Do Sydney Festival Without Paying a Dime

This article is sponsored by our partners, the Sydney Festival.

Penny-pinched and pauperised after Christmas? Planning on pawning your little sister’s pet pooch for a ticket to Dido and Aeneas? Fear not. Front-row seats to an underwater opera might be out of reach, but we can show you how to get the best out of Sydney Festival — even if you’re heading into 2014 as down-and-out as the Environment Portfolio. Of the 104 events on this year's program, 21 are free.

First off, what better way to reduce your stress level to that of your bank balance but via mega outdoor concerts? Summer Sounds in the Domain on Saturday, January 11, will see the return of Hot Dub Time Machine, a 45-minute-long, carbon-neutral dance-video-lights-party covering 60 years of music history, mashed up by Sydney DJ Tom Loud and powered by the crowd. Following that, Chaka Khan will be demonstrating why, 35 years later, she’s still every woman.

Just up the road, the Sydney Festival Village (aka Hyde Park) will host the Rekorderlig Gazebo Friday to Sunday evenings and the Village Bandstand Thursday to Sunday nights. Think left-of-field live performers, like the Crusty Suitcase Band and the Gramophone Man, in addition to specialist DJs, including Matt Vaughan, Gonzo ‘The Mad’ Peruvian and Marcus King. Records will be spinning until 2am on weekend nights.

Between dance floor sessions, you can rest your body while feeding your mind with free art. If inflatables float your boat, there’s the Australian premiere of Sacrilege — a bouncy, blow-up version of Stonehenge created by UK artist Jeremy Deller. (Yes, you can actually jump on it.) And if the Rubber Duck was one of your 2013 festival faves, find out how it’s fared after 12 months of absence by heading to Parramatta. While you’re there, pop into the Town Hall to see another Kaldor Public Art special — Project 28. It's a trio of works from Slovakian artist Roman Ondak, one of which is Swap — a highlight of 13 Rooms, held at Pier 2/3 in April last year. Humour, poetry and audience participation are promised.

Meanwhile, Carriagewoks will play temporary home to French artist Christian Boltanski’s first major installation in Australia. Titled Chance, it’s a vast, complex work inviting viewers to ‘explore the idea that all human life is the result of chance’. For another monumental experience, which the Huffington Post has described as ‘a feat of impossible architecture’, weave your way through Darling Harbour to see Merchant’s Store, a ‘perspective-skewing’ interactive installation by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich.

Finally, if there is a ticketed event on the program that you’d trade your granny to see, you can try your luck at Tix for Next to Nix. Located in the Festival Village, it’s a last-minute ticket booth that will open daily between midday and 2.30pm, selling $25 tickets for all shows scheduled for the following 24 hours. To maximise your chances of nabbing a seat, we suggest you roll up as early as possible.

Want more Sydney Festival events? Check out our top ten picks of the festival.