The official launch of Festival 2018 today revealed a spectacular line-up of arts and cultural entertainment across 12 action-packed days from 4-15 April to celebrate and extend the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) beyond the stadiums for locals and visitors.

The Festival 2018 Gold Coast multi-arts program features free entertainment with a range of more than 1,000 arts and cultural experiences including music, theatre, circus, dance, ideas, visual arts and film that will enthrall and provide something for everyone.

The Gold Coast will welcome more than 1,440 artists from 50 countries in a program featuring 35 world premieres and 15 Australian premieres.

Locals and visitors to the city will encounter the unexpected with roving performers to entertain outside of stadiums, interactive art installations and live outdoor performances spilling onto beaches and waterways in more than 28 places across the Gold Coast, including two main festival sites in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

Presented by The Star Gold Coast, Broadbeach will have two distinct activated spaces, Kurrawa Park and Surf Parade (between Victoria and Queensland Avenues), providing audiences with arts experiences and entertainment from 9am to late every day.

Internationally-renowned Gold Coast musician Amy Shark is just one of the headliners on a stage dedicated to Queensland music talent, supported by a line-up of local music artists including Lastlings, Ella Fence and Eliza and The Delusionals.

Yothu Yindi and The Treaty Project will play a Queensland exclusive performance, with world music legend Susheela Raman and Ghana’s king of hip hop M.anifest amongst others performing on the Surfers Paradise Main Stage.

Audiences will also be treated to performances by Australia’s leading contemporary dance companies Force Majeure, Dancenorth and the Gold Coast’s very own The Farm; acclaimed international theatre makers UK’s Punchdrunk and Jeremy Goldstein (London Artists Projects); and unique genres from across the Commonwealth including crowd-pleasers Soweto Skeleton Movers with their spin on street dance style ’pantsula’ and Mallakhambindia with the ancient sporting artform, Mallakhamb.

A bold food festival program will also be presented by NightQuarter, Helensvale from midday to 9pm from 5 – 14 April, complemented with a cultural program including local musicians, artists and dancers.

Festival 2018 brings diverse audiences and communities together to celebrate the spirit of the Commonwealth by sharing of culture through art, from stories of our First Nations peoples to exceptional artistic performances from around the world.

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) will deliver Festival 2018 Gold Coast with the support of the Queensland Government and the City of Gold Coast to ensure the best of local talent is showcased on the international stage.

A long-lasting legacy will be the professional development experiences Festival 2018 has provided for the arts community with world-class participation, engagement and collaboration opportunities.

Festival 2018 Gold Coast has been curated by Co-Creative Directors Kate Fell and Yaron Lifschitz from internationally-renowned Circa Contemporary Circus along with Louise Bezzina, Artistic Director of Bleach* Festival who delivers more than 20 new works within the Festival 2018 program.

Festival 2018 program details will be released online today, to help audiences plan their full Games experience.

For further information, visit gc2018.com/festival2018