Sydney Spectaculars

‘Mustang’ Paces Ford’s Transformation And Exciting New Line-Up By Starring At Sydney NYE2014 – ‘Inspire’

Ford accelerates its’ Australian transformation with the Mustang to be featured at Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 – ‘Inspire‘ after the City Of Sydney names Ford an associate partner for the event
After scaling the Empire State Building and Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper in Dubai, the all-new Ford Mustang will now take centre stage at the world’s most spectacular New Year’s Eve event in Sydney, hosting the event’s 1st-ever soundtrack for the crowd
Ford also plans a surprise Ford Mustang appearance at the event, capping a year of iconic moments around the world
Ford is accelerating its’ Australian transformation by introducing a wave of new products in 2015, highlighted by the all-new Mondeo, Everest and iconic Mustang
Aussies can enter for a chance to win tickets at an exclusive area for fireworks and entertainment courtesy of Ford

Ford Motor Company, marking the company’s Australian transformation and wave of stylish, innovative new products, will place its’ globally iconic Mustang centre stage at the world’s most spectacular New Year’s Eve event to punctuate a history-making year for the ‘Blue Oval’.

The City Of Sydney today announced Ford as an associate partner for this year’s Sydney New Year’s Eve. This completes a history-making year in which the Ford Mustang sat atop the Empire State Building in April – re-creating the original Mustang’s debut 50 years ago – and scaled the Burj Khalifa, the world’s current tallest building in November.

To enhance the day-long event, Ford will bring music entertainment for the 1st time ever to the crowds at key Sydney Harbour vantage points. And, the Mustang will make a surprise appearance to cap a big year.

“We are sending a message that Ford has an exciting future in Australia with a great line-up of new vehicles, including the re-introduction of the Mustang, which is going global after 50 years as America’s greatest motoring icon,” said Bob Graziano, Ford of Australia President and CEO.

“We could not take the all-new Mustang any higher, so now we will give the world a view never seen from a car of Sydney’s spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks.”

Scheduled to officially join the brand’s Australian line-up in late 2015, the Ford Mustang will be displayed to the public for the 1st time on 31 December as part of Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 – ‘Inspire‘, which will be attended by 1.6 million people and viewed by more than a billion globally.

Taking pride of place at a Mustang concert stage harbour-side, this marks the 1st time a car has been this close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for display purposes, which offers views of the evening’s fireworks, including incredible placement for the Midnight Fireworks display’s ‘waterfall’ pyrotechnics.

Ford is introducing a wave of new products that will accelerate next year as the company plans to refresh its’ entire line-up by 2017. In addition to the new Mustang, the new vehicles include:

2015 Ford Mondeo: The all-new, stylish and technologically advanced Mondeo mid-size sedan arrives early in 2015. The new Mondeo will feature at least 10 advanced models not available on the Camry, including a diesel model that will be more fuel efficient than Camry Hybrid.
2015 Ford Kuga: The newly launched Ford Kuga will be freshened in early 2015 with new EcoBoost technology available, including the 2L EcoBoost engine on high series which offers more power than Toyota’s RAV-4.
2015 Ford Focus: A freshened version of the popular car nameplate arrives in the middle of the year and will include a refreshed performance model of the Focus ST.
All-New Ford Everest: The Australian designed and engineered Everest is a technologically advanced, stunningly capable and refined 7-seat SUV that will be launched in 2015.
2015 Ford Ranger: A freshened version of the tough, capable and Australian-created Ranger will arrive in 2015 to build on its’ momentum after cutting Toyota Hilux’s sales lead by 38% since 2011.

“The theme for Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 is ‘Inspire’, which is a perfect fit for the future of our brand – especially with the arrival of the Mustang as people see the car as a way to explore their dreams and the freedom of the open road,” said Graziano.

“Sydney is one of the 1st major cities to ring in the New Year so we want to help the City make the event even more memorable.”

