- Producer: City Of Sydney (Aneurin Coffey)
- Creative Directors: Imagination Australia
- Creative Ambassador: Reg Mombassa
- Fireworks Director: Fortunato Foti
- Fireworks Provider: Foti International Fireworks
- Fireworks Soundtrack Producer: s:amplify
- Filmer & Television (TV) Broadcaster: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
- TV Broadcast Co-Hosts: Stephanie Brantz & Lawrence Mooney
- TV Broadcast Roving Reporter: Kayne Tremills
- Film & Broadcast Distributor: ABC
- Internet Broadcaster: Telstra via either TelstraCorp on YouTube or channel 919 on a T-Box
- Internet Broadcast Host: Merrick Watts
- Radio Media Partner: 104.1 2DayFM
- Audio Commentary: 2RPH
- Print Media Partner: The Daily Telegraph
- Major Sponsor: Telstra
- Charity Partner: Engineers Without Borders
- Hashtags: #NYESYD
- Bridge Effect: All-Seeing Eye
- Attendance: 1.6 million
Lord Mayor’s Party Invitation Dispute
On February 21, 2013 Liberal City Of Sydney Councillor, Christine Forster, claimed the Lord Mayor’s Party had become “something of a Clover Moore supporters’ party, largely made up of the same familiar faces you see supporting Clover at the polling booths come election-time” but denied that she wanted the party to become a gathering for the City’s corporate denizens:
I just don’t feel it’s appropriate for such an event, which is funded by ratepayers, to be used as a reward for people loyal to the Lord Mayor. It should be a non-partisan event. I’m thinking more along the lines of community activists & charity workers – people who really contribute to our city.
Christine Forster, Liberal City Of Sydney Councillor
At the February 25 City Of Sydney Council Meeting, she tabled a notice of motion:
It is resolved that Council:
(A) note that:
(i) Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebration is a showcase event for the City, watched by millions of people around the world and extensively covered by local and international media &(ii) the City of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve Party, to which the Lord Mayor invites around 1,000 guests, is funded by City of Sydney ratepayers;
(B) work to ensure that the invitation list to the City of Sydney New Year’s Eve Party acknowledges & includes the community, business, intellectual and cultural leaders who contribute to the social, economic and cultural fabric of our City, by instituting a system under which:
(i) all 10 Councillors nominate 20 community, business, intellectual and/or cultural leaders from the City of Sydney & their partners, to be invited to the City of Sydney New Year’s Eve Party;
(ii) that list of 20 is then submitted to the Chief Executive Officer, who would allocate at least 15 nominees from each Councillor to be included on the City of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve Party guest list, taking the total to 300 invitations;
(iii) in the event of overlapping of nominees among the Councillors, additional invitations to bring the total up to 300 (or as close as possible to 300) be issued from the Councillors’ nominee lists on an even-distribution basis among the 10 Councillors; and
(iv) all Councillors be provided with the final list of 300 Councillor-nominated invitees prior to the event; and(C)retain the current distribution of personal invitations to individual Councillors at six.
Motion moved by Christine Forster
It was seconded by Living Sydney Councillor Vithoulkas. Clover Moore Independent Councillor Kemmis then moved an amendment, seconded by Clover Moore Independent Councillor Mant, which the City Of Sydney then voted 6-5 in favour of:
It is resolved that Council:
(A) note that:
(i) Sydney NYE is worth an estimated $156 million to the local economy;
(ii) the City of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebration is a free public event viewed by 1.5 million people around the Harbour & broadcast to approximately 2 billion people around the world;
(iii) the Lord Mayor’s New Year’s Eve party is a sponsor event acknowledging $2 million in kind and $100,000 cash support that makes the event possible;
(iv) the Opera House site is control post for the evening, a media hub & primary broadcast venue, with the prestige location adding to the global success of NYE;
(v) the party includes a diverse range of guests, including local residents and workers, leaders in business, arts and community organisations, journalists and the media, architects, artists and innovators, Local Area Command Police Superintendents and local, federal and state politicians, including the NSW Premier and the Prime Minister;
(B) affirm the delegation to the Lord Mayor to manage and determine invitations to the Lord Mayor’s New Year’s Eve Party; and(C) recommend to the Lord Mayor 6 personal invitations for individual Councillors, subject to capacity at the venue.
City Of Sydney Resolution, February 25 2013
Source: https://cityhub.com.au/forster-calls-for-nye-party-shake-up/
On the 23rd of September, the ABC was announced as the winning tender for the fireworks filming & distribution.
