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Flagship

Extraordinary

You can read about other Sydney Spectaculars here & other news here.

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About Sydney Spectaculars

The operators of Sydney Spectaculars have been following iconic Sydney & Illawarra events since 1999 and have studied the history and popular culture impact of these events. We have featured in publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald.

It began with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 & has since spawned off to include ‘extraordinary’ Sydney Spectaculars such as Monarch Welcomes, European Settlement Celebrations, Federation Celebrations, Victory Day Celebrations, Navy Reviews, The Games Of The Olympiad, the Rugby World Cup & APEC Leaders Week.

In 1945, the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race became the 1st ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectacular.

In 1956, the Waratah Festival Grand Parade, a former ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectacular, began. It was held annually each year until its demise in 1973 which coincided with the opening of a certain Sydney Opera House, which took centre stage that year.

In 1976, the Waratah Festival‘s replacement was announced: The Festival Of Sydney. It was to open with a New Year’s Eve event, which later proved to be the main attraction.

In 1982, State Of Origin was first held.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was first used for pyrotechnics in 1986 but at the Royal Australian Navy 75th Anniversary Naval Review. Violence saw New Year’s Eve cancelled in 1987 & 1988.

In 1990, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was first used for fireworks on New Year’s Eve. In 1996, sponsorship of New Year’s Eve was withdrawn so the City of Sydney stepped in to run the event themselves separately to the now-called Sydney Festival, using the NYE event’s popularity to act a ‘test event’ for The Games Of The Olympiad: Sydney 2000. The Millennium edition of the event, which saw the first illumination of the Sydney Opera House, exploded Sydney New Year’s Eve into global popular culture.

In 2007, Wings Over Illawarra was first held.

Projection mapping was introduced in 2008 with the introduction of Vivid Sydney in 2009 creating a centrepiece event for the Sydney Opera House (like the Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Year’s Eve). The fusion of projection mapping and pyrotechnics occurred in 2013 during the International Fleet Review Spectacular. From this point on in the early to mid-2010’s, Australia Day In Sydney events that have since become ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectaculars started being introduced.

In 2016, the first drone show on Sydney Harbour was held. The fusion of pyrotechnics & drones occurred at Vivid Sydney 2023’s Lights On! Moment.

In 2023, Wings Over Illawarra was renamed Airshows Downunder Shellharbour.

In 2024, a Monarchical Fleet Review on Sydney Harbour was conducted by King Charles III – the 1st ever by the reigning monarch on Sydney Harbour.

What is a ‘Sydney Spectacular‘?

Due to the amount of fireworks displays held in Sydney Harbour every year, we have defined a ‘Sydney Spectacular‘ as:

A public event, held within our ‘Spectacular’ zone (see map below), which features either fireworks, projections, lights – with or without drones -, aircraft, rugby league, a sailing race or a Sydney Harbour Bridge Effect. In regards to fireworks, single main firing location displays must be combined with other elements to be accepted. In regard to aircraft, they must be flying for display purposes & not merely in transit. When held, Earth Hour is also accepted as a ‘Spectacular’.

NYE single firing location fireworks displays between 1976/1986 and 1989/mid-90’s have retrospectively been classified as a ‘Sydney Spectacular‘ due to their history credibly linking with the current version of Sydney New Year’s Eve.

Can I see a ‘Spectacular’ when there is no Flagship ‘Spectacular’ on?

Yes! Single main firing location fireworks displays occur often throughout the year on Sydney Harbour. Darling Harbour frequently has public fireworks displays – usually on Saturday nights. Fireworks displays in Grafton, Port Macquarie, Dubbo, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga may also count as they were locations that featured in the Closing Night Harbour Spectacular of the Games of the XXVIIth Olympiad: Sydney 2000 Closing Ceremony. Contact us if you would like to know when the next fireworks display is on at any of these locations.

Badu Gili: Healing Spirit is an all-year round projection mapping show on the eastern side of the Bennelong sails of the Sydney Opera House.

Tarmac Days are held on the 2nd weekend of each month (including Fridays) at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Museum. Sometimes, historic aircraft fly. If not, it is engine runs.

The National Rugby League (NRL) regular season, from Thursday 6 March, is in Australia & New Zealand with a finals series in September & the Grand Final, the next most popular rugby league match in Sydney after State Of Origin, on the 1st Sunday in October. In Australia & New Zealand, matches are held in Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Canberra, Brisbane, Townsville, Auckland, Gold Coast, Melbourne & elsewhere in Australia. The most similar NRL match to a State Of Origin match currently is one involving the Penrith Panthers or South Sydney Rabbitohs (New South Wales) playing the Brisbane Broncos (Queensland).

The Blue Water Pointscore is a series of 6 sailing races from July to December, concluding with the ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectacular – the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. The series currently begins in July with the 2nd most ‘spectacular’ race on Sydney Harbour – the Sydney-Gold Coast Yacht Race. The other 4 races currently include the Flinders Islet Race (Sydney-Illawarra-Sydney), the Tollgate Islands Race (Sydney-Batemans Bay-Sydney), the Bird Island Race (Sydney-Central Coast-Sydney) & the Cabbage Tree Island Race (Sydney-Nelson Bay-Sydney). The latter race is also the opening race in the international Australian Maxi Championship.

The Australian Maxi Championship lasts 5 days & features 3 other races down Sydney Harbour and out to off Sydney’s coast & back. On the Australian Maxi Championships‘ final day, the Big Boat Challenge is the final race held & just like in the Sydney-Hobart, is open to all yachts down to a minimum of 9 metres in length. This race is held mainly along the waterway that hosts the iconic start of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race but instead of finishing in Hobart, they finish at the World Heritage-Listed Sydney Opera House!

Weather

Despite popular belief, fireworks can be fired during light rain (in fact, they look better as a result). Despite this, fireworks may be postponed or cancelled to avoid crowds standing in the rain as well as because of other forms of hazardous weather such as lightning & hail. Fireworks cannot be fired in high winds or low visibility as they pose a safety hazard. Air quality 10 times worse than normal is still a ‘go’ for fireworks we understand though.

Drone shows cannot occur in any rain or 28km/h+ wind speeds.

Aircraft cannot fly in certain rain, wind & cloud conditions. Safety is paramount.

Also, wind is preferable in sailing.

Disclaimer: Sydney Spectaculars does not organise any of the listed events so we cannot take responsibility if any of the listed events unexpectedly do not occur. If we are aware of a postponement/cancellation, we will do our best to promote it.