News from the world of travel

Adelaide’s 2026 festival packed with premieres

Each year Adelaide is hit by festival fever as the theatres, concert halls and streets come alive as the annual Adelaide Festival gets into swing for 17 days, attracting almost 30,000 visitors from interstate.

The program for the 2026 festival, to run from February 27 to March 15, has just been announced by artistic director Matthew Lutton and features 59 events including 10 world premieres and 22 Australian premieres.

Among the highlights is the free opening-night concert in Elder Park where long-running British rock band Pulp will perform a mix of glam rock, disco, new wave and indie music.

French actress Isabelle Huppert takes to the stage as Mary Queen of Scots in the one-woman show, Mary Said What She Said at the Festival Theatre. Based on the book by American novelist Darryl Pinckney and a score by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, the production is performed in French with English surtitles.

Israeli-born choreographer Hofesh Shechter built his career as a dancer with the Batsheva Dance Company before moving to London in 2002. Six years later he established the Hofesh Shechter Company, which has enjoyed global success and is bringing Theatre of Dreams to the Adelaide Festival. Twelve dancers will take audiences on a journey through emotions and dreams.

Australian director Simon Stone has a new theatre production based on Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard that is set in South Korea and tackles modern themes of social change. It stars award-winning South Korean actors Doyeon Jeon and Squid Game’s Haesoo Park along with an all-Korean ensemble.

American theatre company Elevator Repair Service has reimagined The Great Gatsby in Gatz, setting the action in a modern office in a marathon production staged at Her Majesty’s Theatre that is spread over eight hours that includes two intervals and a 90-minute dinner break.

For young audiences, life’s issues are explored in the premiere season of Mama Does Derby, staged by Adelaide’s Windmill Production Company and starring Claire Watson and Virginia Gay. The action is set around a mother and daughter who face challenges after moving to a country town. Mama Does Derby features athletes from the Adelaide Roller Derby League and a live band onstage.

Renowned French choir and orchestra Ensemble Pygmalion makes its long-awaited Australian debut with three programs over six concerts featuring the music of Bach, Monteverdi and Rossi and directed by its founder Raphael Pichon.

Two of the world’s leading classical musicians, British violinist Anthony Marwood and Helsinki-born pianist Olli Mustonen, will perform in concert – separately and together – during the festival.

At the program launch on October 27, Lutton said: “The 2026 festival invites you to lower your guard and throw yourself into an ecstatic 17 days of exploration. It does not seek to narrow to a specific theme, instead, it elevates Australian and international artists who push boundaries.”

Adding to the bustling festival atmosphere in Adelaide over summer are the Adelaide Fringe (February 20–March 22), Adelaide Writers’ Week (February 28–March 5) and WOMADelaide (March 6-9).

INFO: For more information, visit adelaidefestival.com.au

New entry rules for Europe visitors

Facial images and fingerprints are replacing the traditional passport stamp under the the European Union’s new digital entry/exit system (EES) which began on October 12 for all non-EU nationals, including Australians, travelling in or out of the Schengen area.

The Schengen area comprises 29 European countries including popular destinations such as Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Switzerland and Croatia.

The new system will not be fully implemented until April 2026, but is gradually being introduced at border crossing points throughout Europe.

On arrival, travellers will have their fingerprints and photo taken, and answer Schengen border code questions, to create a digital record. Travellers do not need to do anything in advance and registration is free.

Travellers revisiting the Schengen area within three years of creating a digital record will only need to provide their fingerprint or photograph at the border, speeding up the arrival process.

The EES system will be followed later in 2026 by the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) under which visitors will pay an entry fee.

Italy still popular with Aussie tourists

Italy continues to be a popular holiday destination for Australian travellers bound for Europe, according to the Italian National Tourist Board.

In the first five months of 2025, airport arrivals from Australia/Asia-Pacific countries for stays of at least one night increased by 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, with a peak in May of 83,000 visitors.

The majority of visits – 93 per cent – were for holiday and leisure, with 7 per cent for business travel.

Many travellers chose to stay for up to three weeks on the Amalfi Coast, Puglia and Sicily as well as in Rome and Milan.

Food, wine and luxury experiences are proving popular with visitors, showing a 50 per cent increase compared to 2024.