a group of Adelaide citizens conceived the idea of a festival. The first festival was held in 1960.