Power Point Proposal
The City Of Sydney fielded an interesting call in 2013/2014 from a man asking for power points to be installed in Harbour-side parks to allow people viewing the fireworks to also watch them live on TV.
Millenial Wallscape: The Triumph Of The Gum
From the 3rd of October to February 2014, a 60×6 metre mural that Reg Mombassa created disguised work sheds on the Sydney Opera House’s Southern Forecourt while the House underwent a vehicle access & pedestrian safety improvement project. Needless to say, the mural was clearly inspired from his work on NYE that was yet to be announced…
Competitions
Mambo
Mambo held a month-long Facebook competition, concluding at 7pm AEST on Sunday 17 November 2013, to win a very-important-person (VIP) trip for 4 to the event or 1 of 10 limited edition Reg Mombassa surfboards.
https://www.facebook.com/mamboaustralia?sk=app_221442071365740&app_data
On the 24th of October, the Hanger Truss (Support Structures) of the Bridge Effect were installed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Citibank Australia
From the 16th of November, Citibank Australia held a competition for someone to win a trip for 2 adults to attend the event, valued at up to AUD$15000, including:
- 2x return economy airfares from the winner’s nearest major city to Sydney, NSW
- Return airport transfers;
- 3 nights twin-share minimum 4-star rating accommodation in Sydney, NSW (including breakfast daily);
- Return transfers from accommodation to Citigroup exclusive luxury boat departure point for an event cruise;
- Entry for 2 people on-board the Citigroup exclusive luxury boat with views of the event
Minor prizes included:
- Double pass to the Citigroup exclusive luxury boat on Sydney Harbour for the event in NSW on 31 December 2013 valued at AUD$2,000
- Double pass to the Dawes Point VIP Viewing Area in NSW on 31 December 2013 valued at AUD$200
Entries closed on Wednesday 4 December 2013 at 11:59pm AEST.
https://www.citibank.com.au/newyears/
Telstra
From December 6, Telstra gave their customers the chance to win tickets to the Dawes Point VIP Viewing Area.
https://say.telstra.com.au/customer/general/competitions/NYE-VIP-Tickets-Competition
Website Update
On the 1st of November, the website was updated revealing the vantage point map & the event partners.
https://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/vantage-points/
https://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/about/event-partners/
On the 16th of December, a new dedicated accessibility page was unveiled revealing accessible transport & broadcast options as well as its own interactive vantage point map.
Until 11:59pm AEST on Sunday 10 November 2013, Roads & Maritime Services offered the opportunity to win 1 of 1700 family passes for 5 people, to watch either the 9pm Family or Midnight Fireworks from the Cahill Expressway above Circular Quay.
https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/events/nye13/index.html
On the 7th of November, the 1st panel structure of the Bridge Effect was installed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Smartphone Application
https://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/app/
On the 26th of November, the official smartphone application was released, funded by Telstra, which provided exciting content throughout December & helped users connect with friends and family at midnight on New Year’s Eve no matter where you were in Australia:
Media Launch
The media launch was held at 10am sharp AEST on Monday 2 December on the Sydney Opera House Podium. Reg Mombassa was in attendance.
Tribute Banners
Featuring 6 original Reg Mombassa artworks inspired by Sydney including Hi-Rise Opera House, limited edition logo-free ‘tribute banners’ were specially placed around Sydney for the event in addition to the usual event banners.
Merchandise
Royal Australian Mint Coin
The $1 silver proof coin featured an image of the Sydney Harbour Bridge Effect, which was revealed at midnight on New Year’s Eve. The coin was presented in a special capsule & housed in a leatherette presentation case and printed outer box. The recommended retail price was AUD$120 including Goods & Services Tax (GST). The coin was available for pre-order from 2 December via the Royal Australian Mint online shop & call centre, with the actual sale date being 1 January 2014 once the Bridge Effect was revealed.
It was the 1st Australian minted special edition collector coin to feature coloured holograms.
It was the 1st in what was to be a 10-year series released on 1 January each year. The series ended in 2018, half of it’s intended length.
