RISING, Victoria’s “new” premier arts festival has continued to shoot for the stars, but has it ever reached orbit? After a rocky start, including two failed take-offs due to the pandemic, the festival would like us to think so. Following the wrap-up of RISING 2024’s festival program on 16 June, a media release spruiking the festival’s growth and success was distributed to news outlets.
RISING is an amalgamation of two impressive festivals of old – the Melbourne International Arts Festival (MIAF) and the free-to-attend White Night. However, the success of this reimagination still falls short of previous models, since White Night alone attracted 718,000 attendees over three nights in its final year. Meanwhile, attendance numbers for MIAF are unavailable online.