Crowd Entertainment

Ford will bring the soundtrack for the evening to life, hosting a number of Aussie music favourites and broadcasting music to tens of thousands of people around Sydney Harbour.

“People show up early and wait all day for the fireworks displays,” said Graziano. “We are bringing the 1st-ever soundtrack to help people enjoy the day even more. It’s also a chance to celebrate Ford’s exciting future in Australia with a great line-up of new vehicles, including the re-introduction of the Mustang, which is going global after 50 years as America’s greatest motoring icon.” said Graziano.

Ford is also giving Aussies the chance to enter to win tickets to the exclusive event[1]. From 11 December 2014, fans are invited to head to the Ford Australia Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FordAustralia) and share their most adventurous New Year’s resolutions by uploading a photo on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #FordNYE to win[2].

3 winners will receive flights, accommodation, and exclusive tickets for themselves and 3 friends at the coveted location, one of the best vantage spots to watch Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 – ‘Inspire’. In addition, 1 grand prize winner will also win the chance to help make his or her adventurous resolution come true. Entries close December 18 2014.

Australians are also encouraged to follow all the action from the evening by following #FordNYE and #SydNYE.

Global Icon Joins Australian Family

The all-new Ford Mustang is the most advanced version yet of the iconic pony car, offering more advanced driver-assist technology than any other car in its’ class. The sleek new design of the Mustang, fastback and convertible, is backed up by world-class performance from a range of available engines, including a new turbocharged EcoBoost® 2.3-litre and an upgraded 5.0-litre V8 with more than 420 horsepower. In addition to state-of-the-art connectivity systems, Mustang features available track apps, launch control and more.

The Ford Mustang was revealed to the world with a television advertising campaign on the evening of April 16, 1964, before being shown to the public at the New York World’s Fair the next day. The car officially went on sale that day, and Ford dealers accumulated a record 22,000 sales and orders that 1st day on the way to more than 418,000 sales in the 1st year and 1 million sales in less than 2 years. In the past 5 decades, more than 9 million Mustangs have been sold.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures or distributes automobiles across 6 continents. With about 189,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its’ products worldwide, please visit corporate.ford.com.

[1] Terms and conditions apply.

[2] Entrants who enter using Instagram also need to tag @FordAustralia to be eligible to win. See the terms and conditions.

The Only Place To Be On New Year’s Eve Is…

… in front of the TV and tuned to ABC for a 4-hour entertainment extravaganza filled with music and laughs. You’ll have the best seats in the house for both the 9pm Family Fireworks as well as the world-famous Midnight Fireworks.

The New Year’s Eve 2014 show will be jam-packed with some of the country’s funniest comedians, brilliant musical performances and more celebrities than you can poke a sparkler at. And Julia Zemiro and Toby Truslove will be there to navigate us through all the celebrations, live from the Sydney Opera House Northern Forecourt.

This year the ABC is going all out to make this night full of entertainment for all the family. Charlie Pickering will give us a sneak peak at his new show which will debut on ABC in 2015, and throughout the night they’ll cross to Lawrence Mooney hosting Australia’s biggest ever Pub Quiz, featuring guests Denise Scott, Tom Gleeson and Alan Brough and music by Barry Morgan. You can play along at home or sit back and just enjoy the fun. Adam Zwar and some of the favourite Agony Aunts and Uncles will present a special edition of The Agony of New Year’s Eve.

Legendary journalist Fran Kelly will look back at the stories that made news headlines in 2014; self-confessed sports nut Stephanie Brantz will take us through the year in sports; and triple j’s music guru Zan Rowe will review the year in music.

Julia will chat to Jack Thompson, Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 – ‘Inspire’ Creative Ambassador, plus they’ll cross to the Lord Mayor’s Party for live performances by Suze Demarchi, Kasey Chambers, Josh Earl and The Tap Dogs.

They’ll check out what’s happening around the country with crosses to roving reporters – Dave O’Neil (Melbourne), Lawrence Leunig (Brisbane), Anne Edmonds (Darwin), Tegan Higginbotham (Perth) and Urzila Carson (New Zealand). They’ll also cross to Peter Hellier partying at home, Adam Richard at the Lord Mayor’s Party chatting to a cavalcade of special guests, and Tom Ballard, flying above the ‘International Date Line’ in the ABC chopper.

Younger viewers will be entertained by ABC3’s Kayne Tremills and ABC4Kids’ Jimmy Giggle as they chat to families and spectators live from the Harbour’s edge. Plus, fans of Nowhere Boys will be treated to a special 1-off episode that bridges episodes 6 to 7 from the latest series.

The New Year’s Eve 2014 broadcast starts on Wednesday December 31 at 8:30pm on ABC*.

Rundown highlights (exact times subject to change):

8:30pm: Opening welcome – Julia Zemiro and Toby Truslove
9:00pm: Family Fireworks Display
9:15pm: Nowhere Boys mini-episode
9:20pm: 2014 Pub Quiz – Part 1
9:50pm: Chat to Jack Thompson (Sydney NYE2014 – ‘Inspire’ Creative Ambassador)
10:00pm: Fran Kelly presents the News Year In Review
10:10pm: Comedy performance by Josh Earl
10:15pm: 2014 Pub Quiz – Part 2
10:35pm: Performance by The Tap Dogs
10:45pm: Stephanie Brantz presents the Sport Year In Review
10:50pm: 2014 Pub Quiz – Part 3
11:15pm: Musical performance by Suze DeMarchi
11:25pm: Adam Zwar presents The Agony of New Year’s Eve
11:40pm: 2014 Pub Quiz – Part 4
11:50pm: Musical performance by Kasey Chambers
12:00am: Midnight Fireworks display

*ABC broadcast delayed to local times.

ABC News 24 will broadcast both the 9pm Family Fireworks display and the Midnight Fireworks display live AEDT.

Come celebrate your New Year’s Eve 2014 with us, on ABC TV.

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See Your Tweets Light Up The Bridge!

This Sydney New Year’s Eve, for the 1st time, the world’s most famous bridge will be lit up with tweets from Sydneysiders and visitors about how the harbour city will inspire them in 2015.

In the lead up to the world-renowned Midnight Fireworks display, audiences gathered around Sydney Harbour – along with those watching at home – will be encouraged to use the hashtag #SydNYE to tweet New Year messages that tie into this year’s theme, Inspire.

The tweets will appear live on the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons throughout the night, and will be broadcast around Australia and the world in coverage of the 1st major city to ring in the New Year.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said Sydney was known as the ‘New Year’s Eve Capital Of The World’ for good reason, and this year’s event would not disappoint.

“Each year, more than 1.6 million people gather around the Harbour foreshore, and millions more around Australia watch at home, as Sydney rings in the New Year with the most spectacular fireworks display in the world,” the Lord Mayor said.

“This year, for the 1st time in Sydney New Year’s Eve history, our audience will become part of the celebration as their New Year tweets are displayed on the Harbour Bridge pylons throughout the night.”

‘Tweet the Bridge’ is just 1 exciting new element of this year’s $7.2 million Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations.

During the 9PM Family Fireworks and Midnight Fireworks displays, 7 tonnes of fireworks – including 11,000 shells, 25,000 shooting comets and more than 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects – will be launched from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and barges on Sydney Harbour.

A 3rd mini-fireworks display, known as the ‘Inspire Moment’, will also feature at 10.40pm to keep crowds entertained during the countdown to midnight.

As in previous years, the crowning glory will be the top-secret Sydney Harbour Bridge Effect. This will form the centrepiece of the fireworks displays, featuring 13 kilometres of LED rope light and reaching 12 storeys high.

