‘Flagship’ Sydney Spectaculars – Page 28

Sydney NYE Logo Revealed As ABC Returns For 5th Consecutive Broadcast

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has been awarded the TV broadcast rights for this year’s Sydney NYE event.

This, along with this year’s Sydney NYE logo & possible theme, were confirmed following the release of details for the ABC ME ‘Design Your Own Firework‘ Competition:

ABC is well-known for their 2 controversial broadcasts of the event in 2013 and 2014. Their 2015 & 2016 broadcasts were a huge but not perfect improvement. The 2016 broadcast saw the full Sydney NYE broadcast on terrestrial television in high definition in Australia for the 1st time since the late 2000’s. The 2017 broadcast is expected to be roughly the same but again, we do hope for a little more enhancement of the broadcast.

Details and duration of the Sydney NYE2017 TV broadcast have not been revealed as yet but the 9pm Family Fireworks & the ABC ME ‘Design Your Own Firework‘ Competition winner have been confirmed as features of the broadcast. The Midnight Fireworks, whilst not confirmed, are all but guaranteed.

The logo of this year’s Sydney NYE event (at top of article) was also revealed as part of the competition. The theme has not been confirmed but the logo does provide a clue, which possibly could be the theme – 5 words placed within the logo, ‘Dance!, Radiate!, Wonder!, Hope! & Together!’. These words seem to capture the pondering of what the upcoming year will gives us when we celebrate NYE at a party in Sydney’s summer, which has been the general narrative of the event’s creatives in recent years.

The main part of the logo also seems to represent a painting of Sydney NYE as you can see representations of the Sydney Opera House & Harbour Bridge, a ferry, a cockatoo, partygoers, music, the beach, water, fauna, fireworks, a fork & lots of eyes. The latter presumably to represent the attention Sydney receives on NYE. The orange background presumably represents the summer climate.

This interpretation of those 5 words & the logo as a whole may be incorrect – we will just have to wait & see.

The Bridge Effect is highly unlikely to make a reappearance this year with another generic light show expected on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. How can they improve on last year’s? (See the video below for last year’s) Last year’s was done to perfection! That light show was pretty much a Bridge Effect of the Sydney Harbour Bridge! (Compared to NYE2015 when that’s what they tried to do and well, didn’t – they just put searchlights on the roadway)

There is a possibility the event may become more generic in the future as a result of having no more Bridge Effects. This year’s event may give us a more clearer idea of the direction the City Of Sydney are taking with the event in the future. Hopefully, the really creative, unique and constantly-changing themes of the past shall return. And more importantly, hopefully the traditional Bridge Effect returns too!

Here are the other things that have already been announced about Sydney NYE2017:

But anyway, all that is left to be announced is the Creative Ambassador & a confirmation of the theme plus any special details about this year’s event such as the type of light show. Can you guess who/what it will be? We’ll just have to wait & see – expect theme confirmation in September when the Sydney NYE website should be updated for this year’s event.

Kids To Get Cracking on New Year’s Eve Firework Design

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) ME and the City Of Sydney are encouraging Australian children to let their imaginations explode as the ‘Design Your Own Firework’ competition returns for the 6th year running.

1 lucky child will see their design come to life over Sydney Harbour during the spectacular 9pm Family Fireworks, which is watched by millions of people around Australia. The lucky youngster will also be part of ABC’s Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) broadcast, pushing the ‘start button’ on the 9pm Family Fireworks display.

The ‘Design Your Own Firework’ competition is open to Aussie children aged 16 years & under. ABC ME’s Behind The News (BTN) officially opened the competition this morning during their 10am broadcast. To launch this competition, BTN investigated how fireworks are created with a special interview with the mastermind behind the Sydney NYE fireworks, Fortunato Foti.

City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said it was an unique opportunity for a budding young artist to be part of Sydney’s world renowned NYE celebrations.

“This is Australia’s night of the year, enjoyed by millions around the world & for a child to be part of this wonderful evening is a once in a lifetime opportunity” the Lord Mayor said.

