Whatever your personal views on January 26, if you work in events in Australia, you’ve had to navigate the changing landscape around Australia Day programming. The shift has been significant over the past five years, and it’s affecting everything from council event funding to artist willingness to perform.

I’m not here to tell anyone what to think about the date. I’m here to talk about the practical realities for people who run events for a living.

The programming challenge

Five years ago, Australia Day was straightforward for event promoters. Big outdoor concerts, fireworks, family-friendly festivals, triple j Hottest 100 parties. The audience was there, the funding was available, and most artists were happy to play.

Today, the picture is more complex. A significant number of Australian artists now decline to perform on January 26. Some councils have scaled back or restructured their Australia Day events. Several major venues and promoters have moved their programming to adjacent dates or reframed events to be more inclusive.

For promoters, this creates a genuine operational challenge. You still have a public holiday that people want to spend doing something, but the traditional programming model doesn’t work as cleanly as it used to.

What’s working

The promoters who are navigating this most successfully are the ones who’ve moved beyond the binary of “celebrate” or “don’t celebrate” and found programming approaches that acknowledge the complexity.

Multi-day events that span the long weekend, rather than focusing specifically on January 26, are one approach that’s gaining traction. These events can include programming that acknowledges Indigenous perspectives alongside broader celebration, without forcing everything into a single-day framework.

Community-focused events with strong Indigenous involvement and programming are another model that’s working well. Several regional festivals have successfully integrated Welcome to Country ceremonies, Indigenous music and arts, and community discussions alongside the usual food, music, and entertainment programming.

The funding question

Government funding for Australia Day events has been gradually shifting. Some councils are redistributing budgets across multiple events throughout January rather than concentrating everything on the 26th. Others are maintaining their January 26 programming but adding requirements for Indigenous inclusion and cultural acknowledgment.

For promoters who rely on council funding for summer events, understanding your local council’s direction on this is essential. The landscape varies enormously between municipalities, even within the same state.

Artist booking considerations

If you’re booking acts for January 26 events, you need to have the conversation about the date early in the negotiation. Don’t assume. An increasing number of artist managers will flag date sensitivities when you enquire, but some won’t raise it unless asked.

Having a backup list of willing artists isn’t cynical — it’s practical event management. You don’t want to be scrambling for a headliner two weeks out because your first choice decided to withdraw after the booking was announced.

Looking ahead

The trajectory is clear: January 26 events will continue to evolve, and promoters who adapt to the changing landscape will find viable programming models. Those who insist on the same approach as ten years ago will increasingly find themselves working against both public sentiment and the artist community.

This doesn’t mean January 26 events disappear. It means they change, as they should in a country that’s still working out how to honestly engage with its history while finding things worth celebrating. For event professionals, the challenge is programming that brings people together rather than driving them apart. It’s not an easy brief, but that’s what makes this industry interesting.