Australian Story Live: Celebrating 30 Years
A special live event to celebrate 30 years of the ABC’s Australian Story
Event details
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Saturday, 15 August 2026 | 1:00pm |
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Premium | $65.00 |
| A Reserve | $55.00 |
| B Reserve | $45.00 |
$8.95 booking fee applies per transaction
Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection.
The only authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
Sydney Opera House Insiders pre-sale
9am, Tuesday 12 May 2026
Become a Sydney Opera House Insider to receive exclusive pre-sale access
Sydney Opera House Insiders pre-sale
9am, Wednesday 13 May 2026
General Public tickets on-sale
9am, Thursday 14 May 2026
For those requiring assistance, wheelchair or companion seating, accessible seating locations are available. Bookings can be made by calling the Box Office on +61 2 9250 7777 or by email.
This performance may be filmed.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy.
The Sydney Morning HeraldAustralian Story has forged a reputation for candour and compassion, demonstrating that the two need not be mutually exclusive, even in the rugged realm of current affairs.
Lineup
Deborah Fleming was the founding executive producer of Australian Story and was recognised for her work with a Walkley Award in 2005. Working with a small, talented team, she helped create the program and led it from its inception in 1996 until leaving the ABC in 2015. Before Australian Story she worked for the Nine Network in Sydney and was executive producer of the ABC’s The 7.30 Report in Queensland and NSW. She now lives just outside Hobart.
Astrid Jorgensen is a choral conductor, composer, entertainer and author who believes that everybody can sing. Founder and director of Pub Choir, Astrid is a global leader in communal, accessible music-making, enchanting audiences and guiding untrained singers to musical greatness. In 2020, she was a finalist for Queensland Young Australian of the Year, and in 2024 received the Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to the community as a musical director. She previously worked as a high-school music teacher, and her original choral works are frequently performed around the world. Astrid lives in Brisbane with her partner Evyn, and a furious chihuahua called Penny.
Claudia Karvan is one of Australia's most respected actors and producers, working across film, television and theatre. She co-created, produced and starred in the Stan series Bump, earning AACTA and Silver Logie nominations for her performance, and the 2026 AACTA Award for Best Narrative Comedy Series. She co-created and produced Doctor Doctor for Nine Network and co-created, produced and starred in the Foxtel series Spirited and Love My Way, winning two Silver Logies and two AFI Awards for the latter. In 2023, she received an Order of Australia for her service to the industry.
Born in Poland, Michael Klim came to Australia with his family at 11 and established himself as a gifted junior swimmer. He made his Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games aged 18 and went on to win numerous medals across a wide range of events. His greatest triumph came at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games where he led the Australian men's 4x100 relay team to a gold medal in world record time. Klim retired from competitive swimming in 2007 and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2022. In 2020 he was diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), a rare autoimmune disorder that affects the nerves. He became a vocal health advocate and in 2025 launched the Klim Foundation with his partner Michelle Owen to raise awareness of CIDP and funds for research into its treatment.
Alex Lloyd is a singer-songwriter who began playing live in his early teens and went on to achieve huge acclaim in his 20s. He has won the ARIA Award for Best Male Artist three times and four of his albums made the top 10 on the ARIA charts. His 2001 single Amazing has become an enduring Australian classic. It was voted the #1 song in that year's Triple J Hottest 100 and won song of the year at the 2002 APRA Music Awards. Alex continues to write and perform and was featured on Australian Story last year.
Tim Minchin is a musician, writer, actor and comedian. He is the composer and lyricist behind the stage musicals Matilda and Groundhog Day.
He has toured his iconic live shows for two decades, playing some of the world’s most iconic venues in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US.
He has released two studios albums: Apart Together (2020) and Tim Minchin Time Machine (2025). As an actor, he has appeared in Upright, Californication, Robin Hood, Secret River and The Artful Dodger.
He was also head writer and co-producer of Upright. Stage roles include Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar and Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. His books include Storm, When I Grow Up and You Don’t Have To Have a Dream.
He has won many awards including Oliviers, AACTA, AWGIE, Logie, Evening Standard, Edinburgh Comedy Award, Helpmann, Chortle and the Richard Dawkins Award for Science Communication.
He has been nominated for Tonys and Grammys, is a member of the Order of Australia and has received three honorary doctorates.
Leigh Sales is one of the country's most high-profile and respected journalists and has been the presenter of Australian Story since 2023. She joined the ABC in 1995 and worked as a political reporter, Washington correspondent and national security correspondent and was host of the current affairs program 7.30 for 12 years. Leigh has won three prestigious Walkley Awards for journalism and in 2019 was awarded an Order of Australia for her services to journalism. She also anchors other key programs for the ABC, including The Assembly and Australian of the Year.
Gayle Shann’s life changed forever on August 9, 2002, when she became entangled in a post hole digger on their remote property in Central Queensland. Newly married to farmer Mac, Gayle lost one arm and the other was paralysed. The couple appeared on Australian Story in 2003 and won over audiences with their honesty, resilience and obvious love for one another. Their story was revisited in 2006 and 2015 and was voted the most popular Australian Story of all time in 2021. They continue to run a successful cattle and horse breeding operation.
In 2022, Mechelle Turvey’s 15-year-old son Cassius was assaulted coming home from school and died of his injuries 10 days later. The death of the Noongar Yamatji schoolboy sparked a national day of action across Australia, with rallies and vigils to express grief, anger, hurt and solidarity with his loved ones. Mechelle led the march in Perth, giving a powerful speech calling for calm and non-violence – and the need for proper care for victims of crime and their families. In 2023, Mechelle began training Western Australia Police Force recruits in dealing with victims of crime with empathy and support. In 2024 she was named WA Australian of the Year.
Eddie Woo teaches mathematics at Cherrybrook Technology High School. His YouTube channel, Wootube, has more than 2 million subscribers and 180 million views of his everyday classroom lessons. An internationally published author, in 2018 he was named Australia’s Local Hero in the Australian of the Year Awards and listed as one of the Top 10 teachers in the world by the Global Teacher Prize.
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Attending this event
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see the Wilson Parking website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a 7-10 minute walk to the Opera House.
Frequently asked questions
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. Resale restriction applies. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
Please contact Box Office on +61 2 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend.
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House became a smoke-free site in January 2022. Read our Smoke-free Environment Policy.
Location and access
Concert Hall
The Concert Hall is located beneath the largest of Sydney Opera House’s roof sails, filling the upper levels of the west side of the building. Best accessed through the covered concourse.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators).