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Calendar Celebrations Sorted
entertainment
- Free Event
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31 Jul 2025 - 30 Aug 2025
The City Speaks Softly
The City Speaks SoftlyThe City Speaks Softly is a collaboration between artists Melissa Spratt and Tal Fitzpatrick that uses the comforting nature of textiles to explore how art can soften our experience of public space. This socially engaged project seeks to shed light on how art might create moments of gentle sensorial reprieve. Utilising street pole banners as a broadly accessible site for a creative intervention with the potential to gently surprise audiences.Artworks will be installed on street poles around Broadbeach Cultural Precinct, Burleigh Esplanade, HOTA, Kurrawa Park and Broadbeach for the duration of the festival.
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31 Jul 2025 - 10 Aug 2025
The Complaints Department
The Complaints DepartmentThe Complaints Department is a companion piece to The Ladies Lounge. Think Severance meets a customer service centre - slightly surreal performance art that requires your participation. Participants may air frustrations with The Complaints Department (TCD), provided they have direct experience and knowledge of the issue they are complaining about. TCD will not accept complaints regarding generalised, or abstract issues that may impact but do not directly relate to the complainer. Once your complaint has been received, processed, and consoled - participants will leave with their documented formalized complaint– big or small. Please be prepared to be questioned provide details about specifics.
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31 Jul 2025
First Light | Skywhales Across Australia
First Light | Skywhales Across AustraliaIn partnership with National Gallery of Australia Skywhale and Skywhalepapa as the sun rises. Skywhalepapa is a monumental sculpture in the form of a hot-air balloon. Together with its companion piece Skywhale they form a skywhale family. As the skywhales float across the dawn skies, Piccinini calls on communities to engage with them creatively. Make a morning of it, prepare a picnic, watch in awe, and sing along in wonder as the skywhale family takes flight. Image credit: Patricia Piccinini, Skywhalepapa, 2020 and Skywhale, 2013, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, © Patricia Piccinini. Photo by We Met in June ‘I imagine visitors assembling to watch these giant figures come to life. As the dawn breaks. They see Skywhalepapa and Skywhale take shape and ascend into the air together, connected by a bond of care. It is a simple story, but a beautiful and uplifting one. With a single skywhale figure we have a character, but with the two we have a relationship and a narrative.’ Patricia Piccinini
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31 Jul 2025 - 10 Aug 2025
David in the Studio
David in the StudioExperience a strikingly faithful replica of Michelangelo’s David – meticulously craved from the same Carrara marble as the original. By echoing both the material and scale of the Renaissance masterpiece, we blur the lines between homage and critique, questioning ideals of beauty, authorship and cultural permanence. In this uncanny recreation, past and presence collide, compelling audiences to consider what it means to replicate genius in an age of mass reproduction and digital reinvention.
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31 Jul 2025 - 10 Aug 2025
BLEACH 2025
BLEACH* 2025BLEACH* 2025 returns with 11 unforgettable days of art, music, visual spectacle, opera, drama, storytelling, and feasting — all set across three vibrant festival hubs: Kurrawa Park, Emerald Lakes, and HOTA. Under the creative direction of acclaimed artist Michael Zavros, this year’s program reflects his distinctive visual arts practice, bringing a bold, immersive vision to the festival. In 2025, BLEACH* celebrates the rich diversity of our international and multicultural city. The festival will feature landmark works by leading national and international artists, while proudly spotlighting the voices and talents of local creatives. Curated to engage a broad audience, BLEACH* 2025 is set to attract locals, as well as visitors from across Queensland, interstate, and around the world — making it a cultural experience not to be missed.
