The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) has returned, and this year’s edition, running from 15th to 30th May 2026, is a bit special. It marks the start of a 3-year journey leading up to SIFA’s 50th anniversary in 2027. Revolving around the idea of “Let’s Play!”, the festival invites you to engage your inner curious George and whimsy as you engage and explore.
We got a sneak peek of what’s in store, from staged performances to interactive exhibitions, to bring you this guide to SIFA 2026.
The Singapore International Festival of Arts has undergone several name changes since its inception in 1959. First known as the Singapore Festival of Arts before a name change to the Singapore Arts Festival in 1999, the SIFA we know today got its name in 2012, following a decision to take the festival into a more avant-garde approach.
But name change aside, the festival remains a celebration of the performing arts: theatre, dance, music, and visual arts. This year’s festival director is Chong Tze Chien, a local playwright who has worked with pioneers in the Singapore art scene such as Kuo Pao Kun and Haresh Sharma.
The 2026 edition of SIFA is part of a 3-year celebration for SIFA’s 50th anniversary. The opening edition revolves around the theme of “Legacy”, focusing on how artists engage with heritage, memory, mortality, and the present moment.
SIFA 2027 will be a return to the festival’s beginnings, with the theme “Roots” celebrating pioneers in the art scene to connect both the audience and the artist with the visions that built SG’s arts landscape. And for SIFA 2028, “Renaissance” will take us into a celebration of reinvention, highlighting bold experimentation, hybrid forms, and emerging voices to show how tradition and the future intersect to redefine the performing arts.
From a parade to interactive installations, there is no shortage of things to look forward to at SIFA 2026. Explore the Festival Village at Empress Lawn, which includes performances like Year Zero and Rupture happening at the Wayang Stage.
If you’re feeling peckish, there are a couple of food stores around the village, including a noodle bar with spins on local hotpot flavours and Western dishes with local flavour influences. The food stores are not your only options for grabbing a bite. For $20, watch and even participate in a performance while having local bites with Makan Culture. P.S. You can redeem tickets with your SG Culture Pass.
There are also performances such as Last Rites, a local cross-cultural and interdisciplinary theatrical experience being staged at the SOTA Studio Theatre. Or catch Hamlet, reimagined by a company of actors with Down syndrome, happening at the Drama Centre Theatre.
The lineup of performances and festivities might seem overwhelming at first glance, so here is a list of our favourite picks and what else to expect from SIFA 2026. BTW, there’s a mix of free and ticketed activities.
Experience a display of colour, texture, sound, melody, and movement with A Light Between Rains, SIFA’s festival parade, brought to you by Off Root Theatrics. Happening on the 15th and 16th May 2026 at 6.15pm, visitors will get to catch the procession and even interact with the performers from the Esplanade Bridge to the Festival Grounds as part of the celebrations for the opening of SIFA.
If you won’t be able to catch the vibrant costumes and fun music during the festival’s opening, the parade will also be taking place at Punggol Digital District later in May.
Find out more about A Light Between Rains.
Admission: Free
Date: 15th & 16th May 2026
Time: 6.15pm-7.15 pm
Venue: Esplanade Park
Admission: Free
Date: 22nd, 23rd, 29th & 30th May 2026
Time: Various timings
Venue: Punggol Digital District Campus Boulevard
Step into an immersive world of intimate vignettes and grand lighting at The Lighthouse by Patch Theatre. The Australian-born artistic team has been creating theatrical performances since 1972, and their installation at SIFA is one of many that beckon you into the exploration of science and art.
Its use of light, sound, perspective, and reflection makes The Lighthouse the perfect place to unleash your inner child, exploring what it means to interact with the universe. The team might specialise in immersive theatre for children aged 4-8, but this installation takes anyone with enough wonder and whimsy into a whole new world with the use of storytelling. Expect to join an astronaut as he explores the universe, enjoy live music, and even participate in the installation with a small gift for you to take home.
You’ll need a ticket to experience The Lighthouse. Each entry costs $28, but there is 20% off when you purchase more than 2 tickets.
Find out more about The Lighthouse.
Admission: $28
Date: 15th-17th & 20th-24th May 2026
Time: Various timings
Venue: The Arts House at the Old Parliament
Singaporeans love eating, and we take pride in our local hawker fare. But what happens when the consequences of overproduction and overconsumption of plastic start making their way back onto our plates in the form of microplastics? You Are (Not) What You Eat! by local artist, Yang Derong, exposes the shock beneath the shiok of eating.