“I can not wait to see the winning entry light up the sky on NYE”

ABC Director Of Television, David Anderson, said: “The Sydney NYE fireworks displays is a highly anticipated event & one of the best in the world. The ABC is thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity once again. With such a sought after prize, the challenge is on for Aussie kids to send in some amazing & unique designs”

To enter, kids are invited to put their imaginations to the test & draw an unique firework design. The design demonstrating the most creativity, effort & potential to be reproduced as a firework within the display will be announced as the winner.

ABC ME’s News To Me program will announce the winner on Sunday the 17th of September 2017.

The winner will receive a trip to Sydney for a family of 4 that includes tickets to the Sydney NYE official VIP (Very important person) viewing area at Dawes Point & the chance to be part of the live ABC Sydney NYE broadcast at 9pm.

The winning design will be brought to life by Foti International Fireworks, the company that has helped deliver Sydney’s spectacular NYE fireworks displays since 1997. Master pyrotechnician, Fortunato Foti, says bringing a child’s firework design to life is an exciting challenge.

His advice to budding designers is to look at the world around you for inspiration. “Design comes from imagination. Sometimes it is just about looking at the environment such as a simple flower & seeing if it can be turned into a firework” Mister Foti said.

“I love seeing what kids’ imaginations come up with. I can not wait to see what designs they come up with this year” Mr Foti said.

How To Enter:

Put your grand idea down on paper
Add colour to your design to bring it to life
Upload your entry by 5pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)) Monday the 21st of August
Check out our easy step-by-step guide & upload your entry at http://www.abc.net.au/nye

Entries open today, Tuesday the 25th of July 2017 & close 5pm (AEST) Monday the 21st of August 2017. You must be under 16 years of age to enter.

Media Release: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Charity Partners Benefit From Sydney’s Biggest Events

The City Of Sydney will partner with 3 major charities for its biggest annual events to help raise funds to improve the lives of children with special needs and disabilities, advocate for children’s rights & provide services for the vision impaired.

The official charity partners are: Variety, The Children’s Charity for Sydney Christmas; United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Australia for Sydney New Year’s Eve & Guide Dogs New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory (NSW/ACT) for Chinese New Year.

The partnerships will provide the charities with opportunities to promote their causes through activities such as media exposure, donation collections, event activations, speaking opportunities & social media.

For the past 14 years, the City’s events have supported dozens of charities & helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a variety of causes including fighting children’s cancer, music education for children, treating people with visual impairment, helping children with disability, state emergency services, animal protection, alleviating global poverty & boosting humanitarian aid.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the enormous publicity generated for 3 of Australia’s biggest events would help communicate the great work of this year’s chosen charities to audiences worldwide.

“We are delighted to partner with these charities & support the incredible work they do for those less fortunate” the Lord Mayor said.

“More than 3 million people attend these major events & more than a billion people see or read about them across the world”

“By partnering with us on some of Australia’s largest events, these charities will have excellent opportunities to promote their cause on the national & international stage”

Variety, The Children’s Charity will partner with the City for its Sydney Christmas 2017 program. The national charity provides funding & support to individuals, organisations & hospitals to improve the lives of children with disabilities & special needs. Variety will coordinate a program of child-friendly activities that will feature as part of the City’s 6 outdoor concerts, choir program & associated Christmas events.

One of the world’s leading advocates for children’s rights, UNICEF Australia, will partner with the City for Sydney New Year’s Eve. UNICEF Australia campaigns for Australian children’s rights & supports UNICEF’s global mission to improve the lives of the world’s most disadvantaged & excluded children. The partnership will provide the charity with a platform to promote its cause to more than a billion people around the world.

The City’s Chinese New Year partner, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, aims to enhance the quality of life & mobility of the blind or vision impaired. The charity helps more than 4,000 people each year & provides all of its services free of charge.

Media Release: City Of Sydney

Darling Harbour Shines As An Illuminated Playground During ‘Vivid Sydney’

Walls of water, fantastical fountains, fireworks & family fun

Vivid Sydney has turned Darling Harbour into a night time playground featuring spectacular light shows that include projections, water fountains, lasers, fireballs & fireworks.

