Canberra Milk is synonymous with our capital city and now music festival Spilt Milk has become a Canberra institution, with first release tickets selling out within an hour.
Since 2016 when the festival debuted in Canberra, the festival has contributed approximately $127 million to the ACT visitor economy.
Each year the festival consistently sells out, starting with 23,304 attendees in 2016 and peaking at 45,671 last year.
The 2025 Spilt Milk festival generated an estimated $30.2 million in economic impact for the ACT.
Accommodation providers were among the biggest beneficiaries, with hotel occupancy reaching 91 per cent on the Friday night before Spilt Milk and climbing to 95 per cent on the night of the festival.
Hotel revenues reached $1.66 million and $2.06 million respectively, making these the two strongest nights of 2025 for Canberra’s hotel sector, with the festival night delivering the highest single night of hotel revenue recorded during the year.
What’s remarkable about Spilt Milk is that even in the current tough festival climate (long-running Byron Bay Bluesfest was cancelled last year), it doesn’t need a big city to survive.
Regional centres like Canberra, Geelong, Gold Coast and Perth are the lucky few chosen by Kicks Entertainment, and tens of thousands of people flock there with their expendable income.
It’s great for Canberra’s economy but not so great for festivalgoers, with some room rates spiking to $500-$700 a night (last year in Ballarat some attendees paid thousands of dollars for two nights).
Canberrans have a home-ground advantage; however, many Canberra Spilt Milk attendees travel from Sydney and regional NSW as far west as Griffith.
We were the original chosen ones, however, as Spilt Milk was held exclusively in Canberra for three years before expanding to Ballarat in 2019, Gold Coast in 2022, and Perth in 2023.
While most international headline acts usually bypass the national capital, Spilt Milk brings massive headline acts to Canberra, like 2025’s multi-platinum American rapper Kendrick Lamar andGrammy-winning rapper Doechii.
This year, Spilt Milk brings to Canberra Scottish sensation Lewis Capaldi, who’s hit “Someone You Loved” topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks, and British star Maye, with her hit “Where Is My Husband!” There are 38 artists in total.
Exhibition Park will be transformed into threemain music stages alongwith extra areas for pop-up performances (the first Spilt Milk in Canberra was at Stage 88).
An ACT Government spokesperson said the success of Spilt Milk demonstrated Canberra’s ability to attract and host world-class events and internationally recognised touring artists.
“By delivering large-scale events that draw audiences from across Australia, Canberra has strengthened its reputation as a premier events destination and a key stop on national touring schedules.”
Spilt Milk Canberra is on Saturday 12 December from 12 midday to 11pm. Second release tickets on sale now: spilt-milk.com.au/canberra
