The most significant change to Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) since the loss of the Bridge Effect in 2015…
After 2 editions as a COVID-19 replacement, the City Of Sydney will be permanently replacing Sydney NYE’s Family Fireworks with the replacement Calling Country Fireworks after the City Of Sydney issued in April an Expression Of Interest for creative services for Calling Country Fireworks at 9pm for up to the next 3 editions.
Both the former Family Fireworks & the relatively new Calling Country Fireworks were held at 9pm & went for 8 minutes. Expressions Of Interest closed in May with the creative directors of the overall Calling Country segment including the fireworks being chosen in August.
It was highly anticipated that the Calling Country Fireworks & the wider segment will be held again for NYE2023 due to the commitment by the Australian Government in February to hold a referendum on whether to recognise in the Australian Constitution Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Voice. The referendum is being held in a fortnight on Saturday the 14th of October. A successful result would make Calling Country Fireworks & the wider segment an extra special celebration this year. However, while opinion back in February was about 63% in favour of the Constitution alteration, since mid-July, opinion has reversed & is now about 59% against the proposed Constitution alteration and still climbing. This generates speculation on what the final creative concept for the Calling Country Fireworks & the wider segment will be for NYE2023 if a ‘no’ vote is the result.
While the return of Calling Country Fireworks & the wider segment for NYE2023 was expected for the above reason, with the decision to extend Calling Country Fireworks & the wider segment to NYE2024 & highly likely NYE2025, it was a highly surprising, though not entirely unexpected, bit of news that the City Of Sydney have decided to permanently replace the Family Fireworks with the Calling Country Fireworks through that decision. The history of Sydney NYE, as detailed below, shows a growing presence of an Indigenous segment, which is motivated by a commitment by the City Of Sydney to showcase local Indigenous culture to the world through this major soft power event.
Calling Country utilises the whole of Sydney Harbour to allow us to respectfully acknowledge the land and Harbour’s traditional custodians through the creativity storytelling of the oldest living culture on Earth, which details the area’s Dreaming and our relationship to it.
The whole segment called Calling Country for the next 3 editions will begin at 8:57pm like last year. It will start with a 3-minute Welcome To Country before the 8-minute fireworks display starts at 9pm. At 9:08pm, a 3-minute concluding live performance with a message stick presentation to the City Of Sydney will occur on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s stage at the Sydney Opera House. Throughout all 14 minutes, there will be a soundtrack, which has to be original for the fireworks & concluding live performance; as well as a Sydney Harbour Bridge light & pylon projection show.
Unlike the Midnight Fireworks since NYE2015, Calling Country must have an overarching creative concept. This has resulted in Calling Country becoming the most creative element of the entire event despite being held about 3 hours before the arrival of the new year!
History Of 9pm Fireworks & Indigenous Events On NYE
Fireworks on New Year’s Eve at 9pm have been held in Sydney since NYE1989. From NYE1989 to NYE1995, this was called Stereo Skyshow & lasted about 25 minutes. When the Midnight Fireworks officially returned on NYE1996, though as the secondary show of the event, the pre-COVID-19 title of 9pm Family Fireworks was given to the display, which was the main show of the night until the Millennium (NYE1999), which is when the display became the secondary show of the night at 12 minutes long. It was later reduced to 10 minutes on NYE2000 and to 8 minutes on NYE2003, which has been the duration ever since. The display was delayed by 15 minutes due to high winds on NYE2019 & cancelled, due to high winds on NYE2002 and due to the COVID-19 pandemic on NYE2020.
