The City Of Sydney has approved the appointment of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Settlement Services International Limited & the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation as the charity partners for Sydney New Year’s Eve, Sydney Lunar Festival & Sydney Christmas respectively.
Details about each charity are at the end of this article.
The approval was made following an Expression Of Interest (EOI) process in accordance with the City’s Support For Charities policy & is for the next edition of each event with the option to extend to the edition after that.
17 organisations applied to be an official charity partner of at least 1 event.
For Sydney Christmas, 2 extra criteria were added after the EOI closed, which was in early May 2023:
cash handling policy and,
point of sale infrastructure & floats for interactive activations
The applications were then assessed & then recommended to the Cultural & Creative Committee by:
Producer, Major Events and Festivals;
Audience Manager, Major Events and Festivals; &
Social Programs Officer (LGBTIQA+), Social City.
The Cultural & Creative Committee meeting, held on Monday the 19th of June 2023, then recommended the appointments to Council, who approved the recommendations on Monday the 26th of June 2023.
Now the Council has approved the appointments, the signing of Charity Participation Agreements are next & were due by mid-July 2023.
National Breast Cancer Foundation
National Breast Cancer Foundation is a leading not-for-profit organisation funding world-class breast cancer research. Since their inception in 1994, they have been involved in more than 600 world-class research projects across Australia & continue to fund further research to create a greater impact and help reach their vision of 0 deaths from breast cancer.
Settlement Services International Limited (SSI)
SSI is a not-for-profit organisation established over 20 years ago who provide life-changing human & social services. Their purpose is to empower individuals, children, families & communities from diverse backgrounds & identities to fully participate in the economic, social, civic & diverse cultural life of Australia. SSI’s mission is to create a more equitable, resilient, enriched & inclusive society.
Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation
Sydney Children’s Hospital is one of the largest children’s health charities in the country. Since 1986, they have been delivering on their vision of a world where every child has access to the best healthcare when & where they need it. Each year, they raise vital funds for 5 of their key entities including Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Bear Cottage, Kids Research & Newborn and Paediatric Emergency Transport Service, to enable powerful change for children’s health care.
The City Of Sydney has been looking for new charity partners as part of an Expression Of Interest (EOI) process for the next edition of Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE), Sydney Lunar Festival & Sydney Christmas with the option of the following edition after that too.
Charity partners use the respective events to promote and raise funds for their cause including through the event’s media & marketing campaigns. For Sydney Lunar Festival, they will also get speech & networking opportunities while for Sydney Christmas, they will get a merchandise stall.
The EOI revealed Sydney Christmas this year will have at their concerts interactive paid activations.
Aside from charities applying, throughout the EOI process, the City Of Sydney may also approach potential candidates.
The EOI process opened in late April & closed in early May. An evaluation panel will review applications with the successful charities:
being an official registered charity or public benevolent institution,
not being associated with religion,
undertaking work which produces significant community benefits,
aligned with the City of Sydney’s values,
values’ being important for the respective event &,
holding reasonably required insurances.
demonstrated previous experience in successful online fundraising (does not apply to Sydney Christmas)
providing & managing a minimum of 2 employees or volunteers to operate an interactive paid activation at each concert (Sydney Christmas only)
A recommendation will be sent to Council & once Council approves the recommendation, which should be by September 2023, the City Of Sydney will prepare letters of agreement.
The ABC unilaterally (that is, not in conjunction with the City Of Sydney) tried to repeat the success of the NYE2019 charity concert for NYE2020 by replacing the Red Cross with Lifeline & Kids Helpline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was not as great a success as NYE2019 despite the massive effects of the pandemic on mental health though it did raise about $700,000 on NYE alone (that’s about 5 cents per Australian).
Also interesting, the City Of Sydney specifically mentioned for the EOi that they reserve the right to not choose a charity partner, which is a very rare thing to do, and also to not hold the events, which is understandable, as we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 CountryFireworks & 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 CountryFireworks & 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.
Is the City Of Sydney about to bring back some creativity into Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE)?
The City Of Sydney has announced they want to hear ‘fresh concepts’ & ‘innovative ideas with capacity to broaden the creative contribution’ of their events as part of a Big Creative Ideas process.
And they want to hear from anyone!
It’s not just Sydney NYE that want concepts & ideas for but any of their events including Sydney Christmas & Sydney Lunar Festival.
Proposals can be just 1 small thing to redesigning a whole event but they should be adaptable, sustainable proposals with “improved environmental performance”. Where applicable, they should be experienced by a live & broadcast audience. For a live audience, it should be accessible to a large-scale audience.
Proposals should also reflect the event’s traditions & objectives.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said proposals should be similar in scale, timing and impact to their respective events.
We want to explore new technologies & ideas that may be included in our major events to showcase Sydney’s creative innovation to the world – this could include drones, light shows & projections – but the sky’s the limit.
Our aim is to build on Sydney’s status of producing cutting-edge, dynamic & extraordinary events that push the boundaries of innovation & leave a lasting impact on attendees and audiences.
City Of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore
All Proposals Criteria
Creative concept including curatorial vision and detail, concept presentation, reference images & collaborating artists’ experience and calibre.
Relevant production experience including in carrying out services of a similar scale and nature.
Technical production ability
Feasibility
Risk
Sydney NYE Proposals Extra Criteria
Fireworks engagement reflection
Fireworks integration reflection
Sydney Harbour exclusion zone & its’ airspace focus (see map below)
8pm-12am activation (note: sunset is around 8:10pm & fireworks are held at 9pm-9:08pm and 12am-12:12am)
Clearly visible to a live audience about 650 metres away
Positioned to be filmed by Sydney Opera House television cameras
Global appeal
Meet major international event standards
Sydney New Year’s Eve 2022 – Pride Maritime Map Image: New South Wales Government
How To Apply
While applications close at 11am AEDT on Thursday the 26th of October 2023, there is an optional 1-hour briefing session to be held at Town Hall House, 456 Kent Street, Sydney on Thursday the 28th of September 2023 at 2:15pm AEST. This briefing session will also be held online. If you want to register for the optional 1-hour briefing session, e-mail crivilloosborne@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au .
For more information on the Big Creative Ideas process, click here.
Successful applications will be notified in January 2024.
If you are successful, you may either make a shortlist to work with the City Of Sydney to develop the ideas or participate in a tender process or both.