Displayed at Victoria Theatre Atrium, expect colourful sculptural pieces and even a kaleidoscopic mirrored installation, which you can enter. This installation highlights how plastic has become excessive, with its presence in food emphasising how seamlessly it has entered and will continue to enter our daily lives.
Find out more about You Are (Not) What You Eat!.
Admission: Free
Date: 15th-30th May 2026
Time: 10am-10pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre Atrium
Catch a soaring aerial performance as performers dance while suspended 8m in the air with Noli Timere. Since the performance is staged outdoors at the Festival Village, you’ll get to enjoy views of Singapore’s skyline and the sunset as the dancers leap through the air and even suspend from the nets. The performance explores interconnection, showing how the butterfly effect takes place tangibly, influencing another’s actions and behaviour.
If you won’t be able to make it for the 7.15pm and 9.15pm showtimes from 15th May to 17th May 2026, you’ll still be able to catch the performance on selected days at Nexus, Punggol Digital District.
You can even learn more about how Noli Timere was conceptualised at The Body as Sensing Technology: Creating Noli Timere programme, with co-creator and choreographer Rebecca Lazier. And if you’re looking for an even more hands-on experience, Discover the Nets with Noli Timere allows you to touch, test, and explore what makes the nets so special and how they allow dancers to move in harmony with them.
Find out more about Noli Timere.
Admission: Free
Date: 15th-30th May 2026
Time: 7.15pm & 9.15pm
Venue: Festival Village at Empress Lawn
Admission: Free
Date: 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 29th & 30th May 2026
Time: Various timings
Venue: Nexus, Punggol Digital District
What truly elevates food and art? What makes something good? Makan Culture, by local playwright and actor Jo Tan, explores these themes in a show within a show. The interactive performance takes you on a journey to unpack what makes local food and culture unique, and how we often perceive our own creations to be lesser than.
There are even segments where you can contribute to the performance, including a bit where the answers you give are incorporated into a song. You’ll also get to really makan as you watch on, as local bites like rojak, pandan cake, and kaya toast will be served as part of the performance.
Showtimes are on selected days – you’ll need to purchase a ticket for the show, each priced at $20. Bring your family or your friends, because with every 4 tickets you get 1 free. Tickets are also redeemable with your SG Culture Pass.
Find out more about Makan Culture.
Admission: $20
Date: 15th-17th, 20th-25th & 28th-30th May 2026
Time: 6pm, 8pm, 10pm
Venue: Festival Village at Empress Lawn
Next Gen Showcase @ Carousel
Step into an infinity mirror room that opens up to the sky at the Carousel. Expect from the installation a trippy experience as you and your surroundings are reflected again and again. There will even be a multidisciplinary performance, Next Gen Showcase, by the University of Arts Singapore, taking place from 15th to 17th, 20th to 24th, and 28th to 30th May 2026 at 7.30pm, 8.30pm, and 9.30pm.
Find out more about Carousel and Next Gen Showcase @ Carousel.
Carousel
Admission: Free
Date: 15th-30th May 2026
Time: 10am-10pm
Venue: Esplanade Park
Next Gen Showcase
Admission: Free
Date: 15th-17th, 20th-24th & 28th-30th May 2026
Time: 7.30pm, 8.30pm & 9.30pm
Venue: Esplanade Park
Create your own village with The Blocks, an interactive installation. Located at Anderson Bridge @ Festival Village and Nexus, Punggol Digital District, these life-sized blocks encourage you to tap into your imagination or portray what story you’re looking to tell as you rearrange the colourful blocks.
There will also be a giveaway where you stand a chance to win a 3D2N staycation at a lyf hotel in SG. Simply snap a photo of your creation, describe what it means to you and what it represents, and post it on your IG feed with the hashtag #WeBuiltThisVillage. Remember to make your profile public, and tag and follow @sifa_sg and @live.lyf.here for your entry to count.
Find out more about The Blocks.
Admission: Free
Date: 15th, 16th, 17th, 21st-24th & 28th-30th May 2026
Time: Various timings
Venue: Anderson Bridge @ Festival Village
With the extensive lineup of performances and installations, there will always be something for you to explore at SIFA 2026.
Find out more about the Singapore International Festival of Arts
For more things to do in SG:
Photography by Ashley Hoon.
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There are interactive performances, visual displays, and a parade to look forward to.
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