Destination New South Wales (NSW) Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer Of Vivid Sydney, Sandra Chipchase, said “As a Vivid Sydney precinct, Darling Harbour is much loved by families who enjoy its wide-open spaces, easy accessibility and proximity to public transport & a huge array of restaurants and cafes. The precinct’s large scale projections & interactive installations cater for families of all ages”

Visitors who work up an appetite taking in the lights & sights will not leave the entertainment hub hungry with plenty of food options to choose from at Cockle Bay Wharf, Harbourside, Darling Quarter & King Street Wharf.

Darling Harbour is walking distance to the nearby Barangaroo (South) light precinct where Vivid Sydney’s magic continues until the 17th of June.

Darling Harbour highlights include:

Tumbalong Lights: Take open space, the night sky & add 32 extraordinary dazzling beams of moving light. The result? A stunning exhibit where spotlights create patterns over visitors as they walk between the suspended lights within Tumbalong Park. Visitors to Tumbalong Lights can check in at the Huawei Phone Booth to capture & share a souvenir GIF featuring the light beams shooting into the night sky as the backdrop.
Magicians Of The Mist: This extraordinary showcase of art & technology features huge projections of mystical beings shone onto walls of water 60 metres wide & 40 metres high while 12 massive pumps throw 28 tonnes of water into the air every minute. The spectacle is enhanced with lasers, searchlights, jets of flame, music & fireworks. The Magicians Of The Mist show plays every half an hour from 6pm-11pm AEST nightly with fireworks added to the 7pm & 8:30pm shows each Friday & Saturday. An extra fireworks display has now been added at 7pm on Sunday the 11th of June 2017.
The Gift Of Sight: Journey into the darkness armed with a special ultraviolet (UV) flashlight to discover incredible artworks created with invisible UV ink in this spellbinding installation from The Fred Hollows Foundation as it celebrates 25 years of saving sight.
The Light Playground at Darling Quarter: Bring the kids & explore this dazzling interactive installation featuring 3 different play spaces in modified shipping containers. Enjoy Giant Light Bright’s over-sized interactive black pegboard, Light Bubble Forest, where illuminated 1.5 metre high columns are filled with thousands of colour changing bubbles & Glow In The Dark Illumination, showcasing black light luminescence. Disc jockeys entertain the crowd from 6pm to 10pm AEST Thursday to Sunday.
Inspired By The Sea: The wave-like roof of the Australian National Maritime Museum is the canvas for a spectacular projection that showcases the sea’s majesty, mystery & its power to influence artists, writers and collections. This stunning projection is a collaboration with University Of Technology Sydney animation students.
Expressive mobile technology: Visit the Huawei Hub for an interactive multimedia experience of sound, light & art featuring animated faces on the new Huawei P10 phone.
Revolutions by Shepard Fairey: A free, outdoor exhibition of the 16 large-scale, music-themed artworks of iconic American artist, Shepard Fairey, known around the world for his iconic imagery including the Barack Obama HOPE poster campaign & album cover art for bands from Led Zeppelin to The Smashing Pumpkins. Each artwork is printed on wood panels & showcases his signature style and passion for music culture. (26th of May – 17th of June, 1-25 Harbour Street, Darling Quarter)

Vivid Sydney is the world’s largest festival of light, music & ideas, which for 23 days – from the 26th of May to the 17th of June 2017 – transforms the ‘Harbour City’ with its unique, colourful, creative canvas. In 2016, Vivid Sydney attracted a record 2.31 million attendees. Vivid Sydney is owned, managed & produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism & major events agency. Vivid Sydney features large scale light installations & projections – Vivid Light; music performances & collaborations – Vivid Music (including Vivid LIVE At The Sydney Opera House) & creative ideas, discussion and debate – Vivid Ideas, all celebrating Sydney as the creative hub of the Asia-Pacific. Vivid Sydney is in its 9th year. For more information, visit www.vividsydney.com.