Foti Fireworks will return as official fireworks supplier for Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2023 after the City Of Sydney cancelled an ill-thought-out tender process, which combined the provision of fireworks with the barges & tugs for the 1st time ever.
Polaris Marine will also once again provide the barges & tugs for Sydney NYE2023.
The now-cancelled tender process covered Sydney NYE2023 & 2024 with 2 two-edition optional extensions and was designed with “operational efficiencies” & “contractual benefits” in mind. However, this did not end up working as intended. The tender required partnering with a barge & tug supplier & worse, the name of the tender was just for ‘fireworks displays’.
In the end, Foti Fireworks were the only applying tenderer without a barge & tug supplier. Polaris Marine, the previous barge & tug supplier, did not apply. Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics, the Foti family’s main rival did not put a tender application in for what probably is the 1st time ever.
As Sydney NYE2023’s fireworks needed to be ordered by Tuesday the 28th of February 2023, the City Of Sydney decided unanimously at a Council meeting on Monday the 20th of February 2023 to allow Foti Fireworks to be the fireworks supplier for Sydney NYE2023 and to cancel the tender. As the tender was cancelled, the City Of Sydney decided unanimously allow Polaris Marine to be the barges & tugs supplier for Sydney NYE2023.
The City Of Sydney will now reconsider the combined fireworks-barge/tug model & conduct more requirement scoping & market research including “supplier consultation” on the future tender model before issuing the new tenders for Sydney NYE2024 onwards by Monday the 1st of May 2023.
EOI To Open For New Environmentally Sustainable Sydney NYE Ideas/Technology
At the Corporate, Finance, Properties & Tenders Committee Meeting of Monday the 13th of February 2023, it was revealed that the City Of Sydney will “look at”/”talk to new ideas for Sydney NYE” later in 2023.
More detail was provided at the Council meeting of Monday the 20th of February via a memo about pyrotechnic alternatives, which revealed it would be an “Expression of Interest to invite new ideas and technologies for future” Sydney NYE editions, particularly in regard to environmental sustainability.
Watch this space. Is the event’s lack of creativity finally about to reverse?
Vivid Sydney is now more creative than Sydney NYE.
This is no accident. Sydney NYE, since the loss of the Bridge Effect in 2015, has been less creative each year. Initially, the loss of the Bridge Effect meant the overall night’s narrative was dropped, where they tended to rely on annual artworks to promote a theme. The artworks were undoubtedly spectacular but contributed very little to the event night except as a constant presence on the pylon projections.
Projections, in fact, was what the event needed to capitalise on to bring back the overall night’s narrative. The pylons were well used, since 2000, for projections, but it was Vivid Sydney that showed the potential of projections through their iconic usage on the Sydney Opera House since 2009. Since 2011, the Lighting Of The Sails, as they are formally called, have had a theme attached to them.
In 2013, the International Fleet Review Spectacular, showed the storytelling power of projections when they used the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge pylons and the Australian National Maritime Museum roof to tell the story of the Royal Australian Navy since they first sailed through Sydney Heads in 1913, 100 years prior. This was the 1st combined fireworks & projections show on Sydney Harbour and it had rave reviews. The future of Sydney NYE was secure and this was before the loss of the Bridge Effect became known just over a year later.
So what happened? Vivid Sydney saw the storytelling potential and immediately applied it. Their next Lighting Of The Sails, done by 59 Productions, told the story of the Sydney Opera House since it was proposed in the 1950’s to the present.
This was short-lived however. In 2015, Vivid went back to non-narrative but themed projections for the Lighting Of The Sails. It was called Living Mural and essentially was just the sails acting as a painting canvas. When the loss of the NYE Bridge Effect was revealed in 2015, it was expected the Sydney Opera House would play a starring role for the 1st time telling a story through projections during the fireworks displays, just like during the Fleet Review.
Instead. it was revealed the Sydney Harbour Bridge itself would be “the Bridge Effect” through a light show and pylon projections. For the pylon projections, we expected it would be similar to the Fleet Review Spectacular. For the light show, there was also a precedent. In 2003, due to time delays in the construction of what would become NYE2004’s Bridge Effect, Fanfare, a light show was done on the Sydney Harbour Bridge:
It was a brilliant light show but what the light show was in 2015 was in fact just a row of searchlights along the roadway and the pylon projections – just a stationary image of that year’s graphics with a Twitter hashtag. It was very poor for Sydney NYE standards and was probably the worst edition ever in terms of creativity (especially since the Millennium) with an unoriginal theme, no storytelling projections, an unsignificant light show & no ‘construction’ of the Harbour Bridge, which would have been the night’s narrative if it was a real “Bridge Effect”. The sudden loss of the Bridge Effect may have been a factor in this poor creativity but NYE2003 had the same issue but only temporary and had only 2 months to solve the creative problem. They still managed to make a very creative edition for its time.
It turned out the light show would become a permanent feature. The following edition, which also acted as a ‘relaunch’ for the event with a Welcome theme, the light show made the outline of the Bridge as it should have initially but there was still no night-long narrative and storytelling pylon projections. Pylon projections finally became part of the fireworks displays on NYE2018 – 5 years after the Fleet Review Spectacular and they tell a story during a segment called Calling Country, an Indigenous segment, which due to the COVID-19 pandemic & since NYE2021 has replaced the 9pm Family Fireworks. Calling Country is now the only part of the current event that is as creative as it’s Bridge Effect years.
Whilst this transition to include pylon projections took 5 years, another transition occurred. Sydney NYE no longer used it’s incredible soft power to project a message to the world (think of a Bridge Effect, you get an associated message), which is ironic with Clover Moore still as Lord Mayor (been in office since 2004). The sole aim was now to just make the fireworks display as big as possible (This aim has always existed since the early 1990’s), make the lights/projections as flashy and colourful as possible. This is the equivalent of a media franchise flogged to creative death just to make a profit. Sydney NYE, while technically a free event, is now a commercial product. It’s no surprise that commercialisation has become an issue for Sydney’s major events in recent years (even an election issue for NYE!).
Vivid Sydney has done the opposite.
I’m focusing just on the Light program initially, which draws about 94% of the attendance. Whilst starting as an exhibition of how light can be used smartly or environmentally friendly in 2009 & a celebration of Governor Macquarie in 2010, it became a light art festival with no central theme under the direction of Ignatius Jones (ironically, the person who introduced themes & narratives to Sydney NYE in the iconic Millennium edition). Each installation, always done by a different artist, was creatively different with no unifying theme.
