Get ready to light up your winter, Adelaide!
Every July, Illuminate Adelaide gathers the most exceptional and audacious art, music, technology, and innovation from all over Australia and the world and unleashes them across the city and the state.
Illuminate Adelaide is back for 2025 — and it’s bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever! Every July, this epic festival transforms the city into a glowing playground of art, light, music, and technology. Think late nights, bright lights, and massive adventures perfect for the whole family.
From 2–20 July, Adelaide’s streets, landmarks, and hidden corners will be bursting with free and ticketed events from some of the world’s most creative minds. It’s all about chasing away the winter blues and diving into a world of imagination, wonder, and unforgettable memories.
Illuminate Adelaide is a celebration for everyone — locals, visitors, little adventurers, and curious grown-ups alike. So get ready for a few late nights and get ready to explore a city that shines just as bright as your kids’ faces when they see it all come to life!
Family Friendly Illuminate Highlights for 2025 include:
Illuminate Adelaide: Night Visions
The all-new after dark experience exclusively conceived by Illuminate Adelaide, step outside the boundary of what you know as Night Visions transforms the secrets of Adelaide Botanic Garden into a gateway to the unknown. Fuelled by cutting-edge light, lasers, projections and sound, journey along an extraordinary path where the latest in immersive technology reimagines the beauty of nature into sensory realms of colour and sound.
Illuminate Adelaide: Universal Kingdom: The Next Era
Dinosaur fans, get ready — Adelaide Zoo is going Jurassic for 2025 Illuminate Adelaide
Step back in time and into Universal Kingdom: The Next Era, the latest dino-filled adventure lighting up Adelaide Zoo after dark. These prehistoric party animals are taking over in the most roar-some way!
Illuminate Adelaide: Horizons
Get ready, Adelaide – this is going to be HUGE!
For one night only, Illuminate Adelaide is taking over Adelaide Oval with a Drone and Light Spectacular like Australia has never seen before!
Horizons will light up the night sky with hundreds of dazzling drones, incredible sound, lighting, and huge screens — all celebrating our place, our people, and our bright future. It’s going to be a multi-sensory adventure you’ll never forget!
Illuminate Adelaide: City Lights
City Lights is back — and it’s bigger and brighter than ever, lighting up the CBD with all-new free installations, interactive experiences, stunning projections, and incredible roaming performances by world-renowned artists and creative studios. From 4 – 20 July, for 17 magical nights, explore Adelaide’s icons and hidden gems — from the vibrant East End all the way to the sparkling Festival Plaza.
Illuminate Adelaide: Base Camp
Base Camp returns to Lot Fourteen for 2025 Illuminate Adelaide, transforming it once again into the city’s favourite free pop-up winter village!
Think cosy firepits, mouth-watering food, refreshing drinks, and hidden laneways packed with the best of Adelaide’s local vendors. Whether you’re grabbing a bite between adventures or just kicking back with a drink by the fire, Base Camp is the perfect spot to chill out and warm up.
Illuminate Adelaide: Lights up the Central Market
Illuminate Adelaide is teaming up with the iconic Adelaide Central Market to bring even more magic to the heart of the city!
From 04–19 July, the Market will shine bright with Proximity State by artist Miles Dunne, Plus, kick off your weekends with something truly special – Melbourne’s Born in a Taxi will bring their incredible Illuminated Angels to life with dazzling roving performances on Friday 04 July and Friday 18 July from 6:30–7:30pm
Illuminate Adelaide is back! — and it’s bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever! Every July, this epic festival transforms the city into a glowing playground of art, light, music, and technology. Think late nights, bright lights, and massive adventures perfect for the whole family.
Illuminate Adelaide: Lights up the Central Market
Illuminate Adelaide will take place from 2 – 20 July 2025
With a mix of free and ticketed, indoor and outdoor experiences, you can access the full program here.
You might also be interested in
-
Brrrrr… baby it's cold outside! But that doesn't mean there aren't HEAPS of different ways you can have fun with your kids in Adelaide. There's roughly 13 weeks of Winter for us to enjoy and below are plenty of indoor play ideas, winter events and warm spots to hide from the weather. Head to a museum such as MOD., find out what is happening during the Illuminate Adelaide event this year, or visit one of our favourite indoor play centres such as Escape Hunt or Bounce!
-
The Adelaide Park Lands are home to unique playspaces where kids and families can be active and let their imaginations run wild. We’ve compiled a list to make it quick and easy to pick a city playground that will please kids of all ages and abilities.
-
Exploring Adelaide with kids is a great way to spend an afternoon, a full day, or even a weekend. When’s the last time you caught a train, tram, or bus in the CBD? It’s even easy to drive in and park the car. Visiting the city screams adventure, the kids love it, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. We’ve compiled some of the best things to see and do and places to eat and stay in the Adelaide CBD and North Adelaide with your family this winter.
