Adelaide Festival approaches record box office thanks to international blockbusters, but Australian artists shine

This year's festival was curated by Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy, though they handed over the reins to new artistic director Ruth Mackenzie mid-2022. (Supplied: Adelaide Festival/Andrew Beveridge)

It's been a slightly bumpy start to this year's Adelaide Festival, marred by a line-up controversy that led to the withdrawal of writers and the loss of a major sponsor, and the arrest of an international artist ahead of his opening weekend performances.

The festival's vital signs were otherwise good: Ahead of opening weekend, it had met 91 per cent of its box office target — the biggest target to date — and 25 per cent of ticket sales were accounted for by interstate visitors.