Media Release: Vivid Sydney

‘Vivid Sydney’ Breaks Global Record

124,128 lights send ‘Vivid Sydney’ installation into the
‘Guinness World Records’™ books

Vivid Sydney, the world’s largest festival of light, music & ideas, has once again cemented itself as a record-breaking international event. Guinness World Records, the global authority on record breaking, has awarded Vivid Sydney installation, Dreamscape, with the title for the ‘Largest interactive lighting display’.

Made of 124,128 lights, Dreamscape, created by Vivid Sydney veteran, 32 Hundred Lighting, links the entire Circular Quay precinct from the iconic Sydney Opera House to the Sydney Harbour Bridge into 1 cohesive canvas of light. It allows participants to decide the colour, texture & pattern of the lighting across the cityscape via 3-dimensional interactive modelling in a control room in Circular Quay. With the simple touch of a button, Vivid Sydney guests of any age have the power to create their own masterpiece, using the ‘Harbour City’ as their muse.

In achieving the Guinness World Records title, Dreamscape trumped its own Vivid Sydney 2016 predecessor, Dress Circle, which was also a 32 Hundred Lighting creation that illuminated Circular Quay. This year, the addition of the Cahill Expressway to the installation adds an additional 1 kilometre of lights to the record.

Sandra Chipchase, Chief Executive Officer Of Destination New South Wales & Executive Producer Of Vivid Sydney, said “Each year when we produce Vivid Sydney, we want interstate and international visitors to be awed by what they see & we want locals to be proud of what our city brings to the world. Breaking a Guinness World Records title shows the global calibre of our festival & breaking our own title shows that we will never rest on our laurels”

Iain Reed, Managing Director Of 32 Hundred Lighting, said “We are beyond thrilled to break our own Guinness World Records title & be internationally recognised for our work. Our team is so passionate about what we do & it is a pleasure to be part of Vivid Sydney once again, illuminating this great city!”

Those wanting the opportunity to experience & interact with the record-breaking installation have until the 17th of June to head down to Vivid Sydney & join in the action.

Media Release: Vivid Sydney

Spotlight: Feast In The Forest As Martin Place Morphs Into An Urban Jungle

Lights, cameras, appetites: The heart of the city sparkles for ‘Vivid Sydney’

It is Martin Place – but not as you know it – when the heart of the city centre comes to life after dark as an utopian urban jungle & sizzling foodie hotspot during Vivid Sydney, the world’s largest festival of light, music & ideas, on until the 17th of June.

Visitors will be surrounded by the colour, movement, sounds & smells of incredible installations and projections including forests, frogs and fountains created by some of the world’s most innovative light artists & complemented by food prepared by some of New South Wales (NSW)’s best chefs & producers.

Porteño will lead an Argentinian inspired menu of NSW meats cooked over an open flame fire-pit while visitors can quench their thirst with some of NSW’s best beverages with James Squire Beer & Cider, Archie Rose Gin and Vodka, Cattleyard Brewing Co. Beer & Azure Wines all served at the bar.

Culinary & creative duo, Motti + Smith, have curated an epic partnership between sweet legends Black Star Pastry & N2 Extreme Gelato to produce a glow cave of wondrous delights. Don your neons, step into the black lit box & light up your senses with tasty treats including a glow in the dark donut.

Sandra Chipchase, Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer of Vivid Sydney said: “Visitors will literally see Martin Place in a new light when some of the world’s best creative & technological wizards join forces with some of the state’s most creative chefs in a showcase of grand, interactive installations & spectacular culinary collaborations that bring the precinct to life during Vivid Sydney”

Program highlights include:

