Promo goes here
BIG CITY LIGHTS* is a festival that takes place at night, in and amongst the streets, buildings and venues of the Southport CBD.
We strive to make the festival as inclusive and accessible as possible, while acknowledging that as a place-based festival, it is not always within our reach to make our events and locations accessible to all audience members at all times.
We do aim to provide detailed information about the festival so individuals can make informed choices about whether attending a specific event is right for them. This includes information about parking and drop off options, distance and terrain, toilets and amenities available as well as specific information related to the visual, auditory and sensory content of each event.
You can find information about the festival as a whole below, and information about specific artworks on each work’s webpage.
Due to the evolving nature of the festival planning process, the information on this page will be updated to provide the most current information. We encourage you to check this page prior to your visit to the festival to make sure you have the most up-to-date version of our access info.
We believe it is important to acknowledge that we make mistakes and to own the mistakes we make. We always value authentic feedback – if you can see a way for us to do better, please get in touch.
HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED MORE INFORMATION?
We encourage anyone with questions, feedback or needing further information about BIG CITY LIGHTS* and accessibility to contact Festival Access Liaison, Emma-June Curik via one of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07 55 256 468
SMS: 0429 489 969
Southport CBD has several on-street and off-street parking options.
Informal set-down zones are located in two locations:
Next to the Southport Town Hall on Davenport St
or in the centre of the Nerang St Mall.
You can locate accessible car parks are on the Southport Mobility Map.
The festival precinct is mainly made up of sealed roads and paved footpaths.
Works inside of Hutong Gardens may be inaccessible for some patrons, as the surface consists of a shallow-gravelled surface.
There are some smaller parts of the precinct that might have uneven surfaces, or take place inside private venues or businesses.
There will be accessible toilets on site and across the event precinct.
Check back closer to the festival for exact locations
We will have friendly staff available to assist specifically with accessibility.
You can find them at the Info Point outside of Co-Spaces, on the corner of Nerang and Davenport Street.
They will be wearing bright yellow hoodies and will be ready to answer all your access questions!
There are several car parking options within Southport CBD, many only a short distance from the BIG CITY LIGHTS* precinct. Note that several roads will be closed for the event, including Davenport St, Young St, Regent Lane & Davison Lane.
The Southport Library and Mal Burke carparks have several accessible spaces, and there are several spaces along Short St. You can see more detail by viewing the Southport mobility map via Google Maps or PDF.
Other parking options:
Australia Fair Metro car parking: Free for 2 hours
Australia Fair car parking: Free for 3 hours
Mal Burke Car Park on Hicks St: Free after 5pm
Athol Patterson Car Park (Southport Library) on Outer Street: Free after 5pm
You can find more information from the City of Gold Coast about parking within the Southport CBD here: Southport Parking
There are several options available for those wishing to travel to Southport by alternative transport options.
LIGHT RAIL
The Gold Coast light rail/tram (sometimes called the ‘G:Link’) travels through the heart of the Festival precinct.
The best station to travel to is Southport Station.
Timetables and routes available via G:link.
FERRY
The Hop-On-Hop-Off (HOPO) ferry service has a stop at Southport Broadwater Parklands, with the last service dropping off at 5:20pm.
Further information and timetables can be accessed via the HOPO website
BICYCLE
City of Gold Coast has a bike shed located on west Nerang St.
You can find out more information about riding safely, as well as bike-sharing programs and cycling maps via the City of Gold Coast website.
TAXI & RIDE SHARE
To book a local taxi, just call 131 008 anywhere in Australia.
Pick-up and drop-off locations for the festival precinct will be announced closer to the event date.
BUS
Several bus routes include Southport bus station (Scarborough St). You can learn more about timetables and routes via Translink
TRAIN
The G:Link light rail connects to the Gold Coast train line at Helensvale Station.
You can find out more about timetables and routes via Translink
The festival will have an accessible pick-up & set-down point.
There are several signalled crossings and tactile markers within Southport CBD.
A signalled crossing is located at the Nerang and Scarborough St intersection (both sides of the intersection).
Tactile markers are located in the Nerang St Mall, as well as along several of the streets in the precinct.
Much of BIG CITY LIGHTS* can be experienced in a ‘self-guided’ way, allowing visitors to choose which parts of the event precinct are best for them to visit.
A full exploration of the festival precinct would require traversing approximately 800-950m and different types of terrain (mainly sealed roadway, concrete and paved pathways).
The precinct will have several roads closed for patron safety during the event, meaning that you can travel most of the event via a sealed bitumen road, or paved footpath. To travel from Nerang St Mall to the rest of the precinct, visitors will need to cross a road (via signalled crossings available on both sides of Nerang St).
Most of the event precinct is flat or has a mild incline (Nerang St between Scarborough and Davenport St).
There is a strong incline along Davenport St (from Nerang St, travelling downwards toward Young St).
There are some parts of the festival precinct that may have uneven surfaces, or are indoors. These include:
A festival map will be made available closer to the event. Should you require a visual reference to assist in your planning, you can use this Google Map, which gives an overview of the festival precinct. Note: This map is not final and should not be used for wayfinding during the festival.
A festival map will be released closer to the event, detailing where artworks are located, as well as important amenities such as toilets, information points etc.
We will also have a team of friendly Ambassadors across the precinct, who can answer any questions you may have about where to go or what to do next.
This team will include members of our Access Team who will be able to answer any access-related questions or assist in finding accessible solutions so you can experience the festival to its fullest.