It seemed Ignatius was just there to find something special each year for Destination NSW (the event’s organisers) to draw in more crowds (the Harbour Bridge light show, the Darling Harbour water show, the synchronised lights on boats, the addition of the Royal Botanic Gardens walk & the Taronga Zoo lantern walks) as Ignatius could not be seen using his full creative potential as seen during his Sydney NYE editions (1996-2001) like adding unifying themes.
Vivid‘s aim, was to make the lights as colourful & flashy as possible to draw in crowds but with an artist allowed to add a creative touch to their installation so it can technically be called a ‘light art’ festival. Destination NSW is a tourism agency so its sole aim is to draw visitors but their strategy has worked too well – Vividhas become & still is, as a result, very crowd crush risky. As another result, people cannot take the time to appreciate the art done in each installation nor watch a full projection/light/water show, which run a maximum of 15 minutes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ignatius Jones left Vivid Sydney. He was replaced by Gill Minervini, who was in charge of the City Of Sydney’s non-NYE events in the past, and she has made her mark on the event immediately. Essentially, turning the event into the soft power that Sydney NYE used to hold. First, she introduced event-wide themes. The cancelled 2021 edition was to have a theme of ‘We See Ya, Sydney!‘. The theme clearly reflected the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions but also the tourism agency control of the event. It was trying to get the attention of future overseas visitors. More visitors is the last thing Vivid Sydney needs – something that 2023 has done the complete opposite of – and Sydney’s Spectaculars sell themselves. If this blog was running in 2009, we would have told you Vivid is an event to watch out for – that it would become Sydney Opera House’s big event (like the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s big event is NYE).
In 2022, Vivid finally returned after a 2-year absence, though the risk of COVID-19 was still very real in Sydney. Gill decided to celebrate Sydney itself, focusing on the returning domestic audiences, with a theme of Soul Of The City. Vivid had a record attendance. In 2023, she settled on a theme of Naturally – a reflection on nature. This shows that she is using Vivid as a soft power to showcase a message on the importance of nature particularly in the current context of artificial global warming & climate change. From the Lighting Of The Sails‘ floral artwork tribute of John Olson & the Indigenous celebration of country at the Museum Of Contemporary Art to Darling Harbour’s water show’s LGBTIQA’s pride statement & Central Railway Station’s reminder of nature’s sacrifice in the name of technology and advancement. For the 1st time, Vivid is sending a united message to the world & not just trying to draw tourists through spectacle alone.
It was also announced a regular drone show, themed in 2023 as Written In The Stars, would be held for the 1st time at Vivid. It wasn’t the 1st annual drone show on Sydney Harbour – that was at Elevate Sydney 5 months earlier. In fact, Vivid had Sydney Harbour’s 1st regular drone show, Drone 100, in 2016 but it took until 2022 to return as a 1-night promotion for streaming service, Paramount+. Drone shows have also appeared for 1-night-only appearances for events such as The Everest Barrier Draw, WorldPride 2023: Sydney & the re-opening of the Art Gallery Of New South Wales but none of the above drone shows had the brand power of Vivid Sydney.
Written In The Stars drew in crowds like a moth to a light & heavily contributed to extraordinarily large crowds on its show nights. This was partly due to 2 reasons. First, drone shows, as demonstrated around the world, have reached a level of visual clarity and technical coordination that it now astounds audiences with its images. Back in 2016, Drone 100 was the world-leading drone show. The images were ‘high-definition’ for the time but as you can see in the video above, they are rather elementary-looking in hindsight. It also didn’t draw crowds (being ticketed for the soundtrack didn’t help) as the novelty of drone shows had not yet been proven and in the public’s eyes, the show was just a couple of tech-geeks & aeronauts showing what they can do with a few drones & a computer. It wasn’t presented as entertainment but as a creatively-done technical presentation.
Secondly, as a result of the 1st reason, it provided a clear item for the public to see. All the other installations, due to Vivid‘s crowds, have become background decorations for social media photos but the drone show is something you knew you had to watch in full and most importantly, arrive at a certain time and leave at a certain time otherwise, blink & you miss it! This is what most contributed to the extra crowds. For an event that ran 5 hours a night, Written In The Stars only ran for 10 of those 300 minutes or 0.03% of the time. Crowds slowly built up in anticipation of the 9:10pm start & as soon as it finished, due to the crowds, left at 9:20pm, resulting in unusually large crowds at Circular Quay railway station. The crowds forgot that leaving to avoid the crowds brought the crowd with them. Once again, the cost of Vivid‘s success on show.
For a show that only ran on 6 of the 23 Vivid nights, it was no surprise that they added a 7th final surprise show on closing night. Next year, it would not be a surprise if a drone show featured every night & twice a night (probably at 8pm & 10pm) on the peak nights of Fridays, weekends & the King’s Birthday holiday. This would spread out the crowds throughout the whole festival & on those peak nights, avoid the rush to Circular Quay railway station after the 1st show.
Written In The Stars, with music from Gustav Holst’s The Planets mixed together by Pee Wee Ferris & drones by Australian Traffic Network, showcased a series of images of outer space, beginning with a whale diving out of Sydney Harbour up towards the Milky Way, using over 1000 drones. It should be noted that despite popular belief, this drone show broke no records. The southern hemisphere recordwent to Uluru’s Wintjiri Wiru show, held since 10 May 2023 – 13 days before Vivid started- while the world record is currently around 5000 drones – a record held by China since early October 2022. Written In The Stars had a creative theme but no story. That’s what Vivid needs to do next year – add a story. All in all, Written In The Stars has heralded the arrival of drone shows over Sydney Harbour.
Since 2016, this has long been speculated to happen eventually. We’ve always believed drone shows would become the modern equivalent of the Bridge Effect on NYE – telling a story throughout the fireworks or in-between 9pm & Midnight before revealing a final iconic image at the story’s conclusion after the Midnight Fireworks finale – just like the Bridge Effect – or using lights on drones in a unique way around the Harbour. However, the City of Sydney has been of the attitude ‘We need a lot of drones if we are to do a drone show’. In short, 6000 drones.
Other excuses were possible rain, wind & battery life. It rarely rains on NYE so you just have to be unlucky. It is similar with wind, though for drones the wind tolerance is a lot lower than fireworks but again, you just have to be unlucky. Battery life is the only completely reasonable excuse but only partially, as there is, obviously, enough battery life to produce a single iconic image during the Midnight Fireworks finale.