Urban Tree 2.0 – The mushroom-shaped CTA building is transformed into a giant luminous mushroom-shaped tree teeming with exotic creatures where rivers flow, plant-life grows & a glowing frog tries to catch a caterpillar for dinner.
Atmos – Starry, starry night: A magical, overhead display of rippling, ghost-like scrims & ribbons above the dining area, recreating the majesty of our ‘Southern Lights’, the Aurora Australis.
re/FRACTION – The 20-metre undulating, curved water veil of the Lloyd Rees Fountain – a very familiar landmark – reinvented in a most unexpected way, using light to add vibrancy & moments of newfound delight. The Fountain comes to life every night by throwing brilliantly glittering, refracted light across the Fountain’s length, filling the cascade with vibrant colour, movement & animated characters.
Twelve-Tone – Play these 12 interactive, illuminated stacks, representing the musical tones that make up an octave, to create hologram-like visual effects and patterns & hear the sounds of the musical scale.
Deep Forest – Explore an oasis created by the fusion of artists & chefs where forest & feasting come to the urban jungle of Martin Place, designed by production powerhouse Motti+Smith.
Waratah – To honour this iconic plant native to NSW, this huge, interactive, inflatable light sculpture gives visitors a larger-than-life experience of the aesthetics of this magnificent bloom.
Lux Populi – Soaring 10 metres above the forest floor with a kilometre of glowing neon rope reflecting off the skyscrapers in the finance district, this tree-like installation transforms glass & concrete into a sparkling corridor of light. Below, the chefs from renowned restaurant Porteño will cook a genuine Argentine barbecue on an open fire fueled by wood & coal. They will be joined by special guest chefs, Luke Powell (LP) (LP Quality Meats) & Ibrahim Kasif (Stanbuli), with Vivid Sydney-inspired specials that will run each night of the festival.

About Vivid Sydney

Media Release: Vivid Sydney

‘Vivid Sydney’ 2017’s Record Opening

The opening weekend of Vivid Sydney has seen more than 326,000 attendees take in the world’s largest festival of light, music & ideas.

Minister For Tourism & Major Events, Adam Marshall, said “Vivid Sydney promised to return bigger, bolder & brighter with a program that would delight visitors from around the world & it has certainly achieved that with more than 326,000 attendees celebrating the opening weekend”

“The festival continues to be warmly received & we have already seen a 10% increase on last year’s opening weekend attendance which is fantastic news for the state’s visitor economy”

“With more than 2 weeks of Vivid Sydney remaining, there is still plenty of time to be part of Australia’s largest event. With a remarkable line-up of events still to come, I encourage everyone to plan ahead & visit more than once to get the most out of their Vivid Sydney experience”

Families can start their Vivid Sydney experience earlier in the evening with lights on at 5:30pm AEST at Chatswood’s futuristic steampunk world & Taronga Zoo’s Lights For The Wild. Darling Harbour’s Magicians Of The Mist & the immersive Trapdoor at Vivid Sydney’s new precinct Barangaroo (South) are also proving popular for families.

The Light Walk continues to impress & extends from The Rocks to Circular Quay where the city’s laneways feature many hidden gems & into the Royal Botanic Gardens which is delighting visitors with grand sunflowers and Birds Of Lumos. Martin Place is also winning foodie fans with its gourmet delights & Urban Tree 2.0.

Highlights still to come include Vivid Ideas Game-Changer, Shepard Fairey, who will live paint a mural in the central business district as well as a huge program of music events across the city including Curve Ball at Carriageworks & the Eye Live Project at Sydney Tower Eye.

Visitors to Vivid Sydney are encouraged to plan ahead & take advantage of the extra 9,000 public transport services running during the festival & importantly, to leave the car at home.

Vivid Sydney is owned, managed & produced by Destination New South Wales (NSW), the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency & continues until Saturday the 17th of June 2017. For more information, visit www.vividsydney.com.

About Vivid Sydney

Media Release: Vivid Sydney

‘Vivid Sydney’: How To Shine On Your Digital Device

The wonder of Vivid Sydney 2017 will be enjoyed through an exclusively designed Snapchat lens, live streams on Facebook, a specially curated Spotify playlist as well as an improved smartphone application & website, further enhancing the Vivid Sydney experience for visitors.

Destination New South Wales Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer of Vivid Sydney, Sandra Chipchase, announced the new digital innovations today.

“Vivid Sydney 2017 will be bigger, bolder and brighter than ever before, and we’re making sure the digital experience for our visitors is as well,” Ms Chipchase said.

“Last year Vivid Sydney attracted a record 2.31 million attendees, and this year we expect the festival to be just as popular”

“We know how important digital technology is to people’s lives, and we encourage all visitors to Vivid Sydney to share their images and experiences on their digital platforms”

“At its core, Vivid Sydney is about embracing new technologies, and our digital offering must reflect that” she said.

