Report to the Community 2014 | Page 4

MELBOURNE FESTIVAL Melbourne Festival is one of Australia’s flagship international arts festivals and one of the major multi-arts festivals of the world, in terms of quality of work, innovation of vision, scale and breadth of program. 4 Each Festival brings an unparalleled feast of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia and outdoor events from renowned and upcoming Australian and international companies and artists to Melbourne. In 2014, Melbourne Festival also enjoyed a celebration of circus – an art form quintessentially connected to Melbourne as the home of Circus Oz, the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) and the birthplace of Wirth’s Circus, a huge travelling circus of international standard and reputation which operated from the late 1800s. In 2015 we look forward to celebrating the 30th Festival as a key destination within Australia’s cultural calendar. We continue to ensure interstate and international visitation by exclusively debuting and premiering some of the finest national and international artists and companies. Through excellence, diversity and accessibility, Melbourne Festival presents the best possible artistic experience to as many people as possible. We proudly offer a wide variety of venues and ticket prices, plus many free events. The 2014 Melbourne Festival took place between 10 – 26 October under the artistic leadership of Josephine Ridge, Artistic Director for 2013 – 2015.