Mambo T-Shirts
To celebrate Reg Mombassa as Creative Ambassador, Mambo put together a range of limited-edition t-shirts. They were sold on Mambo’s online store for a short time only.
http://shop.mamboaustralia.com/sydneynye
Tribute Banners
You could register to purchase these after 5 December 2013 with the tribute banners becoming available for sale in early January 2014. There were only 15 tribute banners, sized 4.5-metres x 1.5-metres, available for sale for each of the 6 original artworks. The limited-edition banners cost AUD$275 (postage extra) and were available online at the official NYE website or by emailing banners@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. They sold out on 22 January 2014. Banners were delivered from Monday 17 February 2014 on confirmation of payment.
https://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/banners
Lanyards
Registrations to purchase official lanyards opened on the 22nd of January 2014.
Mambo Party
Held at Customs House Square, Circular Quay from the 27th of December to Sunday, 5 January 2014, it featured live disc jockeys, South Orleans cuisine, Southern Comfort cocktails, live art by Mambo artists Ben Brown and Blair Sayer, and a pop-up store with exclusive Sydney NYE2013 merchandise.
On the 27th of December, the Bridge Effect had also finished being installed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Engineers Without Borders Interactive Stalls
Engineers Without Borders celebrated a decade of bringing clean water, sanitation & energy to needy communities worldwide as the official charity partner by hosting a series of interactive stalls across the city with their volunteers sharing their experiences and ideas from 12pm to 7pm on NYE at:
- Wynyard Park on York Street;
- NAB House at 255 George Street &
- Pirrama Park at Pyrmont
Lord Mayor’s Picnic – Sparkle In Space
Emergency Services Flotilla
At 7pm, a flotilla featuring 6 vessels representing the State Emergency Service & the Ted Noffs fire tug, the latter blasting tonnes of water into the sky, travelled from Millers Point to Fort Denison & back again.
Smoking Ceremony & Solo Acrobatics
From 7:30pm until 8:08pm, traditional white eucalyptus smoke emerged and flowed across the waters from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander vessels including Tribal Warrior, Mari Nawi & The Penguin, which cleansed the Harbour of negative spirits and the past & prepared everyone for the New Year ahead.
At 8pm, Matt Hall performed a solo aerobatic show.
I’ll be 6 metres above the water and doing about 400km/h & turning the plane with a G-force of 10. The crowd is in for a real treat.
Matt Hall
It ended with pyrotechnic smoke effects.
Broadcasts
Television
Held from 8:30pm-12:30am, it featured ABC stars and characters including Shaun Micallef, Michaela Banas, Annabel Crabb, Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, The Chaser, Cleaver Green, The Moodys & Doctor Blake as well as the teams from Gruen Planet and Spicks & Specks. In the lead-up to the 9pm Family Fireworks, stars from ABC3 and ABC4Kids including Giggle & Hoot and the teams from Good Game and Studio 3 featured. The broadcast was announced on the 27th of November with full details revealed on December 13. This was the main broadcast as it had the official fireworks soundtrack.
Broadcast Highlights
*ABC1 broadcast delayed to local times
- 8.30pm: Welcome
- 8:45pm: Reg Mombassa Interview
- 9:17pm: Year In Review – Part 1 (January-March)
- 9:30pm: Melbourne & Brisbane Live Crosses
- 10pm: Year In Review – Part 2 (April-June)
- 10:15pm: Sammy J & Randy live comedy performance
- 10:45pm: Year In Review – Part 3 (July-September)
- 11:06pm: Melbourne & Brisbane Live Crosses
- 11:30pm: Year In Review – Part 4 (October-December)
Radio
Non-Commentary
104.1 2Day FM broadcast the official fireworks soundtracks without commentary.
Audio Commentary
For people with visual impairments, a new 2.5-hour audio description of the 9pm Family Fireworks & Midnight Fireworks was meant to be made available on radio station 2RPH AM, FM, digital & online. However, it ended up being an audio commentary, which didn’t help people with visual impairments but instead helped people who like to know how the event is produced (like us!). This issue was rectified within 2 editions. It also included interviews with Reg Mombassa, the City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, NYE Producer, Aneurin Coffey & NYE Fireworks Director, Fortunato Foti. The audio description was announced on December 16.
Internet
Held from 8:30pm-12:30am, it featured an one-hour live performance by Empire Of The Sun. The broadcast was announced on the 2nd of December. This wasn’t the main broadcast as it did not have the official fireworks soundtrack.
Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Projections
Welcome messages were displayed in 16 languages including Gadigal, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Greek, Italian, Swahili, Korean, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Thai & Vietnamese, representing Sydney’s top migrant populations and tourist nationalities.
Reg Mombassa was taught Auslan sign language by a representative from the Deaf Society’s Sign Language Communications.