In 2017 Snapchat will offer a specially designed lens – an animated graphic which can be overlayed on a user’s face to augment the image. The exclusive Vivid Sydney lens, inspired by the animated Vivid Sydney ribbon graphic, will see neon patterns layered over the face of the person in the picture.

Snapchat Geofilters will also be available, providing a fun way for visitors to share where they are by adding a location overlay to their Snap. Vivid Sydney has exclusively reserved five geographic precincts including Circular Quay, Taronga Zoo, Tumbalong Park, Kings Cross and the MCA throughout the festival.

“As Snapchat users pass into the precinct they will be able to choose from the set of five geo-filters, which will in turn encourage attendees to make sure they explore multiple precincts to collect the full Vivid Sydney set,” Ms Chipchase said.

In another first, Vivid Sydney 2017 will also offer audio files via its smartphone application and website, which provide an audio description of each light installation and key venue.

“People who use the Vivid Sydney 2017 smartphone application will be able to listen to audio descriptions of the artworks, with beacon technology triggering the files to play as people pass by each artwork and through the different precincts,” Ms Chipchase said.

Vivid Sydney’s musical director Stephen Ferris is also partnering with Spotify to create a Vivid Sydney playlist.

“Stephen will curate a playlist with music from Vivid Music and Vivid LIVE’s impressive list of artists,” Ms Chipchase said.

The Vivid Sydney 2017 native smartphone application will also include improved navigation, usability, push notifications, and calendar and event ticket integration.

To visit the Vivid Sydney 2017 website go to www.vividsydney.com.

Media Release: Vivid Sydney

Lights On! It’s Time To Shine For Super-Sized ‘Vivid Sydney’

Vivid Sydney has bathed Sydney in breathtaking colour & a dizzying array of special effects as the world’s largest festival of light, music & ideas switched on for 23 nights from 6pm tonight, the 26th of May 2017.

Featuring 7 light precincts & more than 90 large scale light installations and projections, Vivid Sydney will run bigger, bolder & brighter until the 17th of June.

New South Wales (NSW) Minister For Tourism & Major Events, Adam Marshall, said “It Is all systems go as the city becomes a massive, creative canvas from tonight, with art & technology coming together to present awe-inspiring creations conjured by some of the world’s leading creative minds & technology innovators”

“Visitors to Vivid Sydney come for the lights & stay for the sights of this great state. In 2016, Vivid Sydney welcomed a record-breaking 2.31 million attendees. In 2017, we are hoping to surpass last year’s massive AUD$110 million injection into our state’s visitor economy” he said.

More than 180 local & international artists have created the light installations & projections for Vivid Sydney including The Rocks, Campbell’s Cove, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Taronga Zoo, Martin Place, Darling Harbour & festival debutante, Barangaroo (South).

Projections will illuminate iconic buildings & landmarks throughout the city including the Sydney Harbour Bridge & the Museum Of Contemporary Art as well as the organic backdrops of enormous trees & natural rockscapes in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The ultimate canvas, the sails of the Sydney Opera House will feature Audio Creatures, an indescribable world of colour & light featuring imaginary sea creatures lurking deep in the harbour & shimmering plant life.

Special effects & animations are found at every turn from the ground below visitors’ feet at Barangaroo (South) to Darling Harbour’s Magicians Of The Mist, a 50 metre high water fountain featuring 40 metre high projections, lasers, fireworks, flames & a dramatic soundtrack.