It should be noted these excuses for no drones were provided by the City Of Sydney when a Councillor requested an alternative to the main creative element of fireworks – that is fireworks or drones but not both. However, it is reasonable to think that the lack of drones in Sydney NYE since 2014, notably apart for broadcast purposes, leads one to conclude these are also the reasons for not introducing drones at all.
The City of Sydney are being overly cautious – being more reactive than proactive. To be proactive, is to be creative. Have you ever heard of someone ‘being creative’ because they are using someone else’s ideas? Creatively is also about using even the smallest amount of a creative element to its maximum potential. The City of Sydney took the approach ‘All-In or Not at All!’ regarding drones. This all is also emblematic of their attitude detailed above that apparently the people only want more and more fireworks & more colourful/flashy lights/projections – not a story told through fireworks/lights/projections. We were of the opposite belief – even a small number of drones could add a lot to Sydney NYE.
Sydney NYE began as single location fireworks display on NYE1976. They didn’t go – ‘I want 6 barges, the Bridge, the Opera House & other buildings – all at once!’ & they did not need to – NYE will come around again next year. It’s not a 1 in 15-year event like a Fleet Review – when the rarity of the event demands something big, spectacular & unique. Projections also began in NYE1998 as simple laser projections on the pylons & water. They did not go – ‘ I want a complete artwork, mapped to the entire shape of all 4 pylons!’ – not least because the technology did not exist yet. They just added something new – being proactive, mainly for sponsorship purposes – and let it grow over time.
You may have heard of our NYE ‘revolutions’ – basic, Bridge, theme, projection mapping. This has happened every 15 years on average usually coinciding with a Naval Fleet Review. We weren’t expecting the next one until 2028 & if there was one, it would be the introduction of drone shows but in a complete surprise, the revolution arrived early and it wasn’t during a Fleet Review, it wasn’t during Sydney NYE but during VIVID!
VIVID SYDNEY HAS BROUGHT IN THE 6TH REVOLUTION!
On opening night at 6pm when Vivid Light begins, informally known as Lights On!, at the conclusion of the relatively new First Light event, an Indigenous welcoming event at Campbells Cove for Vivid curated by Rhoda Roberts (who creatively directed Sydney NYE2008-2010) that concludes with the formal countdown to Vivid by dignitaries, they introduced the 1st ever combined fireworks-drone show on Sydney Harbour!
The formal countdown by dignitaries got delayed but, thanks to time codes, that didn’t stop the drones! Drones appeared in a vertical circle above Jeffery Street Wharf. Red strobing stationary flares then appeared on the Sydney Opera House, a barge (stationary not strobing), 2 skyscrapers, the Overseas Passenger Terminal and at Campbells Cove. Inside the drone circle, a 10-second countdown began before the words ‘Lights ON!’ appeared & the lights and projections turned on around Sydney as fireworks erupted from the flare-appearing locations! During these fireworks, the words ‘Welcome’, ‘Bujari Gamarruwa’ and the Vivid Sydney logo appeared in drones. The Sydney Opera House had fireworks for 1 minute while the rest went a total of 3 minutes. The 1st cycle of lights & projections finished 12 minutes later (but these are not synchronised to the fireworks and drones & hence, technically, not a part of the fireworks/drone show)
This Lights ON! fireworks display was first held last year as a surprise to celebrate Vivid‘s return after the COVID-19 pandemic but after re-appearing this year, in history making form, will likely see it become just as popular as the drone shows. The best vantage point is at the First Light event at Campbells Cove but to go there you need to get at least an hour prior for the best spots. The next best vantage point is the Overseas Passenger Terminal with a similar arrival time requirement. However, if you do not want the best spot, there is plenty of room to get the next best spot by 6pm… for now!
The usage of a combined fireworks-drone show, the 1st ever on Sydney Harbour, shows Vivid, led by Gill Minervini, is daring to be creative. Something that Sydney NYE has not done, except in their Calling Country segment, for 8 years. The combined fireworks-drone show didn’t need to be as big as Written In The Stars – it was just a 10-second countdown, 2 simple welcoming messages & the event’s logo. The 2023 Lights On! Moment has been shown it can be done & on a small scale, just like we believed or in this case, 1000 drones. Not like the 6000 drones the City of Sydney demanded.
Vivid Sydney is now more creative than Sydney NYE.
The City of Sydney have been caught off guard with a huge hole in creativity left to be filled. When the Bridge Effect disappeared in 2015, their appointed Sydney NYE creative team, Imagination, went to what they did best – marketing – with those earlier-mentioned artworks distracting from the lack of event creativity. In 2018, the City Of Sydney decided to follow Imagination‘s lead by making it all about a ‘visual identity’, appointing Garbett Design to design the visual identity. Garbett Design produced a great visual identity but for the City Of Sydney, for the event, that’s the limit of their vision and creativity & that’s where we are today: An event designed around an identity, brand, logo…. A marketing product and overall, it is repetitive, boring & uninteresting. Again, thankfully we have the Calling Country segment – where Australia’s Indigenous people do use their creativity and not worry about marketing.
On marketing, there was a lot of concerns of commercialisation of Vivid Sydney this year, mainly around activations of the Royal Botanic Gardens and less so of the former Wynyard tram tunnels. We, at Sydney Spectaculars, are not concerned about these developments, unlike of Sydney NYE in recent years, for 3 reasons:
These locations are closed to the public at night – the Wynyard tram tunnels for public safety (which is closed during daytime too) & garden protection for the Royal Botanic Gardens.
These activations were held well into mid-July – a month after Vivid Sydney finished – and therefore, aren’t officially part of the event. They just happened to start & be promoted at the same time as Vivid Sydney, using its brand power to drive ticket sales.
These 2 activations made up only a small portion of Vivid if you include it as part of that event. It did not prevent you from seeing the official Vivid lights which, if you include those 2 paid-ticketed activations into Vivid, made up about 85% of the lights.
If you had to pay to go into The Domain (which includes Mrs Macquaries Point) or any open-at-all-times public place for Vivid, then it is time to be outraged.
