Sydney will come alive this August with the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS unveiling an entertainment and cultural program that will turn race weekend into a citywide spectacle, with free events and live music bringing the whole city together to celebrate Australia's largest marathon.

Minister for Sport and Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said: "The TCS Sydney Marathon is now one of the great marathons of the world, and this year's entertainment program makes it more than just a race.

"For a whole week leading up to race day in August, there will be an unmissable buzz right across the Harbour City. This is exactly the kind of major international event that Sydney was built for.

"Whether you're running the 42km or cheering from the sidelines, this year's entertainment program will deliver a festival atmosphere that everyone in Sydney should get out on the streets for. We cannot wait to welcome the world to the greatest marathon on earth, in one of the great sporting cities on earth."

At the heart of the program is Motion Festival, the official race week live site taking over Customs House at Circular Quay from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 August, including street closures on Young Street, Alfred Street and Loftus Lane. Free and open to participants and the general public, Motion Festival brings together live music, food, big-screen race coverage and fan experiences in one of the city's most iconic public spaces, creating a meeting place for locals, interstate and international visitors alike.

Supported by grant funding from Transport for NSW through its Open Streets program, it’s your chance to experience the energy of marathon week without running a single kilometre, and if you are visiting Sydney, there may be no better time to be here.

Minister for Transport and the Night-time Economy John Graham said: “The Motion Festival will bring back some of that 2000 Sydney Olympics atmosphere, where world class sport went hand in hand with world class outdoor parties.

“While the 42km world major marathon is the key focal point, this multiday event in Circular Quay means the excitement lasts even longer.

“Supporting street events that bring people together, is a key part of the Minns Labor Government’s plan to bring Sydney back to life after a decade of lockouts and lockdowns.”

Opening at 4pm on Thursday and running from 7am to 9pm Friday to Sunday, the site is built around four pillars of Sound, Move, Taste and Connect, and it belongs as much to the participants as to the city that gathers to watch.

Mornings open with sunrise shakeout runs led by local communities, before the site turns to fuel for the effort ahead, with Carb Fest bringing together a line-up of Sydney's best carb-focused vendors for a pre-race ritual the whole city is invited to share. For recovery, the RCVRI mobile unit brings sauna and cold plunge experiences on site to help athletes restore across the week.

Across four days, Motion Festival moves from the immersive to the euphoric. Among the standouts is REALM, a new music experience, created by a team including ARIA and Grammy Award-winning producer Eric J Dubowsky and neuroscientists from the University of Sydney, which uses sound to let audiences feel the runner's high, no marathon required.

The music spans every mood, from Friday's feel-good sing-along with Kylie Fisher, the Piano Woman, to Sunday, when Young Franco closes the weekend, and the marathon itself, with a set that doubles as the official after-party.

Race day coverage will screen live and free across the country on SBS, the event's exclusive broadcast partner, with the action also playing out on big screens at Motion Festival and across the course. At Customs House, an extended broadcast hosted by rugby league great James Graham brings the race to life with crowd interaction and games throughout the day.

The program marks the most significant expansion of entertainment in the event's history, extending the celebration across the full race week.

TCS Sydney Marathon Race Director Wayne Larden said: "We’re transforming the TCS Sydney Marathon from a one-day race into a week-long cultural event that the whole city can be proud of.

"The world's great sporting events do far more than crown a winner. They bring a city to life and give people something to celebrate, and that is exactly what we are building here.

“With two brand new stages on course, a live site at Customs House and homegrown talent across the week, Sydney will be on show to the world in a way that is uniquely ours. This is something only Sydney could create, and we will keep pushing to make it one of the largest and most spectacular major events in the world."

The weekend opens on Friday 28 August with Meet the Stars, the TCS Sydney Marathon's opening ceremony and a free event on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt that hands the start of race week to the public.

Fans can line the blue carpet for the arrivals or take their place on the Sydney Opera House steps to get their first look at, and hear from, the world's top elite athletes, led by the reigning world champions in both the women's and men's marathon, alongside one of the strongest Australian fields the event has seen.

Meet the Stars also brings together a line-up of local and international high-profile faces, many taking on the marathon for the first time, among them Australia's most decorated Olympian, Emma McKeon. The night is hosted by broadcaster Brooke Boney and builds to an exclusive, free headline set from Australian duo Bag Raiders before fireworks light up the harbour to send race week on its way.

On race day, the course itself becomes a festival, with the debut of two brand new music stages bringing free, all-ages live entertainment to the route. Far more than a soundtrack for the runners, the stages double as buzzing viewing hubs where spectators can watch the race unfold while some of Australia's best artists play through the day.

With the SCG Stage at Driver Avenue and a second stage taking over Mrs Macquarie's Chair, the public can pick their spot, settle in and soak up a celebration only Sydney can deliver.

The SCG Stage runs all day, free and all-ages, with Australian dance favourite Tigerlily getting the party started before the bill builds through The Potbelleez, and Nina Las Vegas. At Mrs Macquarie's Chair, set on the harbourside headland, the celebration peaks as the city's party zone, with Anna Lunoe, Daft Punk tribute Discovery, Mashd N Kutcher and Northern Beaches local Alex Hayes on the bill, before Bag Raiders return to close the course and roar the final runners home.

The TCS Sydney Marathon is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The event is owned by Athletics Australia and managed by Pont3.