North of the Harbour, a steampunk waterworld themed adventure awaits in Chatswood while giant illuminated lanterns of endangered animals are sparking conversations about conservation at Taronga Zoo.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer of Vivid Sydney, Sandra Chipchase, said “Over the next 23 days, visitors can take their pick of hundreds of events including more than 284 Vivid Ideas discussions and creative forums in 59 venues that will explore our creative future or more than 390 Vivid Music performances in more than 40 venues featuring a range of genres from indie folk & electronic music to musical theatre & jazz”

Festival highlights include:

Light

Lighting Of The Sails: Audio Creatures: The Sails of the World-Heritage listed Sydney Opera House will be brought to life by Audio Creatures: a series of imaginary creatures curated and designed by visionary director Ash Bolland. Audio Creatures will feature morphing and mesmeric marine creatures and plant life, cut with sleek futuristic technology across the iconic Sails. Audio Creatures will be set to a bespoke soundtrack by Brazilian electronic producer Amon Tobin.
Organic Vibrations: Australian contemporary artist Julia Gorman and French collective Danny Rose will create a new artwork projected onto the heritage-listed façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). The installation will use projection-mapping techniques to bring to life images originally made by Gorman in watercolour, oils, and marker pen depicting sinuous lines and colours inspired by the natural world. (The Rocks)
Magicians Of The Mist: Fantastical fountains, flame jets, lasers, music, fireworks and walls of water show the power of creativity and innovation in this spectacular projection. (Darling Harbour)
Trapdoor: Discover what optical illusions are in store if you dare to step onto this fantastical floor mural that tells otherworldly stories of Barangaroo. (Barangaroo South)
Electric Forest: The forest comes to life as never before, from wild hanging fruits to schools of fish, when you enter this strange world of illuminated plants, illusions and a psychoacoustic soundtrack. (The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney)
Lights For The Wild: Shine a light on the plight of endangered animals with your interactive wristband and gaze in amazement at the beauty of these majestic, giant illuminated lanterns – you can even step into the mouth of PJ the Port Jackson Shark! (Taronga Zoo)
Steampunk Waterworld: Peer into an incredible submerged steampunk water world of lights, sounds and special effects at the Reflection Pool in The Concourse. (Chatswood)

Music

Curve Ball: Creatives, artists and musicians join forces to deliver this immersive, large scale, live music audio and visual spectacular combining quality dance music and stunning visuals. (3pm-10pm Sunday 11 June, Carriageworks).
Hidden Sydney – The Glittering Mile: The roller coaster ride into the story of Kings Cross and the colourful cast of characters from its gritty, glittery past. (25 May – 18 June, The World Bar, Kings Cross).
Nick Murphy (Formerly Known As ‘Chet Faker’) Presents Missing Link: The charismatic hitmaker returns, premieres new material and resurrecting old favourites in an ambitious inthe-round performance. (1 -3 June, Sydney Opera House).
Dappled Cities: One of the most beloved indie bands to emerge from Sydney over the past two decades presents new album IIIII (pronounced five), complete with immersive lighting spectacle in this one-off concert. (4 June, City Recital Hall)

Ideas

Game-Changer Talks Series: Hear from the creative forces shaping our world and lives, including Buzzfeed founder, CEO and media visionary Jonah Peretti. (28 May, City Recital Hall); influential Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone (28 May, City Recital Hall) and iconic American artist Shepard Fairey (17 June, Sydney Town Hall). Fairey, the artist behind the Barack Obama HOPE campaign, will also create a public mural in the heart of Sydney’s CBD during the festival, while an exhibition of his music-themed works is on display at Darling Quarter.
The Sunrise Conference: Delve deep into the future of technology, business and innovative start-up ecosystems at this enlightening forum.(31 May)
Semi Permanent: Hear about our innovation future straight from the source in a series of interactive, immersive experiences with world leading innovators from Getty Images, Nike, Uber, Google and more. ( 25-27 May)
Clipped Music Video Festival: Learn from artists and filmmakers at this creative hub as they collaborate and debate and celebrate the art form of music videos. (3 June)
Good Design Festival: Join design luminaries, experience the best in all things design and celebrate the winners of the 2017 Good Design Awards and exhibition. ( 8-11 June)
Rhodes: Creative: Explore tomorrow’s technologies today with hands on activities including 3D printing and robotics. (28 May – 16 June)
The Vivid Ideas Exchange: You name it, there’s probably a session about it, debating and dissecting everything from fashion to placemaking, storytelling, ageism, marketing, health, innovation, big data and mixed reality. Events at the Vivid Ideas Exchange run every day from 10am to 5pm on Level 6, Museum Contemporary Art Australia throughout Vivid Sydney.