“With an exciting Pre-Show Entertainment program, 3 fireworks displays and the dazzling Bridge Effect, this Sydney New Year’s Eve promises to be a truly unforgettable evening,” the Lord Mayor said.

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Troy Grant, said more than a billion people worldwide watch as Sydney Harbour shines behind the backdrop of one of the largest and most technologically advanced fireworks displays in the world.

“I can’t think of a better way to start each year, than Sydney and NSW in the global spotlight with hundreds of images beamed around the world of our magnificent Harbour,” Mr Grant said.

“Major events such as the world-famous Sydney New Year’s Eve are why Sydney is regarded as Australia’s global city, and help drive visitation and contribute to the NSW Government’s goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure by 2020.”

The Creative Ambassador for this year’s event is Australian screen legend and storyteller Jack Thompson.

Mr Thompson has been working with the City of Sydney and Sydney New Year’s Eve creative agency Imagination Australia on plans for the event since early this year, including writing his own poem describing how Sydney inspires him – ‘I Am Sydney’.

“It is such an honour to be able to represent my home town – one of the world’s truly great cities – as the Creative Ambassador of 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve,” Mr Thompson said.

“Sydney is filled with stories that inspire, from the ancient engravings of the Gadigal people in the sandstone of the headlands to the unique architecture of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.”

“As we prepare to celebrate the year that’s passed and look to the future at what lies ahead, I encourage Sydneysiders and visitors alike to join with us and share their own inspirational stories of Sydney.”

This year’s official Sydney New Year’s Eve charity partner is Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB). The non-profit organisation works with communities worldwide to provide clean water and sanitation, energy, basic infrastructure, waste systems, communication technologies and engineering education.

CEO of EWB, Lizzie Brown, said: “EWB is very proud to be the charity partner for the Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations for a 2nd consecutive year.”

“This is a unique opportunity for our organisation to celebrate the inspiring contribution that the Australian engineering sector makes towards creating lasting social change in Australia and around the world.”

People coming into the city on New Year’s Eve will have access to a range of tools to help them plan a safe and enjoyable night, including the official 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve website, which features an interactive vantage point map and live transport and road closure information, and the Sydney NYE Telstra app.

A new printed event guide will also be available for audiences to pick up from Sydney Airport, major transport hubs throughout the city, hotels, tourism information kiosks and the City’s libraries and community centres.

The City is committed to making Sydney New Year’s Eve an inclusive event for the many Sydneysiders and visitors with a disability. A live audio description will be broadcast on 2RPH, and designated accessible viewing areas and accessible route maps will be available online.

Those who would rather stay at home on New Year’s Eve can tune into ABC TV’s broadcast, listen to 104.1 2DayFM’s live fireworks soundtracks, or live stream the Sydney NYE Telstra Show on YouTube.

And for the 2nd year in a row, the City has teamed up with the Royal Australian Mint to develop a souvenir coin celebrating the Inspire theme with colourful images of fireworks.

2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve acknowledges the support of Leadership Partner – Telstra, Charity Partner – Engineers Without Borders Australia, & NSW Government agencies and landholders including the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and the Sydney Opera House Trust.

For more information, visit sydneynewyearseve.com

A New Coin That Inspires

The Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations are well-known all around the world for their stunning fireworks and fascinating Sydney Harbour Bridge Effect. Following the popular holographic Sydney New Year’s Eve 2013 – Shine coin from nearly a year ago, the Royal Australian Mint has once again partnered with the City of Sydney to present and release an exciting coin souvenir: a 2015 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Coin featuring the official theme of the Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 celebrations – Inspire. Sydney is a city that inspires people throughout the world to visit and explore its friendly shores. This year’s theme of Inspire is interpreted in colour on this beautiful silver piece, which will be popular with tourists and New Year’s Eve revellers. With a mintage of 5000, this 1/2 an ounce coin with a diameter of 35.89mm is a fantastic souvenir to keep of this year’s event.

