NEON Forum, the NSW Government’s night-time economy conference, returns for a fourth year on 4 and 5 November 2026, and it costs nothing to attend.
The event is run by the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner and this year takes over ILLUMINA and the surrounding MP District in Sydney. It bills itself as the largest night-time economy conference in the country, bringing together government, industry, creators and community voices for two days of panels, keynotes and workshops.
The 2026 program adds a new group of international speakers from the US, UK, India and Singapore alongside NSW and Australian voices. Session themes cover safety and accessibility, connection and culture, precincts and placemaking, and data and economics.
The data strand is powered by the Commissioner’s Data After Dark platform and looks at spend, mobility, safety and consumer behaviour across the state. There are also hands-on workshops on the resources, templates, reforms and upskilling programs available to businesses and councils.
The Commissioner’s office puts the NSW night-time economy at almost $120 billion, with one in three people in the state working at night. Special Entertainment Precincts, vibrancy reforms and the recent Cronulla and Tamworth precinct announcements all came out of the same office, so the forum is a good place to hear what is coming next and to put venue issues in front of the people writing the policy.
Alongside the sessions there are after dark activations and networking across MP District, and the Neon Marketplace platform is running a pitch stream where organisations, producers and service providers can put projects in front of Districts and collaborators from across NSW.
Registration details are on the NSW Government NEON Forum page. It is worth putting the dates in the diary now if you run a music venue in NSW or want to see how the precinct model is being sold to councils.
Source: Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, 28 August 2026, and Neon Marketplace.
