Brett Sheehy has been appointed to be the director of Vivid Sydney 2026-28.
In the past, he has led the Melbourne Theatre Company as well as the Melbourne & Sydney Festivals, the latter notably in coordination with Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) during its 2003/2004 & 2004/2005 editions, where art walk, City Of Light & Bridge Effect, Fanfare, played a role in both events.
City Of Light could be seen as an early miniature version of Vivid Light, 5 years before it was created, with the Sydney NYE creative director at the time being Leo Schofield, who was Brett Sheehy’s predecessor at the Sydney Festival.
In 2012, Brett was appointed as an Officer Of The Order Of Australia for distinguished service to the performing and visual arts & international artistic exchange and mentoring.
2 years ago, he was appointed to reset the Adelaide Festival, where in just 8 months he reversed a 7-figure deficit & delivered both critical acclaim and a strong surplus.
It is an absolute thrill to be appointed to this role & contribute to Australia’s largest and one of the world’s most attended festivals.
Sydney has remained my chosen home-base since the 1980s & my love for this city has never faded. When Vivid Sydney appeared on the nation’s festivals calendar 16 years ago, I coveted the possibility of 1 day being its director & I could not be happier that day has now come.
Vivid Sydney uses the greatest natural canvas in the world to showcase a joyous celebration of light, art, ideas, music, performance & our stellar food culture.
This new era will build on Vivid Sydney’s extraordinary legacy & with our outstanding team, I’m confident we’ll deliver to Sydney, to Australia and the world, a suite of knockout festivals which will be the envy of every creative city on the planet.
Brett Sheehy, ‘Vivid Sydney’ 2026-28 Director
Vivid Sydney demonstrates how world-class events ignite our city, boost local businesses & drive growth across the entire New South Wales visitor economy. This festival doesn’t just light up our streets. It solidifies Sydney’s standing as a leading global cultural capital & a must-experience destination in the Asia-Pacific.
As we look ahead to 2026 & beyond, the appointment of Brett Sheehy AO as Festival Director ushers in an exciting new chapter for Australia’s favourite event.
The New South Wales Government looks forward to Brett building on the festival’s proud legacy & shaping a bold and inspiring future for Vivid Sydney.
Steve Kamper, NSW Tourism & Jobs Minister
Gill Minervini Leaves
Sydney Spectaculars thanks Gill Minervini for her work over the past 4 years which, whilst battling a pandemic & drone show over-popularity, has greatly improved the creative direction of Vivid Sydney through the introduction of overall themes.
Vivid Sydney 2025 – Dream had an attendance of 2.53 million visitors (110,000 per event day on average) with each Saturday averaging 200,000 people with Vivid Fire Kitchen welcoming 110,000 visitors overall (5000 per event day on average).
Destination NSW is delighted to welcome Brett Sheehy AO as the new Festival Director of Vivid Sydney. His creative vision & industry expertise will elevate Vivid Sydney’s position as one of the world’s most iconic major events.
We also extend our sincere thanks to outgoing Festival Director Gill Minervini for her passion, creativity & dedication over her past 4 years, which have been instrumental in shaping the festival’s success.
Karen Jones, Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer
Sydney Spectaculars 