Clarke led the Fringe for five years. When his contract ended in 2015, he decided to return to Sydney, where he previously held a number of high-profile arts and events management roles, including at the Sydney Opera House and Belvoir Street Theatre.

He reportedly plans to expand the “cultural footprint” of Mardi Gras by partnering with major arts institutions in Sydney. He has also suggested the Fringe parade might offer inspiration for changes to the annual Mardi Gras parade, which this year featured more than 170 floats and attracted a crowd of around 80,000.

“I’d love to introduce some of the things I did in the Adelaide parade by creating tall structures that could be seen by everyone,” he told Fairfax.

“I’d really like to get more height into it.”

The Adelaide Fringe grew to record numbers under Clarke’s leadership, which also saw a focus on expanding the festival events into a wider range of spaces and venues outside the East End.

Following his departure from Adelaide, the role of Fringe artistic director was taken over by Heather Croall, who presented her first festival this year.