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01 Aug 2025
Breaking into Heaven: Selve with Australian Session Orchestra
Breaking into Heaven: Selve with Australian Session OrchestraRock meets strings as Gold Coast rock band premiere their Abbey Road recorded album live with the Australian Session Orchestra on HOTA’S Outdoor Stage Lasers! A huge rock band! A massive 33 orchestra! And an immersive visual work featuring performances from contemporary First Nations dance company: Karul Projects!This once in a lifetime event is not one to miss. Be one of the first people on the planet to hear Selve’s huge sophomore album Breaking Into Heaven in all its glory as they premiere it live with the Australian Session Orchestra at this exclusive pre-album release spectacular. The album was recorded in Studio 3 of Abbey Road (the same room as Dark Side of The Moon) following a 3 x stage residency series across Broome, France + London and promises to be one of the biggest Australian albums of the year. So grab a rug to kick back on the grass, or your dancing shoes to rock out up the front, because Selve will be taking over the Outdoor Stage at HOTA this August to send us all into the stratosphere with a mind-blowing show we’ll be talking about forever.
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02 Aug 2025
Three Food Memories
Three Food Memories“Stories about Nonna’s Bolognese segue into larger conversations about life and culture, peppered with warmth, wit and charm.” Good Weekend, Sydney Morning Herald Hosted by Savva Savas, Three Food Memories invites guests to share their food memories, with the promise they’ll reveal far more about themselves than what they’ve tasted! Leaning into Bleach* 2025 creative director Michael Zavros’ and Savva’s Greek-Cypriot heritage, the guest for the live audience recording of the podcast is internationally celebrated Australian fashion designer and media personality Alex Perry. Audio and visuals from the talk will be recorded for a future podcast episode.
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02 Aug 2025
OPA! A Night of Greek Delight
OPA! A Night of Greek DelightGather for a memorable night of fun, feasting and celebration with the Greek community on the Gold Coast. Dine on delicious Greek food cooked over the fire right before your eyes and enjoy traditional music and dancing before DJ Adriana plays a set that will have you dancing the night away. Feed your soul, fill your belly and shake your booty!
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03 Aug 2025
Drum As You Are
Drum As You ArePay homage to the iconic 1992 Nirvana gig at Fishermans Wharf. Bringing together 22 drummers - professionals and community players alike - paying tribute to the time the biggest band in the world came to the Gold Coast. Gather your friends, your family, grab a picnic rug and join us on the HOTA Lawn. This celebration of music, community, and a good story and celebration of music will be free and family friendly. Keep the family fun going and stay to enjoy an afternoon of free, live music on the HOTA Lawn following Drum As You Are. Artists from the Gold Coast Music Network will keep the vibes high and the music flowing.
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06 Aug 2025
Music for Other Worlds
Music for Other WorldsTwo Australian artists working at the heights of creativity come together for an improvised live musical experience. Music for Other Worlds unites virtuoso pianist Paul Grabowsky AO with mesmerising images of the Gold Coast by photo-artist Alex Frayne. But there is an exquisite twist as Grabowsky sees the large-scale projected images for the first time along with the audience. Individual movements unfold as the improvisation gives full voice to the pictures in real-time; authentic, unfiltered and unrehearsed. Each image acts as a departure point, or 'window of possibility' for Grabowsky to convey personal interpretations of Frayne’s photographic brilliance.Image by Alice Healy
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06 Aug 2025 - 10 Aug 2025
The Play That Goes Wrong
The Play That Goes WrongThe longest running comedy in London, the smash-hit Olivier and Tony-Award-winning, The Play That Goes Wrong, is coming to the Gold Coast! A hilarious hybrid of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes, things go from bad to utterly disastrous when The Cornley Drama Society performs a classic murder mystery. Complete with an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it’s “A RIOTOUS EXPLOSION OF COMEDY!” (The Daily Beast) and “TONS OF FUN FOR ALL AGES!” (HuffPost). The New York Times calls The Play That Goes Wrong “A GUT-BUSTING HIT”, and the New York Post has just one word for you: “GO!” Celebrating its 10th Anniversary Tour, experience total mayhem and comic hijinks at The Play That Goes Wrong, guaranteed to leave you aching with laughter. Book tickets now – it would be WRONG to wait!
