The Full Lineup for Melbourne's New Now or Never Festival Includes an Art Trail and 360-Degree Cinema Dome 

When a new festival is announced, it brings several rounds of excitement. First discovering that you have a new excuse to party? Getting drip-fed the details? Diving into the full lineup? The event itself actually rolling around? They're all thrilling. That's the path that Melbourne's new Now or Never fest has been taking since it was initially announced in November 2023, with that journey now at the complete program drop stage — unveiling exactly what'll be filling the Victorian capital for 17 days from Thursday, August 17–Saturday, September 2.

If you're a fan of Melbourne's other citywide festivals, both past and present — such as White Night, RISING and Melbourne Fringe — then you'll be primed to hop around town to enjoy everything from art to tunes. The whole Now or Never bill spans the work of more than 300 local and international artists, composers, change makers and innovators. It also includes 18 Australian premieres and 20 commissions exclusive to the fest. And, it's expected to attract north of 200,000 people.

Michaela Gleave. 'Messages of hope, messages of love' 2020, as part of 'Archie Plus', 2020 © Michaela Gleave. Photo: © AGNSW, Diana Panuccio.

Before now, organisers had revealed that Melbourne's historic Royal Exhibition Building will host its first large-scale live music performances in over 20 years. And, Never Permanent — a one-day Semi Permanent spinoff that'll be headlined by Roman Coppola — was also announced. From there, get ready for a 1.2-kilometre art trail through Docklands, a 360-degree cinema dome in the Melbourne Museum forecourt, 70-plus music performances in two days in a heap of other notable Melbourne spots, sculptural illuminations and projections over the Shrine of Remembrance, and more.

The art trail is being curated by the Southbank-based Experimenta, which hones in on the future of art. So, unsurprisingly, it describes the outdoor gallery as aiming "to spark ideas and conversations around the challenges, possibilities, and complexities of imagining and shaping a world of tomorrow and our place in that future". Seven Australian and international artists will provide pieces — think: public storytelling, text-based animation and floating fog-filled bubbles — all backdropped by the promenade's lights, each blurring the boundaries of the physical and digital, and the whole thing paired with food trucks and brews by Moon Dog.

That cinema dome? Meet the Neversphere, which'll play full-dome films about everything from the cosmos to labyrinthian streets — and Indigenous Australian song and dance as well — on its massive curved surface. To watch, you'll sit in beanbags, look up and revel in a screen that isn't a rectangle.

Or, for the kind of meal you definitely can't get every day, you can head to the same orb for a four-night 360-degree dining spread. It'll feature unique dishes and cocktails by Supernormal, projections from Ryoichi Kurokawa, and a collaboration between electronic music producer Pantha du Prince and video and installation artist Natalia Stuyk.

Those 70-plus gigs — which are in addition to the Royal Exhibition Building's music program — have been dubbed NONSTOP WKND. Sites like Miscelania, Sub Club, The Toff, Section 8, John Curtain Band Room and Max Watts will get in on the action, their stages welcoming in artists after artists after artists.

And Now or Never's time at the Shrine of Remembrance? It's a world-premiere work by Hungarian artist and 3D-mapping pioneer Laszlo Bordos. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the design competition behind the spot, the piece will highlight its cultural significance. Also included: a sonic landscape designed by Czech composer Ondřej Skála.

If that's not enough to get you out of the house in the last few weeks of Melbourne's winter — and greeting the first two days of spring as well — Now or Never will also span Dr.David Suzuki livestreaming into IMAX from Canada for National Science Week, a fusion of live and digital dance at ACMI, virtual reality that'll transport you to England's 80s-era rave scene, and Nap Bishop Tricia Hersey spruiking the benefits of rest.

"Now or Never is an unmissable addition to our enviable events calendar this winter — cementing Melbourne's reputation as Australia's cultural capital while also boosting our local economy through a traditionally quiet time of year," says Lord Mayor Sally Capp.

"This inaugural festival will showcase Melbourne as a place to discover, learn and play — with daytime programming seeping into late-night culture, digital musings, adventurous performances, one-of-a-kind culinary experiences and more."

Now or Never runs from Thursday, August 17–Saturday, September 2 around Melbourne — head to the festival website for further details and tickets.