Free concert returns to Sydney for Sydney Festival 50th anniversary after funding dispute
Symphony Under the Stars will return to the Sydney CBD for the first time in eight years after the flagship event was given a last-minute lifeline to continue for another year.
The Sydney Festival concert has been canceled for 2026 after Parramatta City Council withdrew its $400,000 annual support from the hugely popular community event that historically closes out the festival and sets the tone for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s annual season.
William Barton performs original works as part of the Sydney Symphony Under the Stars 2024.
Days before the Sydney Festival’s upcoming schedule – the first for director Kris Nelson – is due to be announced, confirmation has arrived that Symphony Under the Stars will be performed at Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour, rather than in Western Sydney, its home since 2018.
The event will move to the festival’s middle weekend on Saturday, January 17, and will feature footage from performances over the years to celebrate the festival’s 50th birthday. The concert, which has been going on for more than four decades, traditionally ends with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture accompanied by fireworks.
Placemaking NSW, the government agency whose remit is to activate The Rocks, Barangaroo and coastal areas such as Darling Harbour, Luna Park and Pyrmont, stepped in to deliver the Darling Harbor scene.
“We have continued to have positive and constructive discussions with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, who share our determination to ensure that the event is not lost,” Nelson said. “Ultimately, with the collaboration of the Sydney Festival, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the support of Placemaking NSW, which manages the Tumbalong Stage, we were able to secure the 2026 concert.
“We have not received additional funding to make this edition possible and we would welcome that. In fact, we are still raising funds for it. We are ensuring that Sydneysiders can access the event in this very special edition of the festival.
“It really came down to a shared commitment. Everyone recognized that this event had a special place in Sydney’s cultural life and there was a strong desire for this to continue.”
Cultural commentator and political scientist Dr. Andy Marks wondered why funding could not be found to re-stage the event in Parramatta. He had called on Create NSW to overcome the funding gap to ensure Sydneysiders living beyond the CBD are not disenfranchised.
