The Adelaide Fringe has revealed its official 2016 poster, picked from hundreds of submissions.

Like the festival equivalent of baubles appearing on department store shelves, the annual unveiling of the Adelaide Fringe poster is the first public sign that Mad March is just around the corner, even if that corner five months long. The unveiling of a new Fringe poster always provokes a range of feedback and conversation, but you’ve got to hand it to Festival organisers for this year picking a poster that is, in the most literal sense, a real bullseye.

According to Adelaide Fringe Director and Chief Executive Heather Croall the kaleidoscope-inspired design by South Australian expat Stephanie Mitchell was “an image the judges kept getting drawn back to again and again”.

“The kaleidoscope has more than a touch of 60’s psychedelia about it with mind altering patterns and movements. It’s like a Fringe carousel and we want people to be brave, jump on board and see where it takes them.”

As in previous years the winning poster was selected from an open call for designers and artists around the world to submit their ideas. This year attracted a whopping 500 entries, with 30 runners up to be displayed publicly for the first time on a large screen in Rundle Mall.

So does the poster live up to the hype? Check it out here:

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