Sydney New Year’s Eve 2019 – Fireworks Facts & Stats

  • Sydney New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest annual celebrations in the world, attracting around over 1 million spectators to the Sydney Harbour foreshore & a global audience of more than 1 billion.
  • 2019 will be the biggest Sydney Harbour Bridge display ever, with the famous ‘coathanger’ arch illuminated with 1,100 extra firework special lighting effects.
  • Sydney New Year’s Eve is Australia’s biggest public event, featuring one of the largest and most technologically advanced fireworks displays in the world.Research by Destination NSW found the event contributes $133 million to the local economy.
  • It takes 15 months and more than 10,000 hours for over 1,000 accredited personnel and around 300 volunteers to plan and bring the celebrations to life.
  • The fireworks displays are designed by Sydney’s Foti International Fireworks. NYE19 marks the 23rd consecutive year that Foti International has created the fireworks show for the City of Sydney.
  • Over 5,000 hours go into preparing Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks displays
  • In 2019, the fireworks lighting up Sydney Harbour will include:
    • More than 8 tonnes of fireworks
    • 40,000 shooting ground based effects including comets, mines and crossettes
    • Over 13,000 shells
    • More than 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects.
  • 18 shipping containers of equipment, weighing 120 tonnes, are needed for the night’s fireworks displays.
  • 6,000 fireworks cues will shoot from 178 firing locations on the Sydney Harbour Bridge with another 18,000 cues from the fireworks barges
  • This will be the 7th year that Foti Fireworks have used the Sydney Opera House as a firing location. There will be 850 fireworks set off from the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
  • The 9pm family fireworks will launch from 5 fireworks barges and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The midnight fireworks will launch from 7 barges on the harbour, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney OperaHouse.
  • A feature of the 9pm display is the winning entry from the ABC’s Design Your Own Firework competition, chosen in mid August. This year’s winner is Patrick from South Australia, aged 9.
  • The fireworks will be digitally launched by 18 computers, which will also ensure the fireworks are synchronised to the music soundtrack. More than 60 kilometres of wire and cables link the launch computers.

Design theme and effects for 2019

  • A ‘pyrotechnicolour’ extravaganza with:
    • Colour changing stars
    • Stained glass designed shells
    • Glittering willow effects.
    • 850 pyrotechnic effects off 4 sails of the Sydney Opera House.
    • ‘Pyrograms’ producing 2D shapes and designs by combining comets & digital technology.
    • ‘Pyro mine letters’ with the New Year’s Eve countdown & the lettering Sydney “S Y D N E Y”.

Fact Sheet: City Of Sydney