Lord Mayor’s Party – Shimmer
8:35pm – Feeler by Paul Murray
10:54pm – Put Your Curse On Me by Stonefield
11pm-11:59pm: iOTA Performances
11:23pm-11:27pm – Bohemian Like You
11:56pm-11:59pm – We Will Rock You
Acknowledgement Of Country
- ? – Wuruniri Music and Dance
- Djapana – Yothu Yindi
Note: Any help in the naming of the 1st music track by Wuruniri Music and Dance will be great.
9pm Family Fireworks – Sparkle In Space
- Pursuit – Danny Elfman
- Happening – Chiddy Bang
- Home – Phillip Phillips
- Clarity – Zedd featuring Foxes
- Pompeii – Bastille
- Final Confrontation – Danny Elfman
- Come & Get It – Selena Gomez
- Live It Up – Mental As Anything
- Heart Attack (White Sea Remix) – Demi Lovato
- Magnetic Eyes [Radio Edit] – Matrix & Futurebound Featuring Baby Blue
- Here’s To Never Growing Up – Avril Lavigne
- Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding
- Big Idea – Alan Silvestri, Thomas Bowes, London Voices, Terry Edwards & Ben Parry
The Bridge Effect used new light-emitting-diode technology & was made up of 16-kilometres of rope light.
Design Your Own Firework Competition
During the month of September, the City Of Sydney & Telstra gave all young Australians aged 16 and under the opportunity to design a firework then see it come to life with their family at the official Dawes Point VIP Viewing Area. To enter, all they needed to do was draw a design & simply take a photo of it using their phone & picture message the drawn design to 0498 600 600 (along with the name and age of the author & the parent/guardian’s name). Standard MMS charges applied. The design which showed the most creativity, effort & practicality of being reproduced as a firework as chosen by the Telstra & City Of Sydney judges & lit up the sky during the 9pm Family Fireworks with the winner flown to Sydney along with their family from their nearest capital city to see it in person.
Harbour Of Light Parade – Scintillating Sails
On May 10 2013, the City of Sydney Council invited Expressions Of Interest for entry. The theme for the Parade was a tribute to the Sydney Opera House’s 40th Anniversary.
On the 17th of November, the winners of the Best Design Competition were announced:
- Captain Cook II
- Magistic II
- Rhemtide
- Sydney Showboat
- The Pontoon
These vessels won a premium view of the Midnight Fireworks from inside Sydney Cove between Dawes Point and the Sydney Opera House, subject to a successful pre-event inspection.
All parade participants were announced the same day
https://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/whats-on/harbour-of-light-parade-vessels/
Cranium Universe and Telstra Design-A-Firework Show
Held at 10:30pm, it features the winning design of the Telstra Design-A-Firework competition, which was won by 13-year-old Queenslander, Tiffany Hughes as well as fireworks inspired by Reg Mombassa’s artwork, Cranium Universe.
A fireworks soundtrack was not produced.
Midnight Fireworks – Shine
The Midnight Fireworks captured the essence of the Shine colours and Reg Mombassa’s style, featuring some new effects. The Sydney Opera House fired over 1000 fireworks – the 2nd time ever and the 1st time since the Millennium edition.
- Glorious Swords – Phil Rey
- Thunderstruck – AC/DC (celebrating 40 years of the band)
- I Could Be The One – Avicii vs Nicky Romero
- Arabella – Arctic Monkeys
- Gonna Make It – Vydamo
- The Ship Song Project – Various Artists*
- Applause – Lady Gaga
- Waiting All Night – Rudimental featuring Ella Eyre
- Diamonds (Dave Aude 100 Extended) – Rihanna
- Glow – s:amplify
- Higher Love – James Vincent McMorrow
- Superlike – s:amplify
- Holdin On – Flume (Citi Blue Moment)
- Letting Go – s:amplify
- Tidal Wave – Sub Focus featuring Alpines
- Lanterns – Birds of Tokyo
- Tick Tick Boom – The Hives
- Ohio – Kingswood
- A Hero Will Rise – Future World Music
- Oblivion – M83 featuring Susanne Sundfør
- Fantasy Overture – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 14thFinale – s:amplify
*Various Artists are Neil Finn, Kev Carmody, Sarah Blasko, John Bell, Angus and Julia Stone, Paul Kelly, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Opera Australia, Martha Wainwright, Katie Noonan and The Sydney Symphony, The Temper Trap, Daniel Johns and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