Spotlight: Full Steam Ahead For ‘Vivid Sydney’ In Chatswood

Ride the steampunk wave into a funky, retro-futuristic smart city

There will be something old & something new as retro & future worlds collide when Vivid Sydney morphs Chatswood into a steampunk-themed world where technology & light fuses with 19th century steam-powered machinery. Interactive light installations will transform the Chatswood central business district into a funky smart city complete with people-powered steam engines, a giant drumming octopus, underwater worlds & sustainable cities perched in the sky as the bustling precinct is reinvented.

New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: “As the Member for Willoughby, I am proud that Chatswood is part of Australia’s largest event which entertains locals & visitors alike, attracting a record 2.31 million visitors & injecting $110 million into NSW’s visitor economy last year alone”

“Since 2015, Chatswood has delighted visitors with thought-provoking creative works, bringing cultures, communities, artists & local businesses together while delivering these tremendous benefits to the NSW economy. This year is no exception & is set to amaze and delight with an explosion of light & colour.”

NSW Minister For Tourism & Major Events, Adam Marshall, said: “Chatswood is a vibrant, bustling destination that goes from strength to strength as a Vivid Sydney precinct. This year’s light installations will again amaze, inspire and engage visitors & get them thinking too, with projections shining a light on future worlds & sustainable communities. As a thriving retail & dining hotspot, visitors will be spoilt for choice with so many options on the menu to make their trip to Vivid a complete night out.”

Highlights include:

Voxelscape: Cue the lights! Exit the Interchange & enter a 3-dimensional lightshow as more than 9,000 light-emitting diode spheres glow in the vast air space above you – all viewable from any level of the Chatswood Interchange.
Gear Shift: Help create this amazing, pulsating, people-powered steam engine simply by moving. This extreme-resolution interactive projection uses intelligent motion tracking to shift, pump & turn in perpetual motion.
Future City, Smart City: A fantastical future world is waiting to be discovered. You will see people take to the air in whimsical airships & an airborne, sustainable community emerge in the sky in this feature projection on the futuristic sails of The Concourse.
Steampunk Waterworld: What lies beneath? Peer into the reflection pool on The Concourse to discover the magic of this submerged world that pays homage to the likes of Jules Verne through light, sound & special effects.
Crossword: What will you say? All is revealed when you wander through a glimmering canopy of light in Chatswood Mall to the Victor Street intersection & discover this installation sending hidden messages mid-air & onto revellers.
Light Bounce: Those who cannot wait for sundown to enjoy the lights can wander through an enchanting, sparkling forest of refractive light in a captivating daytime installation at Chatswood Chase Sydney.
Go on a food adventure: Visitors can enjoy dozens of dining options throughout the precinct. Take a foodie journey around the world with international cuisines at The District at Chatswood Interchange, a stroll down Hawker Lane for authentic Asian street-food at Westfield Chatswood, see the light show while dining alfresco on The Concourse, or tuck into specially created Vivid dishes, from Orchard Tavern’s Vivid Burger to The Choc Pot’s decadent Chocolate Vivid Dessert.

Vivid Sydney will light up Chatswood from 5:30pm – 10:30pm every evening from Friday the 26th of May to Saturday the 17th of June. Light Bounce at Chatswood Chase Sydney will operate from 9am – 5:30pm daily & until 9pm on Thursdays.

About Vivid Sydney

Vivid Sydney is the world’s largest festival of light, music & ideas, which for 23 days – from 26 May to 17 June 2017 – transforms the ‘Harbour City’ with its unique colourful, creative canvas. In 2016, Vivid Sydney attracted a record 2.31 million attendees. Vivid Sydney is owned, managed & produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism & major events agency. Vivid Sydney features large scale light installations & projections – Vivid Light; music performances & collaborations – Vivid Music (including Vivid LIVE At The Sydney Opera House) & creative ideas, discussion & debate – Vivid Ideas, all celebrating Sydney as the creative hub of the Asia-Pacific. Vivid Sydney is in its 9th year. For more information, visit www.vividsydney.com.

Media Release: Vivid Sydney

Note: All times are AEST.