Thursday 1 October 2026
Presented by HOTA
Presented by HOTA
Get set for an Opening Night not to be missed, as we gather at BEACON to celebrate the opening of the fifteenth BLEACH Festival.
A bright and bold BEACON of belonging, this epic, large-scale installation becomes a landmark for joy at the centre of BLEACH Festival. Led by Everybody NOW!, BEACON is a new commission by global design leader Morag Myerscough (UK), in collaboration with hundreds of Gold Coasters who participated in creative workshops. As dusk falls, neon light transforms the artwork into a glowing nighttime festival hub.
Gather on the shores of the Nerang River for with Kombumerri artist Lann Levinge, blending storytelling and music.
Let the transcendental sounds of our BEACON Festival Choir wash over you with more than 100 singers performing a special musical arrangement of Holly Ringland’s poem, with highly sought-after choral director and vocalist, Alex Van den Broek.
Local Electro-pop duo Super Massive will bring the dance floor community feels and big disco energy, kicking off 11 days of live music, performance and installation art.
Time: From 5:00pm
Ticket: Free
Everybody NOW! creates participatory arts projects that generate joy. Proudly based on the Gold Coast, as a HOTA Home Company, Everybody NOW! is an Impact award-winning organisation dedicated to the creation of high-quality, community-engaged arts projects, that are made with and for community, alongside outstanding professional artists.
Holly is an international best-selling author and TV presenter for ABC’s Back to Nature. She is best known for her 2018 novel The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which won the 2019 General Fiction Book of the Year Award, and was adapted into a television miniseries in 2023 starring Sigourney Weaver. Holly grew on the Gold Coast and returned home in 2020 after living abroad. In addition to her best-selling fictions Holly regularly writes & speaks on topics of belonging & creativity. In 2023, she authored her first non-fiction The House The Joy Built. Holly is delighted to be collaborating with internationally acclaimed Artist Morag Myerscough (UK), and Everybody NOW! to create a new poetry commission which will be woven throughout the artwork as well as sung by hundreds of voices in specially created festival choir.
Alex Van den Broek is a sought-after Queensland arranger, vocalist, choral director and singer-songwriter known for creating vocal excellence within safe, nurturing spaces where every voice can shine. Her work spans theatre, choral music, television and live performance, including music director roles for La Boite Theatre on shows including Congratulations, Get Rick and Fancy Long Legs, as well as various collaborations with The Little Red Company as arranger and choral/vocal director. Alex was arranger and choral director for the nationally televised Lord Mayor's Christmas Carols (2021–2024), working with artists including Kate Miller-Heidke and Dami Im. She also arranges orchestral works, session sings (including on two Bluey tracks), and shares music with her 200,000+ online followers. Alex will be gathering and inspiring a choir of hundreds as part of this special BEACON project in collaboration with Everybody NOW!
Lann Levinge is a Kombumerri First Nations creative, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer and designer based on the Gold Coast. As founder of Levinge Events and First Nations Artistic Director for Storyfest, he crafts language-rich soundscapes, visual installations and live productions that centre Yugambeh stories, culture and contemporary First Nations experiences.
135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise, QLD 4217
