Thirty years after their Eurovision triumph, the Norwegian-Irish duo returns to a country that’s been waiting—literally—for decades.
SYDNEY, Australia – In 1996, Secret Garden slipped into Australia almost unnoticed.
They had just won Eurovision with “Nocturne” – the first instrumental piece ever to take the prize. Their debut album was quietly climbing charts worldwide. And one night, at a modest venue in Sydney, they played for a few hundred people who had somehow discovered them.
No press release announced their arrival. No billboards lined the streets. It was, as violinist Fionnuala Sherry recalls, “like a secret we shared with the people who came.”
“We played, and they listened,” says Sherry. “And then we left.”
Three decades later, that secret is out.
This November, Secret Garden returns to Australia – not as a whisper, but as a roar. Five cities. Five major venues. And an audience that has grown from hundreds to hundreds of thousands.
The transformation tells its own story. Between that quiet 1996 visit and now, Secret Garden’s music has become the backdrop to millions of lives. “You Raise Me Up” has been recorded by over 1,000 artists, performed at the Olympics and Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and translated into more than 40 languages. Their albums have sold over 6 million copies. They’ve spent 311 weeks on the Billboard New Age Chart – a record that, like their first Australian tour, most people don’t know.
“That’s the thing about our music,” says composer Rolf Løvland. “It doesn’t demand attention. It waits. And somehow, over time, it finds its way into people’s lives.”
The Road from a Sydney Back Room to ICC Darling Harbour
The contrast between 1996 and 2026 could not be starker.
Then: a small crowd, minimal lighting, no encore. Now: the 8,000-seat ICC Sydney Darling Harbour Theatre, the grand Palais in Melbourne, the iconic Riverside in Perth – venues that represent the pinnacle of Australian live performance.
“What happens in between is what moves us most,” Løvland reflects. “Letters. Emails. People stopping us on the street to say: this song was at my wedding. This song helped me through cancer. This song played when my daughter was born.”
Those stories, he says, are the reason they keep touring. “We could stay in Norway, write music, never leave. But then we would never meet the people who make our music mean something.”
The 2026 tour will include all the songs that accumulated those stories over three decades: “You Raise Me Up,” “Song from a Secret Garden,” “Nocturne,” “Sometimes When It Rains,” “The Promise.” But Løvland hints at additions. “We’ve been writing. There will be moments no one has heard before. For Australia, after all these years – we wanted to bring something new.”
The Inspiration Forest: Giving Back to the Land That Waited
Beyond the music, the tour carries a purpose that connects directly to the country that welcomed them so quietly in 1996.
The “Secret Garden Inspiration Forest” – an initiative established by tour presenter Wise N Rise – will restore native bushland in fire-affected regions, including the Greater Blue Mountains and East Gippsland. For every ticket sold, one dollar will go toward replanting critical wildlife corridors.
“Australia gave us a secret audience all those years ago,” says Sherry. “This is our way of giving something back to the land itself.”
A Different Kind of Homecoming
For most touring artists, a return to Australia is routine. For Secret Garden, it carries the weight of decades.
“We never forgot that night in 1996,” Løvland admits. “Not because it was grand – because it was quiet. People listened like they really heard us. That doesn’t happen everywhere.”
Thirty years later, those people – and millions more who discovered them in the years since – will finally get to hear them again.
“It’s strange to think,” Sherry muses, “that the people who were there in 1996 might now be bringing their children. Maybe even their grandchildren. We’ve been part of their family soundtrack without even knowing it.”
She pauses. “This time, we want to meet them face to face.”
Tour Dates
Perth – 6 November 2026 | Riverside Theatre, PCEC | Tickets via Ticketek
Sydney – 8 November 2026 | Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney | Tickets via Ticketek
Melbourne – 13 November 2026 | Palais Theatre | Tickets via Ticketmaster
Adelaide – 14 November 2026 | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | Tickets via Ticketek
Brisbane – 15 November 2026 | Great Hall, BCEC | Tickets via Ticketek
Ticket Prices: A Reserve $180 | Premium $280 | VIP $380 (plus booking fees)
Tickets are on sale now. Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane via Ticketek; Melbourne via Ticketmaster.
About Secret Garden
Secret Garden is the Grammy Award-winning Norwegian-Irish duo comprising composer/keyboardist Rolf Løvland and violinist Fionnuala Sherry. Since winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1995 with “Nocturne” – the first and only instrumental piece ever to win the competition – they have released 11 albums, sold over 6 million records, and achieved 113 Platinum certifications worldwide. Their music has spent 311 weeks on the Billboard New Age Chart.
About Wise N Rise Pty Ltd
Wise N Rise Pty Ltd is Australia’s premier producer of world-class cultural performances, specializing in creating bespoke, high-impact events. The company previously presented Richard Clayderman’s sold-out 2023 Australian Tour.