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07 Aug 2025
Radiohead for Solo Piano II
Radiohead for Solo Piano IIMaster of improvisation, Berlin-based Australian pianist Josh Cohen takes on legendary rock band Radiohead in this live show of idiosyncratic covers from the group’s famous back catalogue – interpretations that have gone viral on YouTube with more than ten million views and counting. Although fiercely protective of their reputation, it’s not surprising that the band gave Cohen the green light to release two official songbooks and perform their songs around the world. Audacious in his approach to music and innovative in his playing range between classical and jazz, Cohen’s skills are truly dynamic, instantly elevating these iconic songs to a whole new level.Photo credit: Frankie Casillo
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08 Aug 2025
Migrating Bird
Migrating BirdInspired by Australian landscapes and dedicated to living and learning from our natural world, Migrating Bird bridges the gap between contemporary and classical.Gypsy spirit Véronique Serret is renowned as one of Australia's most celebrated violinists.For her latest Aria nominated album, Migrating Bird, she uses her voice for the first time, singing songs as an offering to nature.Take a walk with Véronique and her band, close your eyes and listen deeply. Migrating Bird was conceived during the pandemic years, where Veronique spent months on a property in Brookfield, Queensland walking and listening in Mount Coot-tha Forest. This became her refuge and in the absence of society. Mother Nature became her teacher.When the world stood still and our cities took pauseI turned to Mother NatureI walked and walked and listened deeply.This is what she said to me.Now this intimate and personal musical experience is brought to the stage with music that has been compared to the early work of Laurie Anderson, Migrating Bird offering a night of deep listening.Photo credit: Toby Burrows
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09 Aug 2025
Top Dog Film Festival Gold Coast
Top Dog Film Festival 2025: A Celebration of Canine Connections. Experience the magic of dogs on the big screen at the 2025 Top Dog Film Festival - a heartwarming showcase of the extraordinary bond between canines and humans. From clever concierge canines to loyal companions who transform lives, this festival brings you touching stories of remarkable dogs and the people who love them. Watch dedicated individuals working to improve the lives of your four-legged friends, and prepare to have your heart stolen by some incredibly clever canines. This two-plus-hour cinematic celebration features a carefully curated collection of short films from independent filmmakers worldwide, capturing delightful moments that showcase the joy, loyalty, and unconditional love that make dogs your most treasured companions. Join an unforgettable journey through the most inspirational, heartwarming, and entertaining canine stories from around the globe. Get your tickets before they all sell out – you'd be barking mad to miss it. One screening only. Seating is not allocated. Arrive early for the best seats. Sorry No Refunds. This program is exempt from rating but would be considered a PG program.
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09 Aug 2025 - 10 Aug 2025
Cavalcade
CavalcadeFrom the imagination of Michael Zavros and directed by Gavin Webber; Witness Opera performed live at Sunset, backed by a 24 piece orchestra on Kurrawa Beach in a spectacle of storytelling, drama and dressage! The grand finale of this year’s festival, Cavalcade is a dance between horse and human to an operatic soundtrack on the sands of Broadbeach. This live, spine tingling soundtrack sets the stage for the performative control high-level dressage to the free spirited liberty horse. Dresscode: Black tie and boardshorts.
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From now until 09 Aug 2025 (Annual)
Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour - Gold Coast
Brace yourself for an exhilarating showcase of female adventurers pushing boundaries and defying expectations! The Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour brings you 2.5 hours of heart-pounding action and soul-stirring stories from fearless women around the globe. This year's lineup features six extraordinary short films capturing the raw intensity of: breathtaking mountaineering expeditions in the Alps, gravity-defying mountain biking with legend Robin Goomes, subterranean exploration with world-renowned cave diver Jill Heinerth and adrenaline-pumping snowboarding and BASE jumping in the Canadian Rockies. Experience the thrill of adventure through a diverse collection of films varying in length and style, each spotlighting remarkable women who are redefining what's possible in the adventure world. The Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour offers an abundance of inspiration, regardless of age, gender, or experience level. Join an unforgettable evening of inspiration, celebration, and pure adventure. The Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour is exempt from classification, but the films are suitable for all ages (none of the films include swearing or drug references). Seating is not allocated. Arrive early for the best seats. Sorry, no refunds.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.