Albany 2026: Welcoming in the new year as city commemorates bicentenary with huge calendar of events

This year marks two centuries since Europeans began living among Australia’s traditional owners on the western third of the country.

Marked by Albany’s bicentenary, the milestone reflects 200 years of the city being the home to both the Menang Noongar people and settlers.

Honorary Freeman of the City of Albany, Alice Rule and Terry Eaton, represent the strong community-mindedness integral to the fabric of WA’s oldest city.

Ms Rule, who championed the Tidy Town movement since the 1970s, also has a strong sporting background while Mr Eaton was the manager of Albany PCYC for more than 20 years and is another strong sporting advocate.

The pair, depicted alongside young Minang Traditional Dance Group members Bryce Hardy and Tyrhys Hardy represent the dual layers of European settlement and Indigenous custodianship that form the bedrock of the City of Albany’s bicentenary celebrations, commemorating the first moment two centuries ago when both cultures began living together on the western side of the country.

At the heart of the year-long festivities, branded Albany 2026, are several flagship events designed to amplify aspects of the city’s culture, landscape and history.

Annual celebrations such as New Year’s Eve, Australia Day and the yearly Taste Great Southern food and drink festival have been reimagined with a special twist to acknowledge the bicentenary.

The family friendly Kaya 2026 event on December 31 kicked off the year with a blend of live performances, film, music and fireworks, while January 26 will be marked by the Binalup Festival at Middleton Beach and a Bicentenary Swim.

From March 6 to 8, the night sky will be illuminated with First Lights Kinjarling, a choreographed drone display narrated by local Menang elders to tell the creation stories of the Stirling Range, Frenchman Bay, and the Porongurups.

In the final three weekends of March, Albany will be the site of the world’s largest ever outdoor light installation, as Finnish artist Kari Kola projects an intricate network of red and green lights across 10km of the rugged slopes of the Torndirrup Peninsula in an event called Lighting the Sound.

Named for the eerie aurora australis-like reflection the lights will have on the waters of King George Sound, this record-breaking event is expected to attract about 15,000 visitors each weekend.

The Museum of the Great Southern will continue to host the Albany Then & Now exhibition, with visually rich panoramas depicting how the city’s iconic landscapes and streetscapes have morphed over time, and the Kalguyal: Connections to Menang Country exhibition on early fishing techniques.

An interactive, location-based app will launch in June, with hundreds of Albany locals lending their voices and stories to help guide visitors around important locations in the city.

The app, called Albany Is, will allow users to activate tales such as the history of Albany’s Town Jetty, told by the fishermen who use it, when nearby the site itself.

Theatre also plays a key role in the 2026 calendar.

Our Place, Rain or Shine, commissioned especially for the Albany 2026 festivities, will be performed by THEATRE 180 at the Albany Entertainment Centre on September 25 and 26, and feature Albany’s identity as the main character.

Meanwhile, a collaboration between the WA Opera, Breaksea and Menang elders will result in the production The Song Catchers, featuring Tipu, a curious fox, and Marri, an echidna, as they journey through a world where songs have been silenced in a performance described by organisers as a “groundbreaking fusion of music and storytelling”.

Festivities will close in November with Carrying the Fire, a community-led event wherein hundreds of Albany locals and tourists will band together and, carrying a lamp and moving as one, walk along a yet-to-be-determined coastal trail in a poignant display of unity.

Dotted among these major events are moments reflecting the more familiar chapters of the city’s identity, including Statewide sporting events, legacy art pieces, workshops detailing Albany’s whaling and Anzac history, and community festivals.