The AFL 'Gather Round.. A Festival of Footy' will return to South Australia in 2026, with the major event locked in to take place from Thursday, 9 April to Sunday, 12 April.
Next year's event will coincide with the middle weekend of school holidays in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, and the first weekend of school holidays in South Australia and New South Wales.
The confirmation of the 2026 dates coincides with the release of economic data showing the 2025 edition of Gather Round delivered a record economic contribution of $113.9 million.
The Total Economic Contribution, confirmed by research conducted by IER, is 24 per cent higher than the contribution of the 2024 event ($91.6 million), and 36 per cent higher than the contribution of the inaugural 2023 event ($83.5 million).
The research also indicated this year's event created 241,613 visitor nights in South Australia, 26 per cent higher than last year, with visitors spending on average 4.7 nights in SA.
Pleasingly, the first ever AFL matches at the new Barossa Park facility helped generate $4.87 million in direct expenditure for the Barossa Valley region.
Barossa Park is set to once again feature at Gather Round in 2026, with the fixture to be confirmed later this year.
The 2025 Gather Round saw a total attendance of 269,506 at nine matches played across Adelaide Oval, Norwood and Barossa Park, with 36 per cent of attendees coming from interstate.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
Gather Round continues to be a stunning success for our state, generating a record $113.9 million in economic activity and bringing tens of thousands of visitors to our state to stay safe and experience all we have to offer.
This growth trajectory is testament to the continued investment and innovation we have worked hard to deliver in partnership with the AFL.
But it's also due to the support of footy fans, South Australians and visitors who have embraced Gather Round unlike anything else.
We're thrilled to welcome Gather Round the weekend after Easter in 2026.
The timing coincides with school holidays in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, and we'll be encouraging visitors to stay as long as possible.
As put by AFL CEO Andrew Dillon
This year's Gather Round was another incredible success with almost 270,000 fans attending across the four days of matches – our highest Gather Round attendance yet – and we are excited to do it all again in 2026," Dillon said.
The timing of the event, in line with school holidays, has worked well the past three years and announcing the dates for next year's Gather Round now will allow fans to organise their travel accommodation early, especially considering roughly a third of attendees each year have come from interstate.
Planning for 2026 Gather Round and how we can make it even bigger and better is already underway, and we look forward to being able to share more details, including the fixture, later in the year.