On NYE2005, a Welcome Ceremony was held at 8pm from vessels in the Harbour. It was a traditional Indigenous smoking ceremony, which was renamed as Smoking Ceremony from NYE2007. For NYE2008, it was combined with the new Acknowledgement Of Country at 8:40pm, detailed in the next paragraph. However, Smoking Ceremony returned as a separate event for NYE2009. For NYE2011-13, daytime smoke pyrotechnics from the barges were added. For NYE2011, it was combined into the Acknowledgement Of Country again for 1 edition. From NYE2012, it has been held at 7:30pm. For NYE2014, it was not advertised but may have still happened but definitely returned in NYE2015 as part of the new Welcome To Country at 8:40pm, detailed in the next paragraph as well. However, Smoking Ceremony again returned as a separate event for NYE2018, again at 7:30pm but held concurrent with the Welcome To Country. However, due to a thunderstorm, Smoking Ceremony was cancelled that edition and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also not planned for NYE2020 & 2021. Since NYE2021, the Welcome To Country has been held separately from Smoking Ceremony.
An Acknowledgement Of Country was first held on NYE2008 at 8:40pm, when Rhoda Roberts became the overall event’s creative director & were held every year until NYE2014. It was considered the 3rd major fireworks display of the event, being a 5-minute segment, complete with a live performance & Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections as well as a Bridge Effect during NYE2009. On NYE2015, under a segment-only creative direction of Rhoda Roberts, it became a Welcome To Country which added a Sydney Harbour Bridge light show to it. Until NYE2017, it quickly became the most creative element of the event and this was when it was still considered the 3rd major fireworks display of the event.
In 2018, Calling Country was first held as a 3-minute live performance & Sydney Harbour Bridge light/pylon projection show conducted immediately after the 9pm Family Fireworks. This significantly reduced the prominence of the Welcome To Country, which was moved to a 7:30pm timeslot concurrent with Smoking Ceremony. However, due to a thunderstorm, both of those concurrent events were cancelled that edition. On NYE2019, flares from the barges were to be added to Calling Country but due to the high winds, they did not feature & the schedule was rearranged as well due to the high winds so Calling Country was held at 9:03pm. That edition featured the 1st presentation of a message stick to the City Of Sydney Lord Mayor during the segment, which featured again on NYE2022. The Welcome To Country and Calling Country were cancelled for NYE2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Calling Country was also not held during NYE2021 for creative reasons.
During 2021, while the COVID-19 pandemic waves were easing to allow more people to attend Sydney NYE, it was still considered highly dangerous to have people transiting from/to the event after the 9pm Family Fireworks particularly with young children around. After pressure to hold the 8-minute fireworks at 9pm was placed on the City Of Sydney, they came to a comprise with the NSW Government to bring back the Welcome To Country but at 9pm, opening with an 8-minute fireworks display from the Sydney Harbour Bridge catwalk, 2 barges (compared to the usual 4) & pontoons in front of the Bridge followed by a 3-minute live performance/message stick presentation to the City Of Sydney Lord Mayor. A Sydney Harbour Bridge light show & pylon projections featured during all 11 minutes. For NYE2022, the COVID-19 pandemic was still affecting the planning of the 9pm Family Fireworks and thus, the Indigenous replacement continued. However, Calling Country returned with the Welcome To Country being an opening 3-minute Sydney Harbour Bridge light/pylon projection show (and televised video) within the segment at 8:57pm and the 9pm 8-minutes fireworks (this time with all 4 barges) were separated as a distinct segment within the segment as well rather than being the combined fireworks/live performance-message stick presentation event held on NYE2021.
While this may be a controversial decision, as it requires the removal of the child-friendly Family Fireworks, the Calling Country Fireworks is without a doubt now the most creative element of the night even though it does not feature city buildings, the Sydney Opera House & all but the catwalk of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Here is last year’s if you have forgotten how great they are:
Opinion
Sydney Spectaculars is of the opinion that the more-universal Family fireworks should return in the 9pm timeslot but Calling Country should still be held earlier in the night with the fireworks reduced by 3 minutes to become a 5-minute display. It should be held as the main opening event of the night and televised particularly as it is the most creative element of the event currently. It will allow Sydney’s Indigenous culture to still be expressed to the world while also having a more universally-themed fireworks display at 9pm that children can enjoy.
Sydney Spectaculars 