The AFL's 'Festival of Footy' will be going around again in 2026, with the league confirming the dates from Thursday, 9 April through to Sunday, 12 April, with the fixture to be announced later this year.
It will be the fourth iteration of the week-long event, following its resounding success after being introduced in 2023, located in the heart of South Australia and spanning the state in areas such as the Barossa Valley and Norwood.
This year, the Gather Round raked in $113.9 million, up 24 per cent from 2024 ($91.6m) and 36 per cent from 2023 ($83.5m).
A statement from the AFL also said: "The research also indicated this year's event created 241,613 visitor nights in South Australia – 26 per cent more than last year – and saw interstate visitors spending on average 4.7 nights in the state."
Barossa Valley's launch in 2025 is set for a reprieve next year, with the AFL confirming it generated $4.87 million in direct expenditure to the region.
"This year's Gather Round was another incredible success with almost 270,000 fans attending across the four days of matches – our highest Gather Round attendance yet – and we are excited to do it all again in 2026," AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said.
"The timing of the event, in line with school holidays, has worked well the past three years and announcing the dates for next year's Gather Round now will allow fans to organise their travel and accommodation early, especially considering roughly a third of attendees each year have come from interstate.
"Planning for 2026 Gather Round and how we can make it even bigger and better is already underway, and we look forward to being able to share more details, including the fixture, later in the year."
The league has yet to confirm where Gather Round will be hosted in 2027, although South Australia, after their four-year deal, has put its hand up.
Western Australia poses as the likeliest rival to its neighbouring state, given New South Wales and Queensland have hosted Opening Round in the past two seasons.
