Everything You Can Do at the 2026 Australian Open That Isn’t Tennis

Every January, Melbourne rearranges itself around the Australian Open. Whether you’re a tennis fan or not, the whole event is inescapable for locals. And for good reason.

The AO isn’t just something you attend once and move on from. For most locals, it’s a couple of weeks of dipping in and out. A match after work. A wander through Melbourne Park on a warm afternoon. A night session that turns into a late one without much planning.

Do it right, and you don’t need a finals ticket or a well-thought-out itinerary. You just need to know where to spend your time.

The Tennis (Briefly)

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the year and, as always, it brings the sport’s biggest names to Melbourne for two whole weeks.

World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz headlines the field alongside defending champion Jannik Sinner, ten-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev. They’re joined by even more world-class players, including Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Lorenzo Musetti and Alexander Bublik.

The 2026 tournament is running from 18 January to 1 February at Melbourne Park, with qualifying matches beginning earlier in the week. The singles draw is now confirmed, setting the path to finals weekend.

Everything Else You Can Do at the Australian Open

Live Music Before and After the Matches

The Australian Open may showcase the best on the court, but in between matches, it’s a full-blown live music event. Across the two weeks, Rod Laver Arena will host pre-match performances every night of the main draw, making every ticket a guaranteed double feature of sport and music, even before the first serve.

This year’s pre-match performers range from homegrown favourites like Cody Simpson and Paulini to international names including Patti LaBelle and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. January features a live performance from Crowded House, alongside a headline exhibition billed as the Battle of the World No.1s, bringing together Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, and Australian legends Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt.

Outside the main stadiums, AO LIVE keeps the precinct moving. John Cain Arena hosts ticketed headline shows, while DJs and live acts spill out across TOPCOURT and Grand Slam Oval throughout the day and into the evening. Artists like The Kid LAROI, Reneé Rapp, Peggy Gou and The Veronicas headline the AO LIVE Presents program, while more casual sets and DJs handle the in-between moments elsewhere.

Like the tennis itself, you don’t need to chase every performance. Turn up early, hang around after a match, and you’ll probably catch something without trying too hard.

Bars Worth Stopping For

The Australian Open does bars better than most sporting events, which probably shouldn’t surprise anyone. If you’re planning to spend more than a match or two inside Melbourne Park, these are the places that make sticking around worthwhile.

Terrazza Aperol is back again and remains one of the easiest places to anchor a group. Central, shaded and built for meet-ups rather than quick pit stops, it’s the kind of place you default to when everyone arrives at different times. A central meeting spot before heading to centre court, if you will.

If you want to stay close to the action, the Courtside Bar by Grey Goose is clearly the best watering hole in the precinct. The shaded Highline seating looks out over the Western Courts, so you won’t be too far from the next break point.

That’s assuming you don’t get sidetracked by what’s become one of the tournament’s go-to drinks: the Grey Goose Lemon Ace. Cold, citrusy, and dangerously easy to keep ordering on a hot afternoon.

Elsewhere, Grand Slam Oval and TOPCOURT handle most of the casual drinking. Expect pop-up bars pouring beer, wine, and ready-to-drink cocktails, with plenty of space to stand and settle in. TOPCOURT skews louder with DJs and branded bars, while Grand Slam Oval is more spread out and suited to long afternoons.

Lipton Ice Tea is also available across bars throughout the precinct, with a bigger presence at TOPCOURT in the form of Lipton Island. Think shaded seating, bright umbrellas and a custom terrazzo bar pouring exclusive iced tea creations made specifically for the Australian Open. It’s a relaxed, alcohol-free stop that works well between matches.

Big screens are scattered throughout both areas, too, so even without a seat inside an arena, it’s easy to stop, grab a drink, and keep an eye on whatever’s unfolding on court.

Food Worth Leaving Your Seat For

Food at the Australian Open has moved well beyond the classic meat pie and hot chips you’d expect at most Aussie sporting events. In 2026, the tournament rolls out its biggest food lineup yet, with a mix of first-time pop-ups, Melbourne institutions, and AO staples that might make queuing tough.

The headline arrival is the first-ever Australian pop-up of Shake Shack. The New York favourite is making its local debut at Melbourne Park, serving up its classic ShackBurger, Cheese Fries, and AO-exclusive shakes. Yeah, this one’s also gonna create some queues and a whole lot of FOMO.

Melbourne institutions also show up strongly. Stalactites x Taverna brings proper Greek flavours to Grand Slam Oval, while Season Chicken returns with its Vietnamese fried chicken that is just as easy to eat sitting down as it is in between sets.

For a quick bite, Suupaa leans into Japanese-inspired convenience food designed for grab-and-go. Nearby, the AO Frappe from a2 Milk has become a reliable way to cool down near John Cain Arena on hotter days.

Then there are the AO staples that keep bringing the goods. Peach Melbourne tops the list with its peach-and-vanilla soft serve, which has become as much a part of the tournament’s visual language as anything else. You’ll find it at Kia Arena, Show Court 3 and TOPCOURT, just look for the queues.

Sweet-tooths should also make a stop at the M&M’S Pop-Up Store, the only M&M’S store in the Southern Hemisphere. Alongside the famous candy wall, fans can try the new Crunchy Cookie flavour and build their own custom mix using AO-exclusive pink and light blue M&M’S made locally in Ballarat.

Garden Square is also home to a few local reworks. The Butcher’s Banga, created with Vic’s The Chef’s Butcher, puts a premium spin on the sausage-in-bread, while Petit Potato & Co turns the humble potato cake (even if it is a scallop) into a loaded snack with both savoury and sweet options.

Award-winning First Nations chef Mindy Woods returns with her AO on the Go popcorn cart, serving First Nations-inspired flavours made with native ingredients from Bundjalung Country, on Wurundjeri Country.

For families or anyone settling in for a long day, Wonder Pies keeps things simple with savoury pies, sweets, coffee, and its signature AO Shortbread Cookie. That same area also feeds into the AO Ballpark, which is designed with families in mind. There’s space for kids to burn off energy, casual activities running through the day, and enough nearby food options to make longer daytime visits easier.

What Does a Ticket Get You?

Basically, stadium tickets are the only way to guarantee seeing the biggest names. All the headline matches are played on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena, with separate day and night sessions.

The upside is that a stadium ticket also gives you full access to the Melbourne Park precinct for the whole day, so you can wander, eat, drink, and catch tennis elsewhere before your session starts.

If you’re more interested in atmosphere than assigned seats, a ground pass skips the stadiums but still gets you into the precinct, outside courts (where available), live screens, bars, and food.

One of the underrated perks of wandering the grounds is stumbling across the practice courts. Even once the draw is set, players are still training throughout the tournament, and you can often watch top names hit up close without a stadium ticket.

Why the Australian Open Works So Well in Melbourne

It’s no secret that the Australian Open has grown into something that stretches well beyond the court. People don’t just turn up for the tennis anymore. They come for the food, the drinks, the music, and the fact that Melbourne Park becomes a genuinely good place to spend time during summer.

AO LIVE plays a big part in that. What starts in Opening Week rolls right through the tournament, turning the precinct into a loose, low-pressure music program that runs alongside the matches. There’s no need for too much planning either. You just turn up and see what’s happening.

The Australian Open might be the most attended tennis event on the planet, but that’s only part of the story. It works because it’s become a Melbourne ritual. The tennis is the drawcard. But it’s everything that surrounds the event that keeps people hanging around.