The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held during three weeks from late September to early October. It is one of the largest fringe festivals in the world, featuring more than 4,500 artists, 200 events and over 150 venues. The festival includes a wide range of art forms, including theater, comedy, music, performance art, film, and cabaret, and has expanded in recent years to embrace digital art and circus performance as well.
Since 1982, The Melbourne Fringe Festival has become Melbourne’s longest-running and most popular arts festival. It has supported and presented some 50,000 artists to more than 2,000,000 people at hundreds of venues across Melbourne and Victoria. The Melbourne Fringe Festival receives audiences in excess of 500,000 along with the work of some 4,500 artists at over 150 venues.
Events are held in venues throughout the city, from bars, clubs and independent theaters to high-profile locations including Federation Square and the Melbourne Museum.