Newcastle is a city that celebrates its cultural diversity with an abundance of festivals, music, visual arts, and theatre events throughout the year. The city’s cultural calendar is packed with events that draw people from across the country, offering something for everyone.

Among the prominent festivals, the Newcastle Regional Show is a long-standing tradition, showcasing the region’s agricultural roots with woodchopping displays, rides, fireworks, and more. Another significant cultural event is the Mattara Festival, first established in 1961, which blends a traditional "country fair" atmosphere with parades, rides, sporting events, and artistic exhibitions. The festival’s name, "Mattara," meaning "hand of friendship" in the local Awabakal language, was originally held in Civic Park before moving to the Newcastle foreshore in 2006 and later to Wallsend Park in 2017.

The Newcastle Jazz Festival, held every August, is another major highlight. Since its inception in 1988, it has attracted jazz performers and fans from around Australia. Additionally, the Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival, which began in 1999, challenges filmmakers to create short films within 24 hours, fostering creativity and collaboration.

Newcastle is also home to This Is Not Art, a national festival celebrating new media and arts, held each year during the October long weekend. This festival showcases innovative works from artists and communities often underrepresented in other major Australian art festivals, including independent events like Electrofringe, the National Young Writers' Festival, and the Crack Theatre Festival.

For music lovers, Newcastle is a hotspot of live music culture, with an active youth music scene and a Conservatorium of Music at the University of Newcastle. The city has nurtured several successful local bands, including the internationally acclaimed Silverchair, The Screaming Jets, and Vacations. The city's punk rock and hardcore scene is thriving, alongside a youth marching band, the Marching Koalas, which helped launch the drumming career of Silverchair’s Ben Gillies. Moreover, the global success of K-pop star Danielle Marsh of NewJeans adds to Newcastle’s diverse musical legacy.

In the realm of visual arts, Newcastle is rich in artistic history, with many notable artists associated with the region, such as landscape painter John Olsen and portraitist William Dobell. The Newcastle Art Gallery, with one of Australia’s largest public collections of Australian art, is an iconic cultural institution. The city is also home to The Lock Up, a contemporary art space located in a former police station, hosting a range of exhibitions by both local and international artists.

Newcastle’s theatre scene offers a mix of smaller venues and major institutions like the Civic Theatre, a historic Art Deco theatre hosting musicals, plays, concerts, and more. While the city once boasted several large theatres, including the Victoria Theatre, much of the city’s theatre landscape has changed, with some venues having closed due to the rise of television in the 1960s.

The city's rich artistic heritage extends to its community of actors, comedians, and entertainers, such as Sarah Wynter, Yahoo Serious, and Jonathan Biggins. The Tap Dogs, an internationally recognized dance group, also hails from Newcastle, showcasing the city's deep connection to the performing arts.

With its vibrant festivals, thriving music scene, and growing arts presence, Newcastle continues to shine as a cultural hub that embraces creativity and fosters talent across generations.