Executive Director Rob Brookman said: “We thought that the 2018 Adelaide Festival would be hard to top but there’s a palpable sense that 2019 has gone one better. Not only have we achieved record-breaking box office, huge attendances, great tourism numbers and overwhelming critical acclaim but the responses of audiences have been phenomenal. From Barrie Kosky’s utterly brilliant The Magic Flute to stunning outdoor events such as National Geographic Symphony For Our World, to the Palais lighting up the River Torrens, Rachel and Neil’s brilliantly eclectic Festival program and Jo Dyer’s powerful and insightful Adelaide Writers’ Week program have again put Adelaide centre-stage as one of the world’s great festival cities.”

Artistic Directors Neil Armfield AO and Rachel Healy said: “This year’s Festival has been joyous, nourishing, unflinching in its interrogation of world affairs and a celebration of imagination and creativity. It is a genuine privilege to invite and then host the extraordinary and diverse range of artists and companies whose work has made the 2019 Adelaide Festival such a success. Our job is about bringing the work of these artists together with Australian audiences and it has been thrilling to witness the response from locals, visitors from across our borders and across the globe, schools, festival regulars and new attendees. The opportunity to welcome audiences of all ages and demographics through the Pay What You Can system has also meant that increasing numbers of people have had the opportunity to attend Festival events, a long-standing priority. We’ve loved presenting large scale works (The Magic Flute, National Geographic Symphony For Our World, Mahler Chamber Orchestra), introducing new major works from overseas to Australia (Carmen, A Man of Good Hope, Grand Finale, Sretensky Monastery Choir, Two Feet, Ulster American, La Reprise. Histoire(s) du théâtre, Manus, Schuldfabrik, Un Poyo Rojo, By Heart), present brand-new shows co-commissioned by the Adelaide Festival (Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds, Counting and Cracking, Man with the Iron Neck, Two Feet, Picaresque, Quilty) and support local South Australian performances (Out of Chaos, Zizanie, Baba Yaga).”

Adelaide Writers’ Week Director Jo Dyer said: “It was a great honour and pleasure to present my first Adelaide Writers’ Week as Director. We were privileged to have such a wonderful array of minds and voices joining us from all over the world and this country, presenting an extraordinarily diverse range of ideas and perspectives. Special thanks to those who braved the heat on Saturday – the loyalty and commitment of the Writers’ Week audiences are astonishing indeed. I thank all of them for the warm welcome they afforded me, and the incredible authors who joined us in Adelaide this year, all of whom remarked on the size, curiosity and generosity of our audiences."