But the overall message of this article is that Vivid‘s future is bright – thanks to the creativity directed by Gill Minervini – and that the City Of Sydney really need to reflect on their creative efforts for Sydney NYE (aside from Calling Country) as they’ve lost the title of Sydney’s most creative event in our opinion. To lose one title may be a misfortune, but to lose two looks like carelessness…
The next episode of television series, Police Rescue Australia, will focus on police operations, particularly of the New South Wales (NSW) Police Rescue & Bomb Disposal Unit, for Sydney NYE2022 – Pride, making it the 4th television (TV) documentary on the Sydney Spectaculars.
This is the 1st time the NSW Police Rescue & Bomb Disposal Unit have opened their doors for an all-access look.
The episode may even feature the Police Rescue Unit abseiling off the Sydney Harbour Bridge!
Police Rescue Australia is produced by Lune Media with the cooperation of NSW Police.
Police Rescue Australia: Sydney NYE2022 – Pride airs tomorrow (Monday) night at 8:53pm on Channel 9 and 9Now & goes about 1-hour in duration. The episode will appear on our 2023 NSW Election Debate webpage after it has aired.
*Whether it was record-breaking has not yet been announced.
You can watch live coverage of the results of the NSW Election 2023 by Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation by clicking here or ‘Watch LIVE’ on the menu to the left.
This is a live blog of the NSW Election 2023 results. To see latest news, refresh the webpage. Here is a summary of the major news:
At 6pm AEDT, the polls closed.
At 6:20pm AEDT, the 1st counted votes came through.
At 7:06pm, the 1st results have come through from the NSW Premier’s district, Epping.
At 7:20pm, the 1st results for the Legislative Council have come through.
At 7:31pm, the NSW Premier is under 50% on 1st preferences in his district.
At 7:37pm, ‘we’ are calling the district of Kogarah for Chris Minns.
At 7:52pm, Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called a Labor-led Government with the Coalition unable to form Government.
At 7:59pm, the NSW Premier went back just over 50% of 1st preferences in his district.
At 8:16pm, the NSW Premier went back just under 50% of 1st preferences in his district.
At 8:24pm, the NSW Premier was at 48% on 1`st preferences in his district.
At 8:42pm,Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, says he is “confident” a Labor-led Government will be a majority government.
At 8:46pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson reports Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has left his home.
At 8:56pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has arrived to make his victory speech.
At 9:01pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet has called Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, to concede the election to him.
At 9:44pm, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, is “a couple of minutes” away from arriving to make his concession speech.
At 9:48pm, Dominic Perrottet has arrived to make his concession speech.
At 9:51pm, the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, has begun his concession speech saying Chris Minns will “be a fine 47th Premier” over the next 4 years.
At 10:03pm, the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced he will stand down as Parliamentary Leader of the Liberal Party.
At 10:28pm, the Labor Leader, Chris Minns, begins his victory speech saying “we will not let them down”.
At 10:58pm, ‘we’ called the Legislative Council to form for the next 4 years in favour of the left/progessive side of politics.
On Tuesday, the Minns Labor NSW Government was sworn in by the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley, after 3 Independent Members of Parliament-elect gave Labor confidence and supply, 1 MP-elect more than required at this stage.
1 week after election night, Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called a Labor-led Minority Government.
2 weeks after election night, Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has finished calling Legislative Assembly districts, giving Labor 45 districts, 2 short of a majority.
19 days after election night, the Liberal Party announce they will decide the next Opposition Leader on April 21.
25 days after election night, the NSW Electoral Commission announced the finalised results with Labor winning the most districts in the Legislative Assembly – a minority of 45 districts – while no major party won a majority or clear lead in the Legislative Council. A now-divided crossbench has the balance of power in the Legislative Council.
27 days after election night, the NSW Liberal Parliamentary Party elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for the District of Cronulla, Mark Speakman, as their leader and thus, Coalition leader and thus, Opposition Leader.
27 DAYS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:
CRONULLA MLA, MARK SPEAKMAN, ELECTED AS OPPOSITION LEADER BY COALITION
The NSW Liberal Parliamentary Party elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for the District of Cronulla, Mark Speakman, as their leader and thus, Coalition leader and thus, Opposition Leader.
The date of Australia Day will be dependent on Mark Speakman, though it is highly likely he will support Labor’s policy of January 26 for the next 4 years as the Coalition is a pairing of conservative parties.
Sydney Spectaculars will contact the Opposition Leader for clarification of his policy.
25 DAYS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:
NSW ELECTORAL COMMISSION CONFIRMS LABOR MINORITY IN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, DIVIDED CROSSBENCH HOLDING BALANCE OF POWER IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
The NSW Electoral Commission finalised the election results today. The Legislative Assembly is as follows:
Labor – 45 districts
Coalition – 36 districts
Greens – 3 districts
Independent – 9 districts
This confirms Labor will be a minority government. Therefore, they will definitely need the support of at least 2 members of the Legislative Assembly to implement their policy of free entry to Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points.
The new half of the Legislative Council is as follows:
Labor – 8 seats
Coalition – 7 seats
Greens – 2 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
One Nation – 1 seat
Liberal Democrats – 1 seat
Legalise Cannabis – 1 seat
This makes the whole Legislative Council as follows:
Labor – 15 seats
Coalition – 15 seats
Greens – 4 seats
One Nation – 3 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
Animal Justice – 1 seat
Liberal Democrats – 1 seat
Legalise Cannabis – 1 seat
This means the crossbench (all parties except Labor & Coalition) will have the balance of power and will not favour one side of politics as earlier called by us. It is divided exactly 50-50.
19 DAYS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:
LIBERAL PARTY TO DECIDE NEW OPPOSITION LEADER ON APRIL 21
The Liberal Party have announced they will decide the next Opposition Leader at a party room meeting on April 21. As always when the Coalition is in Opposition and The Liberal Party is larger than The Nationals in the Legislative Assembly, the Opposition Leader will also be the Leader of the Liberal-National Coalition and the Liberal Party. The date of Australia Day will be dependent on the new Opposition Leader, though it is highly likely that whoever is chosen will support Labor’s policy of January 26 for the next 4 years as the Coalition is a pairing of conservative parties.
