Venture capital firm Blackbird’s annual startup Coachella, Sunrise Australia, will be held on Thursday, April 30, next year.
That shaves a day off the annual “love letter to Aussie startups”, with the VC promising “one massive day + one huge night” instead.
Announcing the changes to the 2026 event, Blackbird said the revamping the event to “channel every drop of creativity, energy, and magic into the most valuable, high-impact celebration of our startup community”.
Alongside a 30% drop in general admission tickets from $409 to $289, there are also $99 tickets for early-stage founders up to Series A, including bootstrapped and pre-funding founders. .
But for a chance of nabbing one, you have to apply here by January 16, and the recipients will be chosen by lottery.
Blackbird is also offering a $10,000 in funding for grants of between $200 and $2000 to support community-run side events around Sunrise week.
Applications for the funding close on Friday, February 26, next year, and you’ll find out if you scored one in early March. Apply for the Sunrise Community Events Fund here.
The third initiative being introduced in 2026 is a community meetup space at Sunrise, which once again will be held at Carriageworks in Eveleigh, Sydney
The free, dedicated meetup space onsite during Sunrise is for community groups to gather. You’ll need to apply for a hosted time slot. Applications will open in early 2026.
Blackbird Foundation boss and Sunrise creative director Joel Connolly said they wanted to celebrate the communities growing alongside startups.
“We wanted to make more space for others in the community to run their own events around Sunrise week,” he said.
“Concentrating the main event into one massive day and night means more room for community-led programming. We’ve also launched a $10K grant fund to help make that happen.”
More about on Sunrise Australia here. Tickets go on sale in the new year.
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