Sydney Festival 2012

Overview

The reinvigorated Sydney Festival has completely transformed our city in summer (note the flagpoles which every year proclaim just that) and it’s made Sydney a truly amazing place to be in January. The whole city is turned into a summer wonderland, there's something amazing to do every single night, and people flood the Domain to see sophisticated performances while merrily sipping beer, cider, goon or all three. But mostly what the Sydney Festival does is bring us some truly spectacular performers — Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Emmylou Harris, Camera Obscura and this year's headliner, PJ Harvey — whose artistic merit is second only to their ability to entertain.

The Sydney Festival now has a total audience of about 1 million, making it the most attended cultural event in Australia. Every year the festival grows and improves, and with the state government recently giving the festival a heap of cash to extend their program, it makes the prospects for this summer's partying very exciting indeed.

Take a closer look at what makes our shortlist of must-sees and -dos in the musical, theatrical and artistic sides of Sydney Festival 2012.