The Abbey Medieval Festival has sold out all 25,000 tickets for its 35th anniversary edition in under 12 hours, just weeks after winning gold at the national Qantas Australian Tourism Awards to be officially crowned Australia’s best festival.
The sell-out, which crashed the ticketing website under the weight of demand, caught even the organisers off guard. Events and Public Programs Manager Joel Stephens said the scale of the response was unlike anything the festival had experienced before.
“Selling out so quickly was a definite surprise,” Stephens said. “We were not expecting the huge demand we saw yesterday and a full sellout in less than 12 hours. It shows how popular and exciting the festival is.”
The ticketing platform buckled under the surge. Stephens acknowledged the team had made some improvements to the booking process before the sale opened, but the adjustments had the opposite effect to what was intended.
“It was a little bit of a perfect storm, to be honest,” he said. “We made some improvements to the process, made a few tweaks and unfortunately they backfired a little bit. But we’re constantly working to improve the systems and structure in place and deliver the smoothest experience possible to our customers.”
All tickets, including Saturday, Sunday and the Friday Family Fun Day on 10 July, are now fully sold out. No further tickets will be made available. Organisers recommend using the official resale partner Tixel for those seeking returned tickets.
From Queensland Gold to National Champion
The sell-out arrives at the peak of a remarkable run for the festival. In November 2025, the Abbey Medieval Festival took gold at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council Awards in the Festivals and Events category, becoming the state’s nominee for the national competition.
Then in March 2026, it went all the way, winning gold at the prestigious Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, beating more than 170 finalists across 26 categories to be recognised as Australia’s best festival. Perth’s Subi Blooms x Gather festival took silver, while South Australia’s Streaky Sounds Music Festival claimed bronze.
Stephens said the national result caught the team just as off guard as the ticket sell-out.
“We won the Queensland Tourism Industry award late last year which put us in the running for the national awards and were not expecting to take that out,” he said. “So we’re really honoured the judges looked at the festival we offer and had the same feeling the public does.”
The award recognised not just the scale of the event but the effort behind it. The festival runs with more than 300 volunteers and draws more than 1,000 reenactors, performers and speciality stallholders to Abbeystowe each July.
What July 10-12 Holds for Ticket Holders
For the 25,000 people heading to Caboolture on 10, 11 and 12 July, the 35th anniversary edition promises everything that has made the festival a national landmark event, with the added weight of a milestone year.
The festival spans approximately 600 to 1600AD in European and Middle Eastern history, and the programme brings that breadth to life across three days. The Moreton Bay Medieval Joust Championship, where Australia’s top jousters compete at speeds of 30 kilometres per hour, runs three sessions on both Saturday and Sunday, with the grand final on Sunday at 3pm to crown the new champion.
Knight combat, Turkish oil wrestling, archery, Birds of Prey demonstrations, storytelling, period music, traditional dancing and interactive encampment activities fill out the programme across the weekend.
The Friday Family Fun Day on 10 July is the festival’s sensory-friendly day, designed to welcome visitors who have challenges with learning, communication, understanding and behaviour, including people with autism, intellectual disability, Down syndrome and acquired brain injury. The Knighting Ceremony on Friday is a separate, strictly limited ticketed event.
Kids Kingdom, a dedicated children’s activity area, operates on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the space transitions to the University Pavilion, with a schedule of presentations.
A New Festival Is Coming in September
The Abbey Museum is not stopping at July. Stephens confirmed the team is also developing a brand-new event: the Abbey History Festival, locked in for 26 and 27 September 2026.
“Our main festival does have a limit on the timeline in terms of the Middle Ages, so we’re looking to launch the Abbey History Festival,” he said. “This will bring a broader timeline of re-enactments, culture and food to our Abbey Precinct helping us celebrate 40 years of the Abbey Museum, which is what all this goes to support.”
The Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology, which the festival exists to support, holds one of Australia’s most significant collections of medieval and ancient artefacts, including rare examples of European, Asian and Pacific material culture.
Getting to Abbeystowe
The festival is located at 1-63 The Abbey Place, Caboolture, off Old Toorbul Point Road. A free shuttle bus service operates every 30 minutes from Caboolture train station from 7.45am on both Saturday and Sunday.
Paid parking passes at $11 per vehicle are required for Saturday and Sunday on-site parking, with proceeds supporting the Wamuran Progress Society. Free parking is available on the existing site on Friday. A disability car park is available for permit holders, located approximately 250 metres from the front gate.
Festival ticket holders can also use their ticket for one free entry to the Abbey Museum before 30 September 2026. For more information, visit abbeymedievalfestival.com or contact the Abbey Museum on (07) 5495 1652.
Published 24-April-2026
Featured Image Credit: Abbey Medieval Festival
CLICK ANY LOGO TO SEE PUBLICATION
