Melbourne, VIC · Winter
RISING
Approx. 12 days in early-to-mid June
RISING is Melbourne's winter arts festival, staging around 12 nights of large-scale installations, contemporary music, performance and late-night events across the CBD in early June. Born from the merger of Melbourne Festival and White Night, it leans experimental and after-dark, built for wandering between venues with a coat on.
Attendances have reached about 640,000. The program typically anchors on a handful of big free public works, with ticketed music and theatre threaded around them. June in Melbourne is properly cold, which the festival treats as an asset: the city at night becomes the venue.
- Arts & Literature
- Music
- Major Event
- When
- Approx. 12 days in early-to-mid June
- How often
- Every year
- Venue
- CBD venues and precincts
- Crowd
- Approx. 640,000 attendances (2023 figure)
- Entry
- Free + ticketed
- Setting
- Mixed
- Public holiday
- King's Birthday weekend (VIC)
Dates shown follow the event's typical pattern; exact dates change each year, so confirm on the official site before booking travel.
Getting there by bus
Tell us where you're starting from and we'll find coach options to Melbourne.
Fares and timetables are confirmed on the operator's site before you book.
More events around Melbourne
SummerAustralian Open (tennis)Two weeks in mid-to-late January (finals on final Sunday)
SummerMidsumma FestivalMid-January to early February (3 weeks); Carnival on a mid-January Sunday
AutumnFormula 1 Australian Grand PrixFour days in mid-March
AutumnMelbourne Food & Wine FestivalTen days in late March
AutumnMelbourne International Comedy FestivalLate March to mid-April (approx. 3.5 weeks)
AutumnMoomba FestivalLabour Day long weekend, early-to-mid March (4 days)