Obverse side of the 2015 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Sydney New Years Eve 2014 - 'Inspire' Coin Image: Royal Australian Mint — Obverse side of the 2015 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Sydney New Years Eve 2014 – ‘Inspire’ Coin
Image: Royal Australian Mint

Reverse side of the 2015 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Sydney New Year's Eve 2014 - 'Inspire' Coin Image: Royal Australian Mint — Reverse side of the 2015 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 – ‘Inspire’ Coin
Image: Royal Australian Mint

Packaging of the 2015 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Sydney New Years Eve 2014 - 'Inspire' Coin Image: Royal Australian Mint — Packaging of the 2015 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Sydney New Years Eve 2014 – ‘Inspire’ Coin
Image: Royal Australian Mint

Go to the Royal Australian Mint’s new release section to view and pre-order. Price: $60 (Australia) and $54.55 (International).

New Year’s Eve 2014 On ABC

ABC will welcome in 2015 with a 4-hour entertainment extravaganza to celebrate New Year’s Eve when they again join with the City of Sydney to bring the world-renowned fireworks to audiences around Australia.

The team that brought you the Friday Night Crack Up now brings you ABC TV’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular. Counting us down to the sensational fireworks on Sydney Harbour, Julia Zemiro and Toby Truslove guide us through the biggest night of the year. This 4-hour entertainment bonanza will feature a special mini-episode of Nowhere Boys, Lawrence Mooney will host Australia’s biggest ever Pub Quiz, and Adam Zwar presents a special edition of The Agony of New Year’s Eve. While the harbour is showered with fireworks, home viewers will be dazzled by a night of comedy, music and more celebrities than you can shake a sparkler at.

Sydney New Year's Eve 2013 - 'Shine': 9pm Family Fireworks Photograph: Sydney New Year's Eve 2013 - 'Shine' — Sydney New Year’s Eve 2013 – ‘Shine’: 9pm Family Fireworks
Photograph: Sydney New Year’s Eve 2013 – ‘Shine’

Engineering A Better Sydney New Year’s Eve Event

‘Engineering A Better Sydney NYE’ is a campaign between the City of Sydney and Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) to encourage the community to get creative and suggest ideas to address New Year’s Eve challenges in and around Sydney.

For the 2nd consecutive year, EWB has been chosen as the official charity partner of the 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations. For more information: http://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/about/charity–partner/

Lizzie Brown, CEO of EWB said sustainability, crowds, road closures and access for people with a disability were common problems facing Sydney revellers on New Year’s Eve.

“EWB’s ‘Engineering A Better Sydney NYE’ competition invites the community to come up with innovative ideas to solve these problems,” Ms Brown said.

“Ideas will be judged as to whether they embody the spirit of Sydney NYE, represent socially conscious design, are scalable, utilise business and technology in a meaningful way and embody the values of EWB: community, sustainability, respect, learning and quality.”

The top 5 ideas will receive tickets to an exclusive Sydney New Year’s Eve viewing area and will be announced on 5 December 2014.

Judging the top ideas are a pre–eminent judging panel of: Lizzie Brown, Danny Almagor (Founder of EWB Australia, Co-Founder and CEO Small Giants), Aneurin Coffey (Sydney NYE Producer), Sally Dominguez (award winning designer and creative thinking educator) and Dr Brandon Gien (CEO Good Design Australia).

The competition encourages the community to submit ideas in the following categories:

Crowd management
Access for people with disability
Harbourside sustainable audience engagement
Unattractive event infrastructure.

For more information about the campaign and competition, please visit www.engineeringabetterworld.com.au

To get involved with Engineers Without Borders Australia or for more information, please visit www.ewb.org.au.

Screen Legend Inspires A Cracker Night For Sydney NYE2014

Australian screen legend Jack Thompson is preparing to take on his latest starring role as the Creative Ambassador for 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve.