2 WEEKS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:
ANTONY GREEN FINISHES CALLING LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY DISTRICTS, GIVING LABOR 45 DISTRICTS, 2 SHORT OF A MAJORITY
Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has finished calling the Legislative Assembly districts giving Labor 45 districts, 2 short of a majority. Therefore, they will now need the support of at least 2 members of the Legislative Assembly to implement their policy of free entry to Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points. The final make-up of the Legislative Assembly, as called by Antony Green, is:
Labor – 45 districts
Coalition – 36 districts
Greens – 3 districts
Independent – 8 districts
1 WEEK AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:
ANTONY GREEN CALLS THE ELECTION FOR A LABOR-LED MINORITY GOVERNMENT
Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called the Labor-led Government will be a minority government, being at least 1 seat short. This means the date of Australia Day will be dependent on the new Opposition Leader, though it is highly likely that whoever is chosen will support Labor’s policy of January 26 for the next 4 years as the Coalition is a pairing of conservative parties. While Labor is in Government, it cannot be as guaranteed the parliament will support their policy of free entry to Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points. They will need the support of at least 1 member of the Legislative Assembly.
TUESDAY AFTER ELECTION NIGHT:
MINNS LABOR NSW GOVERNMENT SWORN IN AFTER 3 ELECTED INDEPENDENTS GUARANTEE CONFIDENCE & SUPPLY
Last night, 3 elected Independent members of the Legislative Assembly gave Labor confidence and supply for a Government under them. This allowed Chris Minns as well as 4 other elected Labor Members Of Parliament to be sworn in by the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley, as the new Government in the position of Premier & Ministers respectively. The 3 Independents who gave confidence and supply are:
Alex Greenwich (District Of Sydney),
Greg Piper (District Of Lake Macquarie) and,
Joe McGirr (District Of Wagga Wagga).
Labor only currently needs 2 guarantees of confidence and supply to form a minority Government so they got, at least for now, an extra guarantee in case of a sudden change of mind. At the swearing-in ceremony, the following Labor members of Parliament(-elect) were made Ministers:
Prue Car (Deputy Premier & Education Minister) (District Of Londonderry),
Daniel Mookrey (Treasurer) (District Of NSW*),
Ryan Park (Health Minister) (District Of Keira),
Jo Haylen (Transport Minister) (District Of Summer Hill),
Penny Sharpe (Environment Minister) (District Of NSW*)
*Means in Legislative Council
11:08PM, ELECTION NIGHT:
LIVE BLOG NOW TO PROVIDE DAILY UPDATES AT 6PM AEDT FROM TUESDAY
We are now wrapping up our coverage of election night in New South Wales. We will now provide daily updates at 6pm from Monday as we wait for confirmation that Labor will get a majority government (Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, only said he was “confident” – not an outright call) but in the main news to arise out of election night results:
We have called the Legislative Council for the next 4 years to favour the left/progessive side of politics
NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, will stand down as Liberal Party Parliamentary Leader, leaving the Liberal policy of the Australia Day date as on January 26 open, though it very likely will be the same policy under the new Liberal Party Parliamentary Leader as they are a conservative party.
Chris Minns won his seat decisively, in the biggest swing to Labor in a district this election.
Labor will form the next NSW Government but whether it is a majority or minority government is still to be determined, coming down to 1 seat possibly.
Hope you enjoyed our live coverage of the NSW Election results in what will determine the fate of ticket prices of NSW Government-controlled Sydney NYE vantage points and the date of Australia Day for the next 4 years. Until 6pm AEDT Tuesday, thank you for following our coverage.
10:58PM:
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CALLED (BY US)
At 36% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:
Labor – 9 seats
Coalition – 7 seats
The Greens – 3 seats
One Nation – 2 seats
We are calling the new half of the Legislative Council for the above parties. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council may now look like:
Labor – 16 seats
Coalition – 15 seats
The Greens – 5 seats
One Nation – 4 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
Animal Justice – 1 seat
While, as expected, no party got a majority in the next 4-term of the Legislative Council, we expect it to be controlled by the left/progressive side of politics, consisting of Labor, The Green & Animal Justice, who make up 22 of the 42 seats or 52% of the next 4-year term of the Legislative Council.
10:28PM:
CHRIS MINNS: “WE WILL NOT LET THEM (NSW) DOWN”
To chants of “Minns!” & “Labor!” repeatedly, the Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has walked up to the podium, after struggling to get through the crowd supporting him, to make his victory speech after a passionate introduction by the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. He says to NSW that “we will not let them down” and also thanks the Labor volunteers from his district of Kogarah, who helped him to victory in his marginal district.
10:03PM:
NSW PREMIER WILL STAND DOWN AS LIBERAL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY LEADER
The NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced he will stand down as Parliamentary Leader of the Liberal Party. This leaves open the question of the Liberal Party’s policy of keeping Australia Day on January 26 as Dominic Perrottet personally committed to another 4 years of January 26 as Australia Day. While the new Parliamentary Liberal Party Leader will have to clarify their position on the Australia Day date, it is very likely to be the same as Dominic’s position as their party is a conservative party.
9:51PM:
NSW PREMIER – CHRIS MINNS “TO BE A FINE 47TH PREMIER”
On the verge of tears and looking gutted while his faithful chant “Dom!” repeatedy, the NSW Premier begins his concession speech confirming his call to Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, to concede the election while saying Chris Minns will “be a fine 47th Premier” over the next 4 years.
9:48PM:
NSW PREMIER ARRIVES TO MAKE CONCESSION SPEECH
NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, has arrived to make his concession speech.
9:44PM:
NSW PREMIER “A COUPLE OF MINUTES” AWAY FROM ARRIVING TO MAKE HIS CONCESSION SPEECH
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, is “a couple of minutes” away from arriving to make his concession speech.
9:01PM:
NSW PREMIER CALLS OPPOSITION LEADER TO CONCEDE THE ELECTION
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson has reported that NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet has called Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, to concede the election to him.
8:56PM:
CHRIS MINNS ARRIVES TO MAKE HIS VICTORY SPEECH
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s David Speers has reported that Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has arrived to make his victory speech.
8:46PM:
CHRIS MINNS ON WAY TO VICTORY SPEECH
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Sarah Ferguson has reported that Labor Leader, Chris Minns, has left his house on the way to make his victory speech.
8:42PM:
ANTONY GREEN SAYS HE IS “CONFIDENT” A LABOR-LED GOVERNMENT WILL BE A MAJORITY GOVERNMENT
Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, says he is “confident” a Labor-led Government will be a majority government. However, he says it still depends on the final makeup of seats won as it could come down to 1 seat’s difference.
