Adelaide Fringe has just been awarded Best Festival in the People’s Choice Uniquely Aussie Awards presented by Wotif. Commended for bringing the city “to life for a month” Adelaide Fringe was also praised for having something for everyone.
For nearly 20 years, Wotif has been helping Australians travel, stay, and play in Australia and beyond, with this being the first year a South Australian event has been named Best Festival in Australia.
Now in its fifth year, the annual awards aim to inspire Aussies to look for unique travel experiences and provide a guide to Australia’s best local gems, as voted by more than 1,000 Australians.
As Australia’s biggest arts festival, Adelaide Fringe has a broad offering and attracts visitors from all walks of life, as a result South Australia becomes a melting pot of people and cultures for one month across February and March.
Adelaide Fringe was the only festival in South Australia to be recognised in the awards, with other finalists including Gympie Music Muster (QLD), Vivid Sydney (NSW), Bass in the Grass (NT) and Dark Mofo (TAS).
Adelaide Fringe Director and CEO Heather Croall said, “Fringe isn’t just about the art, it’s about the ripple effect of having 6000 artists descend upon Adelaide and South Australia. The city’s atmosphere shifts and people really embrace that and lean into the diversity”.
“Winning the People's Choice award for Best Festival is a particularly fantastic acknowledgement of Adelaide Fringe from those who know it the best and a great litmus test for the direction we’ve been heading in recent years” said Heather.
Wotif surveys indicate that approximately a third of Aussies are willing to travel for around two hours to attend an Australian festival. With flights less than 2 hours from Sydney and Melbourne it’s no wonder Adelaide Fringe is one of the biggest interstate tourism drivers for South Australia.
The 2022 Adelaide Fringe attracted 3.2 million attendances across 31 days, generating 178,055 tourist nights by interstate and international artists and audiences.
The 2023 Adelaide Fringe will run from 17 February to 19 March 2023 with tickets on sale from early December.