The heart of the festival, South Bank will play host to a range of excellent launch performances this weekend at The Telstra Spiegeltent. LIMBO will tease out blushes from audiences with partial nudity in its sinister circus-cabaret from Saturday night, while Andy Bull will open the program of internationally renowned musicians taking to the pop-up stage. Local name Tyrone Noonan will kick off the late-night DJ sets this Saturday September 6 from 11:00 pm, while DESH – a contemporary solo by choreographer Akram Khan – will entrance with tales of land, nation, resistance and convergence over at QPAC. The opening weekend will also play host to Exxopolis by Architects of Air – a monumental and interactive walk-in inflatable sculpture, which will astound audiences with light and colour in the Cultural Forecourt.

Away from the hubbub of South Bank over at Queensland Theatre Company, you can cry-laugh along to I Want To Know What Love Is, a theatrical work based on love stories submitted by you, your friends and your exes, and dangling in front of the Treasury Casino in Brisbane City, passersby can gaze in awe as a troupe of acrobats transform the night sky in the aerial visual spectacle Do Do Land on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

The 2014 festivities also mark Noel Staunton’s last year as artistic director of Brisbane Festival. After four years at the helm the city’s largest celebration of arts and community, Noel has created a month-long gala heaving with inspiration for both young and old. There will no doubt be much applause to thank the visionary for his incredible contribution to the local cultural landscape at opening and closing events, but it’s the enduring and growing attendance and support by each local and visitor to Brisbane Festival events that leaves a cherished stamp on Noel’s time as artistic director. Brisbane Festival is excited to welcome theatre director David Berthold as artistic director for the 2015–2018 seasons.