Kris Nelson will serve as Festival Director from 2026 to 2029, leading the Sydney Festival into its landmark 50th anniversaryth 2026 edition.
The Sydney Festival Board today shared the exciting news that Nelson has joined the Sydney Festival Board after six and a half years as Artistic Director and CEO of the prestigious London International Theater Festival (LIFT).
Kate Dundas, Chair of the Sydney Arts Festival, said: “We are delighted to announce Kris Nelson as the new Festival Director of the Sydney Arts Festival. Kris brings impressive leadership skills and extensive international experience to LIFT Making him a perfect fit for the Sydney Festival. His innovative approach to programming, commitment to diverse voices and deep understanding of artists and audiences will ensure the Sydney Festival continues to thrive as a vibrant and inspiring cultural event. We look forward to Chris’s bold and exciting vision as we embark on this new chapter.
Nielsen has been appointed as incoming festival director following an extensive global search in which more than 100 people expressed interest in the role. The Canadian expat will relocate to Australia later this year after living and working in the UK and Ireland for more than a decade.
As Artistic Director and CEO of LIFT, Nelson is responsible for programming for London’s biennial international performing arts festival. LIFT takes place every June and performs in a variety of venues, winning international acclaim for its courageous presentation of contemporary, political and experimental theatre. Nelson’s dynamic projects as LIFT artistic director and CEO feature 24-hour theater phenomenon second woman Named by Sydney natives Randall and Breckon The GuardianThe best theater selection of 2023 and the most popular indoor seaside opera production at the Sydney Festival in the past, sun and sea. He has also commissioned the premiere of several British productions that have achieved global success, including I’m from Reykjavik By Sonya Hughes and The making of Pinocchio Authors: Cade and MacAskill. In 2021, Nelson led LIFT’s launch of Concept Touring, an innovative platform designed to explore sustainable forms of international collaboration that require little to no travel; it resulted in Nassim Soleimanpour and Omar Elerian’s LIFT 2024 hit, ECHO (every heartless oxygen).
Before moving to Sydney, Nelson said: “Being festival director of the Sydney Festival is a huge opportunity. I love the DNA of the Sydney Festival – it truly is one of the greatest music festivals in the world. It was a catalyst for A festival of new ideas and ways of seeing the world that shares powerful, bold and joyful performing arts with audiences across the city I have long been inspired by the ambition, diversity and talent of Australia’s cultural scene and I love that this festival can bring this to life. Australian artists create the boldest and best work. Sydney is an exciting world city – vibrant, sophisticated and culturally diverse and I can’t wait to make it my home and lead the team to shape the festival for the future. era, resonating with audiences in every corner of the city.
Originally from Saskatoon, Canada, Nielsen has been working in international arts and cultural events for over a decade and is no stranger to leaving his mark on new cities through bold curation. Nielsen has made a name for himself as a freelance curator and producer at festivals across Canada, including Vancouver’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and the touring Magnetic North Theater Festival, while also supporting Canadian experimental theater and dance through her own Montreal-based travel agency The company’s work, antonym production. Nelson later moved to Ireland and served from 2013 to 2017 as Festival Director of the Dublin Fringe Festival, Ireland’s largest multidisciplinary arts festival and one of the few curated fringe events in the world.
Current Sydney Festival Director Olivia Ansell will announce the 2025 program at the end of October, her fourth and final program in the role. At the same time, she was delighted with Nelson’s appointment. “I’m excited for Chris and Sydney. I’m excited to see the next evolution of the festival unfold with a great collaborator like Chris at the helm.
The full program for the 2025 Sydney Music Festival will be released on Wednesday 30 October, with the festival taking place from 4 to 26 January 2025. Siegfried and Roy: The Unauthorized Opera; Rufus Wainwright’s one-off performance at the Sydney Opera House; and American singer-songwriter Jalen Ngonda’s first Sydney performance also announced.
Nelson will launch his first show in January 2026.
For the latest information, please visit www.sydneyfestival.org.au.
