What’s On in Melbourne in August 2026

While you may still be shivering away in August in Melbourne, there’s still plenty to do to keep you entertained, informed and warm!

Here’s a curated selection of the must-dos happening this August in Melbourne.

Melbourne weather in August

It’s still chilly! The average temperature in Melbourne in August hovers between 8°C and 16°C during the day, but it can get a lot colder than that – the lowest temperature recorded last year was 1.6°C!

There’s usually not many huge rainfalls, but you can expect a little rain – we had rain on 12 days of the month in May 2025.

Check the upcoming Melbourne weather forecast online, and read my full guide to winter in Melbourne.

Public holidays in Melbourne in August

Another month without a public holiday, sadly!

Major events and festivals in August

Check back regularly throughout the month – I’ll keep this page updated as I hunt down more events!

Melbourne International Film Festival

From blockbusters to indie flicks, check out the best of the international cinema scene.

Lightscape

Be mesmerised by an eight-metre sphere filled with over 20,000 moving LEDs, singing trees and a flickering fire garden among colour-changing installations, soundscapes and large-scale illuminated sculptures.

Now or Never

Now or Never debuted last year and features art, ideas, sound, technology and more. It’s a combination of Melbourne Music Week and Melbourne Knowledge Week and celebrates Melbourne’s creative scene.

Theatre, film and music

Dita Von Teese Nocturnelle

The Queen of Burlesque returns with an opulent show that blends old-Hollywood allure, theatrical magic and high-art “Stripscapes”.

Steel Magnolias

The iconic story that made us laugh, cry and fall in love with six extraordinary women is back — live on stage in a dazzling new production.

Stephanie Lake Company: Vista

A brand new work from Stephanie Lake Company, the dancers and collaborators drive a shape-shifting world, where monochrome discipline collides with kaleidoscopic, joyful release.

Mackenzie

Shakespeare’s Macbeth reimagined – what if Macbeth was a 13-year-old child star?

Pretty Woman the Musical

One of the most beloved rom-coms of all time comes to the stage.

SIX the Musical

The global smash hit is coming back to Melbourne – again! From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr are ready to turn up the mic once again, remixing five hundred years of history into an 80-minute electrifying pop-concert fit for royalty. 

Break of Day

Out on the edge of a satellite city is Burra Creek, home to the world’s largest online retail warehouse, and tonight Pam is working the nightshift, while her daughter Rae, back home, is also pulling an all-nighter, for very different reasons.

The Nightline

Welcome to The Nightline – where you can listen in to real-life voice messages, left by anonymous Melburnians between midnight and 6am. Will you pick up?

Candelight Concert Series with Fever

Fever brings their stunning candlelit concerts to venues across Melbourne. There’s everything from Hollywood Movie Soundtracks to Emo Hits on String to tributes to Queen and Adele.

Melbourne Magic Show

Have your mind blown by the magic and illusion of Master Magician Luke Hocking.

Museums and art

Future Country

Spanning weaving, photography, sculpture, possum-skin- cloak making, moving image, sound and design, this exhibition celebrates emerging First Nations artists. The artists and designers have been paired with established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives.

ROME: Empire, Power, People

Featuring original statues, mosaics, frescoes, jewellery and everyday objects from the humblest to the most sumptuous, this exhibition explores Rome’s political, cultural and social life.

NGV Friday Nights

Music, eating and drinking plus late-night exclusive access to the NGV.

Planetarium Nights

Head to Scienceworks for an adults-only, after dark experience. August’s events to be announced.

Experience the Dome Promenade

One of Melbourne’s most iconic buildings has opened a hidden part that hasn’t been accessible to the public for 100 years.

Food events in August

Winter Night Market

The Winter Night Market is back at Queen Vic Market every Wednesday evening, with street food trucks and stalls, local brewers and distillers, shopping and lively entertainment.

Community events, festivals and shopping

Cachivaches Latin Market

Explore the foods, cultures and crafts of Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and more Latin American countries.

Affordable Art Fair

Pick up a piece of art for your walls at this art fair, with everything under $10,000.

What are you most excited to see and do in August in Melbourne?