Adelaide Polo Classic is raising the bar on hospitality in 2026
The Adelaide Polo Classic has built its reputation on delivering more than a day at the polo.
For 2026, the event is pushing that idea further, introducing a new generation of hospitality experiences designed to feel less like traditional event catering and more like stepping into a private restaurant, club and summer party – all within one afternoon.
Returning to Ellis Park on Friday 11 December, the Adelaide Polo Classic will once again bring together fast-paced polo, fashion, premium food and beverage, and live entertainment against the Adelaide CBD skyline. But this year, the biggest changes are happening off the field.
A new look for VIP
The Veuve Clicquot VIP Marquee is being completely reimagined for 2026, with a new white pavilion-style structure, elevated styling and a greater focus on the overall guest experience.
The new pavilion format draws inspiration from some of the world’s most recognisable polo events, including the pitched tent hospitality used at Ralph Lauren’s NSW polo event earlier this year. That event featured alfresco tables, fieldside seating and a distinctly refined country-club aesthetic – an approach the Adelaide Polo Classic is adapting for its own setting at Ellis Park.
For Adelaide Polo Classic Hospitality Manager Penny Schapel, the objective is simple: make the VIP precinct feel exceptional before a guest has even had their first glass of champagne.
“Every year we look at what we can improve, and this year we really wanted to focus on the environment people are spending four hours in,” Schapel says.
“The new pavilion gives us the opportunity to create something much more elegant and considered. We want guests to walk in and immediately feel like they are somewhere special.”
The experience will feature premium furniture, increased shade, fieldside positioning and four hours of Veuve Clicquot hospitality.
Food with a little theatre
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Food will also play a much bigger role this year, with Jamie Carter of Culinary Creative taking charge of the VIP food experience.
Rather than relying solely on traditional roaming canapés, Carter will bring elements of live preparation and finishing into the hospitality space, creating more interaction between guests and chefs.
The Culinary Creative specialises in private and corporate dining experiences built around seasonal South Australian produce, with an emphasis on personalised menus and food prepared close to the guest.
For the Adelaide Polo Classic, that philosophy will translate into a more immersive style of event dining.
“We don’t want the food to simply arrive from somewhere behind the marquee,” Schapel says.
“Jamie brings theatre to it. Guests will see elements being prepared and finished in front of them, they’ll smell it, engage with the chefs and feel much closer to the food experience.”
The event’s premium Fieldside Pavilion offer takes that approach even further, with bespoke menus, live culinary preparation and the option of either roaming service or more structured dining for larger corporate groups.
Premium hospitality at every level
While VIP may be receiving the most visible transformation, the organisers say the philosophy extends across the entire event.
Private Marquees provide businesses and larger groups with their own serviced fieldside environment, while Polo Club High Tables offer a more social shared hospitality setting.
The Stables remains the relaxed party precinct, combining four hours of drinks, food and polo with easy access to the entertainment that follows.
“The important thing for us is that premium hospitality isn’t just reserved for the most expensive ticket,” Schapel says.
“Each precinct has a different personality, but the standard of food, beverage, service and overall experience has to be strong across the board.”
Why businesses keep coming back
The Adelaide Polo Classic has increasingly become an end-of-year event for businesses looking for an alternative to the traditional Christmas lunch or dinner. The event recorded approximately 15 per cent year-on-year growth, with corporate groups now accounting for a significant proportion of hospitality bookings.
The appeal, according to organisers, is the ability to do everything in one place.
Guests can entertain clients, reward teams, watch live sport, eat and drink outdoors, move between hospitality spaces and then stay for the party — without needing to relocate to another venue.
“I think businesses are looking for something that feels less formal but still genuinely premium,” Schapel says.
“You can bring your team or clients together, have great food and wine, watch incredible polo from only metres away, and then when the sport finishes nobody has to go anywhere.”
When the polo stops, the party continues
That final part has become one of the defining features of the event.
From 7pm, the polo field transitions into the post-polo party, with live entertainment running through until approximately 11.30pm.
Guests from across the hospitality precincts are encouraged to stay, move around the event, continue enjoying food and purchase drinks from cash bars as the sun disappears behind Ellis Park.
The result is less a traditional sporting event and more an extended summer gathering.
“Some of my favourite moments happen after the last game,” Schapel says.
“The formal hospitality finishes, the music starts, everyone relaxes and the different groups start mixing together. You can be dancing, catching up with people you haven’t seen all year and still have the Adelaide skyline behind you.”
One afternoon, one location
That combination of sport, food, hospitality and entertainment is what the organisers believe has driven the Adelaide Polo Classic’s continued growth.
The setting remains part of the appeal: an outdoor event within minutes of the CBD, but with enough space to create the feeling of a genuine summer escape.
For 2026, the focus is not on making the event dramatically bigger.
It is about making the experience better.
“We’ve always wanted the Adelaide Polo Classic to feel like something Adelaide can be proud of,” Schapel says.
“This year is really about refinement — better hospitality, better spaces, better food and more reasons to stay from the first chukka until the final song.”
Adelaide Polo Classic 2026
Friday 11 December
Ellis Park, Adelaide
Hospitality from 3pm–7pm
Post-polo party from 7pm–11.30pm
Visit adelaidepoloclassic.com.au to find out more and book tickets.
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