One of the country’s most accomplished storytellers – both as an award-winning actor and lifelong lover of poetry – Mr Thompson will bring the theme of this year’s celebrations, Inspire, to life with a series of stories inspired by the harbour city.

“It is such an honour to be able to represent my home town – one of the world’s truly great cities – as the Creative Ambassador of 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve,” Mr Thompson said.

“Sydney is filled with stories that inspire, from the ancient engravings of the Gadigal people in the sandstone of the headlands to the unique architecture of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.”

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she could not think of a better ambassador for 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve than one of Australia’s best loved cinematic figures.

“From classic Australian films like Breaker Morant to more recent global hits like The Great Gatsby and Australia, Jack Thompson is one of our finest and most accomplished actors,” the Lord Mayor said.

“He also has one of the most famous voices in the country and is known by many for his best-selling recordings of iconic Australian poems, including The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Patterson.”

“As Creative Ambassador for 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve, Jack will share his favourite stories of our beautiful city: its stunning harbour setting, rich Aboriginal heritage, thriving creative scene and, most of all, diverse and friendly people.”

“I look forward to the celebrations and can’t wait to see how Jack inspires us all as we farewell 2014 and welcome the dawning of a new year.”

Mr Thompson, who was born and raised on Sydney’s northern beaches, has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows over the past 45 years.

He has won prestigious Cannes and AFI Awards, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1986 for his accomplishments in the film industry.

More recently, he received a Doctor of Letters from Charles Darwin University for his commitment to indigenous territorians through The Jack Thompson Foundation’s Homelands Building Program.

Mr Thompson has been working with the City of Sydney and Sydney New Year’s Eve creative agency Imagination Australia on plans for the event since early this year.

He is the latest high-profile Australian to take on the role of Creative Ambassador for Sydney New Year’s Eve. Last year’s event was led by artist and musician Reg Mombassa, while pop princess Kylie Minogue featured in 2012 and designer Marc Newson headlined in 2011.

Joining Mr Thompson for this year’s event is the official Sydney New Year’s Eve 2014 charity partner, Engineers Without Borders Australia – a non-profit organisation that works with local groups and communities worldwide to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene, energy, basic infrastructure, waste systems, communication technologies and engineering education.

Sydney New Year’s Eve is Australia’s biggest public event, reaching 1.6 million people on Sydney Harbour, millions across Australia and more than a billion worldwide, and generating an estimated $156 million to the local economy.

Vivid Sydney Shines For Record 270,000 Visitors During Opening Weekend

Vivid Sydney is breaking all previous records with more than 270,000 visitors welcomed during its first weekend, Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Major Events Andrew Stoner announced today.

“Vivid Sydney is dazzling audiences once again, with opening weekend visitors up 170 per cent on last year,” Mr Stoner said.

“The festival of light, music and ideas just gets bigger and better every year, and visitors come to Sydney from across the state, Australia and around the world to see Sydney put on a show like no other.”

“Of course, the light installations and projections are always extremely popular, and in 2014 Vivid Light has increased its footprint dramatically, providing a unique perspective not only of favourites like the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay, but of new Vivid Sydney areas such as Martin Place.”

“With just over two weeks of Vivid remaining, it certainly looks like the festival is on track to generate significant visitor spend.”

“Last year, more than 800,000 people came to Vivid Sydney, which contributed over $20 million in new money to NSW,” he said.

“Vivid Sydney is also a huge hit with retailers, with many reporting double and triple the takings of a normal night. Ice cream is again proving to be particularly popular, especially with Sydney’s recent run of warm weather.”

“In fact Gelato Messina at Martin Place sold an extra 1,000 gelato sundaes on Saturday night alone, and over the weekend went through around 900kgs of gelato. The Intel-flavoured ‘Silly Cone Chips’ outsold the other flavours by twice as many,” Mr Stoner said.

