Midsumma is Australia’s premier queer arts and cultural organisation, bringing together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities and audiences.
Our primary event, Midsumma Festival, usually runs over three weeks in Melbourne’s summer (January/February) each year with an explosion of queer events that centre around hidden and mainstream queer culture, involving local, interstate, and international artists.
In 2026, Midsumma Festival will run from Sunday 18 January to Sunday 8 February.
All 2026 significant events are:
Sunday 18 January 2026: Midsumma Carnival
Sunday 1 February 2025: Midsumma Pride March
Sunday 8 February 2025: Victoria’s Pride Street Party
Midsumma is also involved all year round in nurturing artists and creating opportunities for their professional development, with particular emphasis on assisting those in our communities who suffer discrimination or disadvantage.
The Midsumma Festival program comprises a curated Midsumma Presents line-up plus the community-driven Open-access stream to share with you the lived experiences of those voices at the margins, the expression of queer history, and the celebration of new ideas and stories that come to life through world-class art and performance.
Our festival program comprises diverse art forms and genres, including visual arts, live music, theatre, spoken word, cabaret, film, parties, sports, social events, and public forums. In 2025, we featured 200+ events, with involvement by over 100 culture-makers in over 180 different venues across Melbourne and wider Victoria, to audiences averaging 290,000 attendees over the past six years.
