Brisbane Festival 2026: Our favourite shows

Brisbane Festival has wrapped up for another year, with the month of September bringing an incredible range of events to the river city.

There's been something for everybody, from world-slaying nostalgia acts to out-of-the-box theatrical creations, and everything in between.

All part of Brisbane's ambitious push to become a true world city ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the festival has centred the creative verve of Queensland and beyond on the shores of the Brisbane River.

More than 1.7 million people attended ticketed and free events produced by almost 2,000 artists over the course of the festival, including 535,000 people who visited the festival village at South Bank.

Artistic director Ebony Bott said her first year at the helm had seen the festival's box office haul jump 46 per cent from 2025.

"There has been a generosity and an openness in the way Brisbane has responded that has been incredibly moving to witness,"

Ms Bott said.

"I'm immensely proud of what we've made, but more than anything, I'm leaving these weeks with an even greater sense of what is possible here."

Here are seven shows we caught at Brisbane Festival in 2026.