Mr Stoner said that with crowds to Vivid Sydney building on the weekends, families should consider coming early in the week, and early on in the evening, with many installations on from 5:30pm including all of the light installations and projections at Martin Place.

“People should also consider splitting their visit to Vivid over several nights so they can see everything,” Mr Stoner said.

“Crowds build on the weekend so coming earlier in the week will help those with young children, prams and those visitors with mobility issues.”

“With 3,500 extra transport services and road closures, visitors to Vivid Sydney should take public transport and plan their trip by visiting www.vividsydney.com.au/transport,” he said.

Vivid Sydney 2014 is on each night from 6pm, until Monday 9th June.

The full Vivid Sydney program is available at http://vividsydney.com.

Vivid Lights Up Sydney For Another 18 Days

NSW Premier Mike Baird tonight officially launched Vivid Sydney 2014, the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest festival of light, music and ideas.

Mr Baird hit the switch as part of the annual ‘Lights On’ moment to officially launch the sixth year of the festival, lighting up the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House.

“Vivid Sydney has become one of the city’s most anticipated events, drawing massive crowds from Sydney, interstate and overseas,” Mr Baird said.

“This event showcases the state’s creative talent and transforms the way the city’s most famous landmarks are viewed using spectacular lighting displays and projections.”

“Last year, the family friendly festival attracted an impressive 800,000 visitors, which in turn delivered a major $20 million boost to the NSW economy.”

“This event provides a welcome boost to shops, restaurants, cafes and bars during the winter period and I’d encourage everyone to leave the car at home and take advantage of more than 3,500 additional public transport services on offer during the festival.”

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism & Major Events Andrew Stoner said Vivid Sydney is made up of more than 200 events that showcase the state’s creative industries, including digital media, design, animation and music.

“With 40 per cent of Australia’s creative industries based in NSW, nurturing our state’s creative sector through major events like Vivid Sydney has a positive impact on our economy and the overall strength of our nation’s creative industries,” Mr Stoner said.

“This year’s festival has been expanded to five new precincts, including Martin Place, Carriageworks, The University of Sydney, The Star and Sydney Harbour.”

“The festival includes 50 free light installations and projections transforming Sydney’s architecture and open spaces through Vivid Light, 80 Vivid Music shows, and 300 speakers at 180 creative industry events as part of Vivid Ideas,” he said.

Anyone attending Vivid Sydney is encouraged to view the full Vivid Sydney 2014 program and plan their trip to and from the event at vividsydney.com.

1 Week Until Sydney Goes Vivid

In just seven days Sydney will sparkle, shimmer and shine as the sails of the Opera House are splashed with colour and the Harbour foreshore and surrounds crisscrossed with 3D-mapped projections for the sixth year of the winter festival of light, music and ideas, Vivid Sydney.

Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said Vivid Sydney, the winner of the Australian Event of the Year, had last year enthralled more than 800,000 visitors, contributing more than $20 million in new money to the NSW economy.

“Vivid Sydney gets bigger and brighter every year, and 2014 is no different with a spectacular program of lights, music and ideas that is sure to please the crowds,” Mr Stoner said.

“This year’s Vivid Light Walk boasts over 50 new light installations, and magic water theatre will once again transform Darling Harbour, with giant fountains, four major water screens, lasers, projections and pyrotechnics from the French master fontaneers, Aquatique, whose Vivid show is twice the size of last year’s and is designed as a theatre in the round,” Mr Stoner said.

“Perhaps the most exciting development for Vivid Sydney 2014 is in the area of building projection, with three international and five Australian digital content houses, working with our three main projection technology companies, the Electric Canvas, TDC and NovaTek, on eight major lighting projects. “

“In another Vivid Sydney first, the light and laser installation, Filament Storm, will play out on the façades of five Circular Quay skyscrapers, and feature six high powered 10-watt lasers, plus the latest in giant theatrical lights from the world’s largest lighting company, the Production Resource Group,” he said.