8:27PM:
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE
At 1% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:
Coalition – 8 seats
Labor – 8 seats
The Greens – 3 seats
One Nation – 1 seat
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:
Coalition – 16 seats
Labor – 15 seats
The Greens – 5 seats
One Nation – 3 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
Animal Justice – 1 seat
8:24PM:
NSW PREMIER LOSING GROUND IN HIS DISTRICT
At 29% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 48% of the current votes counted, dropping 1% on the last update we provided. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, he is still on a very fine margin on 1st preferences, still meaning he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote). Whether the NSW Premier wins his own seat is still up for debate.
8:19PM:
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE
At 0.6% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:
Coalition – 8 seats
Labor – 8 seats
The Greens – 3 seats
One Nation – 1 seat
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:
Coalition – 16 seats
Labor – 15 seats
The Greens – 5 seats
One Nation – 3 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
Animal Justice – 1 seat
8:16PM:
NSW PREMIER GOES BACK UNDER 50% OF 1ST PREFERENCES IN HIS DISTRICT
At 24% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 49% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, he is still on a very fine margin on 1st preferences, still meaning he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote). Whether the NSW Premier wins his own seat is still up for debate.
8:10PM:
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE
At 0.4% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:
Coalition – 8 seats
Labor – 7 seats
The Greens – 3 seats
One Nation – 2 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:
Coalition – 16 seats
Labor – 14 seats
The Greens – 5 seats
One Nation – 4 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
Animal Justice – 1 seat
7:59PM:
NSW PREMIER BACK OVER 50% OF 1ST PREFERENCES IN HIS DISTRICT
At 14% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 51% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, he is still on a very fine margin on 1st preferences, still meaning he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote). Things have improved for him nevertheless.
7:52PM:
ANTONY GREEN CALLS THE ELECTION FOR A LABOR-LED GOVERNMENT
Australia’s most famous psephologist, Antony Green, has called a Labor-led Government and that the Coalition is unable to form Government. However, he has not called whether Labor will form a majority or minority government.
7:45PM:
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL UPDATE
At 0.1% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:
Coalition – 8 seats
Labor – 8 seats
The Greens – 3 seats
One Nation – 1 seat
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:
Coalition – 16 seats
Labor – 15 seats
The Greens – 5 seats
One Nation – 3 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 2 seats
Animal Justice – 1 seat
7:37PM:
WE’RE CALLING THE DISTRICT OF KOGARAH FOR CHRIS MINNS
At 9% counted, the Opposition Leader and Labor Leader, Chris Minns, is leading on 57% of the vote. We believe he will hold onto the district, which was a marginal one. Last election, he won with 42% of 1st preferences so we are calling the district of Kogarah for Labor & Chris Minns so he he will be leading his party in some form in the next Parliament.
Important to note, Antony Green, Australia’s most famous psephologist has not called the district.
7:31PM:
NSW PREMIER UNDER 50% ON 1ST PREFERENCE IN HIS DISTRICT
At 5% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 48% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet. However, being now under 50% on 1st preferences means he will currently have to rely on preferences, which will be a bit difficult when the other parties in his seat are Labor, The Greens, Sustainable Australia, Animal Justice & an independent (who has 3% of the vote).
7:20PM:
FIRST RESULTS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HAVE COME THROUGH.
At 0.02% counted, the new half of the Legislative Council currently looks like this:
Coalition – 9 seats
Labor – 8 seats
The Greens – 3 seats
One Nation – 1 seat
This is still too early to call the Council, however that is the current state of play. Combined with the existing half of the Council, this is what the whole Legislative Council looks like:
Coalition – 17 seats
Labor – 15 seats
The Greens – 5 seats
One Nation – 3 seats
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers – 1 seat
Animal Justice – 1 seat
7:06PM:
FIRST RESULTS FROM NSW PREMIER’S DISTRICT HAVE COME THROUGH.
At 1% counted, the NSW Premier is currently leading his district of Epping with 57% of the current votes counted. This is still too early to call this seat, though it is a safe seat for Dominic Perrottet.
6:20PM:
1ST COUNTED VOTES HAVE COME THROUGH
They are from the district of Clarence but as they are early figures, there are not enough to make a final judgement on that seat yet.
6PM:
POLLS HAVE CLOSED
The polls have closed everywhere in New South Wales. First results expected at 6:30pm AEDT.
Last night from 8:40pm, the Sydney Opera House was lit up red in its annual traditional illumination to celebrate Lunar New Year.
Red is chosen as it is regarded as a symbol of good fortune and luck.
First lit up in red in February 2013 for Chinese New Year, the illumination’s presence saw the City Of Sydney’s Chinese New Year celebration, which had started in 1996, expand, peaking in 2017 with the included additions of a Sydney Harbour Bridge red (pink as well in 2019) illumination amongst other city landmarks and a fireworks display in Circular Quay to coincide with the beginning of the illuminations. The event was renamed Sydney Lunar Festival in 2019, to take into account non-Chinese celebrations of Lunar New Year & the expansion was suddenly dropped in 2020 and is now held at just below its pre-2013 scale, which it has been ever since. However, the Sydney Opera House red illumination, which is independent of the City Of Sydney event, remains. Lunar New Year in Sydney, nevertheless, was and still is the biggest celebration of the event outside of Asia – a feat that should not be ignored.
Lunar New Year last 15 days from the 1st new moon of the lunar calendar until the 2nd next full moon. The 2023 Lunar New Year celebration began on Sunday the 22nd of January and will end on Monday the 6th of February.
The NSW Government has been joining communities across the state to celebrate this significant cultural event for more than a decade.
While Lunar New Year is significant to many across the state, it also represents much of what we all stand & hope for in a new year, especially new beginnings.
To everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year, I wish you all prosperity, good health and fortune for the year ahead.
Dominic Perrottet, Premier Of NSW
You will be hard-pressed to find such rich diversity proudly championed and celebrated like it is in NSW.
It is about showing communities and the world that we welcome everyone and value our diversity.
I wish everyone a prosperous and happy Year of the Rabbit & for those from a Vietnamese background, a very happy Year of the Cat.
This all but brings a full day program of events of flagship Sydney Spectaculars at Australia Day In Sydney for the 1st time:
5:20am to 5:50am: Dawn Reflection
11:30am to 12:05pm: Salute To Australia
12pm to 1:30pm: Navy Helicopter Flag Display
7:30pm to 9:30pm: Australia Day Live
Salute To Australia is, primarily, a military salute. It began in 2010 as just an Australian Army 21-gun salute fired from just north of the Fleet Steps on the western side of Mrs Macquaries’ Point in The Domain into Farm Cove at 12pm to commemorate the Federation of Australia, which was its 99th anniversary at the time (Reminder: The actual Federation anniversary is on 1 January). An 180 metre exclusion zone is in place around the salute when the weapons are armed.
