Knockout Festival Now Australia's Largest One-Day Outdoor Event

Knockout Outdoor drew 60,000 people to ENGIE Stadium at Sydney Showground this past weekend, making it Australia's biggest one-day outdoor festival.

Tickets for the event sold out in 45 minutes, setting a festival record, and more than 100,000 people pre-registered.

Dutch DJ Headhunterz headlined a lineup of close to 40 international and local acts. The main stage was the highest ever built for a festival in Australia, with production technology usually seen at festivals such as Tomorrowland and EDC.

Even the storm that hit Sydney on Saturday afternoon and paused main stage performances didn’t dampen the spirits of festival goers who were treated to a rainbow taking over the sky afterwards.

Peter Finley, Founder of HSU, celebrated the success of the 2026 edition.

“Seeing 60,000 people come together for Knockout Outdoor 2026 was incredible," he said.

"The passion for hard dance music in Australia is something special, and our community continues to push us to dream bigger every year.

“LEVEL UP was about creating another world for our fans to step into, where the music, production and atmosphere all came together. We’re incredibly proud of what our team delivered and grateful to everyone who made this year’s Knockout such an unforgettable experience.”

Knockout Outdoor 2026 took our production to another level. The main stage was the largest ever built in the Southern Hemisphere for a music festival, featuring immersive visuals, large-scale laser shows and staging designed around this year’s ‘LEVEL UP’ theme. 

“Another major highlight was the display of one thousand drones, adding an extraordinary new dimension to the festival experience and something that hadn’t been done before at any music festival or concert event in Australia.” 

HSU's next event is EPIK 2026 at Sydney Showground in December, featuring the Australian debut of Project One, the duo of Headhunterz and Wildstylez. The show has sold out. Pre-registration is open for HTID PRESENTS KLASSIC 2027.