“These lights, known as the Best Boy and the Bad Boy, are less than a metre tall, weigh as much as a person and can light an entire skyscraper with a single instrument.”

Produced by Sketch Evolution, with major partners PRG, Oracle, and Laser Tri-Point Rigging, Filament Storm will tower over the Light Walk and help tie the Harbour to the CBD lighting spectacular in Martin Place which is yet to be fully revealed.

The sails of the Sydney Opera House will come alive with spectacular 3D-mapped projections by English company 59 Productions and French projection gurus, Danny Rose, are turning Customs House into a sequence of amazing interactive musical instruments.

Sydney’s visual content masters Spinifex Group, whose credits include two Olympic Games and a World Expo, are working with Australian artist Jess Johnson to transform the original façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art, while up-and-coming multimedia artists, The Digital Shamans in collaboration with another Australian artist, Ross Manning, will turn the new façade into an interactive piece of musical meditation.

Other new projections include; German artist Heinz Caspar, is painting Cadman’s Cottage with the changing seasons and; the multi-award-winning The Electric Canvas are projecting on the façade of The Star for the first time.

Sandra Chipchase, Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer said: “Last year 800,000 festival-goers including 11,000 international tourists who came on Vivid Sydney travel packages came to experience Vivid Sydney and marvel at our city in lights and snapped up over 51,000 tickets for an impressive program of concerts, conferences, creative product launches and exhibitions at Vivid Ideas and Vivid Music (including Vivid Live).”

“This year, visitors can expect an even bigger and better Vivid Sydney experience, with exciting new light installations, an expanded line up of contemporary and cutting edge music, and world renowned creative industries events – it is simply a must attend event so don’t miss out ,” she said.

VIVID LIGHT

Martin Place will hit the lights for the first time this year, featuring new installations with a number of impressive technical innovations, transforming the bustling thoroughfare into a gallery of light like no other. Darling Harbour will again sparkle brightly with water shows spanning two thirds of the bay, doubling 2013’s Harbour spectacular. French company, Aquatique’s, water show draws upon water jets, fountains and laser displays to paint a creative canvas of beauty and movement on the water.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be the largest and most spectacular coat-hanger on earth, and the water below will sparkle with Harbour Lights, as vessels and ferries light up to join in the fun. Sandstone will shine like never before at Customs House and the MCA, and over 50 light installations will enthral along the Vivid Light Walk.

VIVID MUSIC

A favourite feature during Vivid Sydney, music fans will again be spoilt for choice with an expanded Vivid Music line-up in even more venues around the city. Including, the Sydney Opera House (with Vivid LIVE), Seymour Centre, The Basement, Spice Cellar, Home Night Club, The Argyle, and the brand new event Modulations at Carriageworks (6-9 June), curated by Stephen Pavlovic.

Across its venues, Vivid Music including Vivid LIVE will feature performances from a wide range of artists including Pixies, Ms Lauryn Hill, Pet Shop Boys, The Liars, Hot Chip, The Luis And The Wildfires, ACO and The Presets, Nicky Siano, Laneous & The Family Yah, The Big Village, Giorgio Moroder, James Vincent McMorrow, Goodgod Small Club, Penny Penny, St. Vincent and Anna Calvi.

VIVID IDEAS

Sydney’s annual celebration of innovation, creativity and community, Vivid Ideas, includes a world renowned program of conferences, workshops, panels, talks, showcases, exhibitions, creative product launches, award presentations and networking functions. Vivid Ideas has quickly become a globally recognised platform for the best and brightest creative minds from Australia and overseas to connect, collaborate and create, and this year’s Vivid Ideas will include 300 speakers at over 180 events showcasing the best creative talent in the market.

Fans of Vivid Sydney looking to attend the 18 day festival are encouraged to leave the car at home and travel via public transport as road closures and special event clearways will be in place.

The full Vivid Sydney 2014 program is available at http://vividsydney.com.