You can access a mobility map of Southport CBD via the links below:
Google Maps – Southport CBD Mobility Map
PDF Version – Southport CBD Mobility Map
BIG CITY LIGHTS* is a festival that takes place at night, in and amongst the streets, buildings and venues of the Southport CBD.
Much of BIG CITY LIGHTS* can be experienced in a ‘self-guided’ way, allowing visitors to go at their own pace and choose which parts of the event precinct are best for them to visit.
The festival has a combination of visual and audio-based artworks, as well as some performances. Many of the visual works will be projected onto buildings or be presented by LED screens. This means there may be lots of rapidly changing and bright lights in certain parts of the event precinct.
Some of the audio works will be played at specific times through large speakers across the precinct. If you would like to know the times these works will play, you can contact us for an advance copy of the schedule, or see the Access Team when you arrive at the precinct.
There are several live performances included in the festival program. These are mainly music/sound based, and may be loud and include unusual and/or experimental sounds. You can find out more about each individual performance via the event page for each performance.
As the festival takes place in the middle of Southport CBD, you are likely to also encounter other sights, sounds and scents associated with urban (city) environments.
The festival program includes a combination of visual and audio-based artworks, as well as some live performances.
Many of the works are primarily visually based, meaning that while they may have auditory (sound/music) elements, hearing is not required to have a full or close-to-full experience of the work. Most of these visual works will be projected onto buildings or be presented via LED screens.
There are also several audio works which will play at specific times throughout the evening. Sight is not required to have a full or close-to-full experience of these works. If you would like to know the times these works will play, you can contact us for an advance copy of the schedule, or see the Access Team when you arrive at the precinct.
Where spoken word or written text is a part of an visual or audio-based, recorded work, we will, wherever possible, make a transcript of that text available.
There are several live performances included in the festival program. The majority of these performances are music-based performances, often of the experimental music genre. You can find out more about each individual performance via the event page for each performance.
Some of the artworks in BIG CITY LIGHTS* may deal with topics or content that some people may find challenging or triggering.
We take every effort to note any relevant content warnings on the event page for each artwork.
You can also check-in with our Access Team when you visit the precinct, and they can assist you in identifying any works that may be challenging.
You will never be asked to explain why you would like to know about or avoid a certain type of artwork or content.
The section below ‘Art and Events’ outlines any content warnings that might be useful to our audiences.
Absolutely! We will have dedicated Access Team members on-site each evening, who will be able to answer any access-related questions or assist in finding accessible solutions so you can experience the festival to its fullest!
We will also have a team of friendly Ambassadors across the precinct, who can answer any questions you may have about where to go or what to do next.
Our Festival Info Station is a great place to visit if you need assistance or are finding the festival precinct overwhelming.
We will be offering three guided tours with our Artistic Director, Rosie Dennis, who will offer her insight into the works she curated for the festival. Bookings for these tours are essential.
The tour on Saturday 22 June will be Auslan interpreted.
You can learn more about the guided tours and book here.
Some works at BIG CITY LIGHTS* carry content warnings. This can be due to the themes of the work, or due to the sensory content.
LIGHT
Works in Davison Lane contain haze and strong lighting effects. Patrons wishing to access Hutong Gardens can avoid these works by entering from the Davenport St entrance to Davison Lane.
Some video works may contain quickly flashing edits or rendering. Some works contain extremely bright or vivid colour/imagery.
SOUND
Several audio works play across the entire precinct at several times during the night. These works are between 3-7 minutes in duration.
These works will play at the following times:
5.30pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 9.30pm.
AIR QUALITY
DAVISON LANE includes works with haze/smoke. Patrons wishing to access Hutong Gardens can avoid moving through the haze area by entering from the Davenport St entrance to Davison Lane.
CONTENT
The video work Nun’s Night Out (part of the ReelDance Retrospective) contains partial nudity.
LIGHT
Works in Davison Lane contain haze and strong lighting effects. Patrons wishing to access Hutong Gardens can avoid these works by entering from the Davenport St entrance to Davison Lane.
Some video works may contain quickly flashing edits or rendering. Some works contain extremely bright or vivid colour/imagery. These works include:
Breakwater (Nerang St)
Optical Vortex (Davison Lane)
SOUND
Several audio works play across the entire precinct at several times during the night. These works are between 3-7 minutes in duration.
These works play at the following times:
Gunga: 5.30pm
The Tides Advance on Australia Fair: 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm
The Farewell: 9.30pm
Several works have
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates about the festival!
Follow us at:
@bigcitylightsfestival
Join our access update mailing list via the Contact Form.
This link opens in Google Forms, which we know isn’t always accessible to everyone. You can also contact us via email, phone or text message.
We will be updating this page regularly as new information becomes available.
We encourage you to check this page again before your visit to BIG CITY LIGHTS*
Our Access Team members will be at the festival Info Point on Nerang St.
You can contact us during the festival via phone: 0429 489 969
During business hours, you can contact Festival Access Liaison via:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0755 256 468
Our Access Team will be on hand to assist any visitor with access needs, including those who use the Hidden Disability Sunflower program.
To learn more about the program, go to their website: Hidden Disability Sunflower
You can access a mobility map of Southport CBD via the links below:
Google Maps – Southport CBD Mobility Map
PDF Version – Southport CBD Mobility Map
Auslan interpreting for selected BIG CITY LIGHTS* events will be provided by FAB Interpreting.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Yugambeh Language Region and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People of the Gold Coast.
We recognise their continuing connection and contributions to country and culture.
We pay respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