A 21-gun salute stems from the 1700’s when a foreign warship was about to enter a foreign port (let’s use Port Jackson as the example). Outside of the Heads, out of cannon range, which is about 5 kilometres from the coast, the foreign warship would fire each of its cannons, one at a time. As loading cannons is a time-consuming task, the ship was neutralised more after each succeeding shot and could be considered friendly. To check this, Port Jackson would fire 3 cannons for each cannon heard from the foreign warship. 3 bursts of fire were chosen due to superstitions that even-numbered cannon bursts would signal death. Given British ships at the time had 7 cannons, this made the total bursts of cannon fire, 21. Over the past 300 years, it evolved from a security measure, which became redundant in the 1950’s, to a symbol of peace between nations to a military salute (as well as a gesture of friendship between the military and who the salute is being performed for).
In 2011, the 21-gun salute was performed by the Australian Army’s 7th & 23rd Field Regiment Royal Australian Artillery, the latter who also performed it in 2012.
In 2014, the salute was expanded to include a Royal Australian Air Force flypast/handling display finale around Sydney Harbour and a Royal Australian Navy salute from a warship stopped in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is called a Procedure Alpha. Originating from the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, a Procedure Alpha involves nearly all sailors on the warship to be stationed at an external part of the ship of their choosing, evenly spaced apart & in full dress uniform. The inaugural saluting ship was Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Choules, a dock landing ship, where the Governor Of New South Wales (NSW) reviewed the salute. The 21-gun salute was also relocated in this edition to Milsons Point inside Bradfield Park underneath the north-eastern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and it was the 1st edition to feature the words Salute To Australia in it’s name.
In 2015, a performance of the national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, by choirs placed around Sydney Harbour was added to the event. A once-off hat tip by the Royal Australian Navy & Australian Army personnel attending the event also occurred. In 2015 & 2016, 2 landing helicopter dock ships were the saluting ships: HMAS Canberra (which hosted numerous dignitaries) and HMAS Adelaide, which is larger (In fact, it is the Navy’s largest ever flagship).
In 2017, it’s timeslot was moved forward by 15 minutes to 11:45am to permanently include an address by the NSW Governor, who spoke from the saluting ship, which was HMAS Canberra that year & in 2018. A Welcome To Country and a speech from Indigenous Elder, Uncle Allen Madden, as well as a video about Australia’s newest citizens was included in 2017. The choirs, which included Tribal Warrior Choir & school choirs, were also now located solely at vantage points around Circular Quay (Hickson Road Reserve, Overseas Passenger Terminal, Sydney Opera House, Bradfield Park ), who performed Waratah, I Am Australian & Advance Australia Fair, the latter with iconic Australian singer, Tina Arena, which concluded with the aerial salute done that year by a Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
In 2018, it’s timeslot was moved up by another 15 minutes to the current 11:30am slot and a performance of Bapa was added just for that edition. That year, over 500 school children participated in the choirs including 1 choir on the ship, Young Endeavour & 3 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets did the aerial salute, beginning the flypast in formation.
In 2019, a once-off radio broadcast & audio description (89.3FM) was added. Musical performances by The Royal Australian Navy Band and a smoking ceremony first appeared. HMAS Choules (where the NSW Governor was) & Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets were the saluting ship and aircraft (the latter, beginning in formation) in 2019 respectively while HMAS Canberra returned for the role in the 2020 edition.
Then COVID-19 arrived. The 2021 edition was unique in that it had its only television broadcast so far, was held at the later timeslot of 2pm with a shortened duration of 30 minutes and was held at the NSW Government House. Frontline workers were also invited to the 2021 edition, which also saw 2 permanent changes: specially-chosen new citizens were invited to the event & the national anthem was sung with a version in Eora language.
Last year’s edition was streamed on YouTube and is now held at Hickson Road Reserve, underneath the south-east pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (though the 21-gun salute is still held underneath the north-east pylon in Bradfield Park on Milsons’ Point) where the NSW Governor now makes their address. They are welcomed to the event with a Guard made up of Australian Army personnel, which they formally inspect before proceedings begin. A Welcome To Country now follows along with a speech, which in 2022, was about Patyegarang, Lieutenant William Dawes and the significance of the land & spoken by Clarence Slockee. A video about Australia’s newest citizens was also played after that speech before I Am Australian was sung by the now-sole choir, Monty Saint Angelo Mercy College Choir (which is now just located at Hickson Road Reserve) featuring Matthew Doyle playing the didgeridoo, which he also does during Advance Australia Fair, which was also accompanied by jet skiers, each holding, in turn, either the Australian National or Australian Aboriginal Flag. HMAS Paramatta, a frigate ship, was the saluting ship & the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II now does the aerial salute formation flypast and handling display finale, now complete with commentary (which was done in 2022 by Australian Air Commander Air Vice-Marshal V.J. Iervasi, though the event actually now concludes with a private, unaired citizenship ceremony.
As you can see, it is now a Spectacular event! As far as we can tell, the 2023 edition will be similar to 2022 though there will be only 2 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft performing the aerial salute. A YouTube broadcast has not been confirmed yet.
‘Navy Helicopter Flag Display’ Photograph: Australia Day In Sydney
The Navy Helicopter Flag Display was introduced last year as a 2-hour display from 11:30am, the start of Salute To Australia. The helicopter with flag in tow lifts off from HMAS Penguin navy base near Middle Head before exiting Sydney Harbour to travel to Palm Beach (For international readers, this is the backdrop for television soap opera, Home & Away) and back before travelling up & down Sydney Harbour and then south down the coast to the Shoalhaven River which it travels up to Nowra before landing at the nearby HMAS Albatross naval air station at 1:30pm. As far as we can tell, the 2023 edition will be similar, but it will run for 90 minutes from 12pm. This very likely will not be broadcast though it may make a cameo appearance during the potential Salute To Australia broadcast.
The 2023 edition of the Navy Helicopter Flag Display will also occur during the following other Australia Day In Sydney events:
However, these 3 events are not considered flagship Sydney Spectaculars.
It also means aviation-based Australia Day events in the following local governments will be focused on more by our site:
Northern Beaches Council
Municipality Of Woollahra
Waverly Council
City Of Randwick
Sutherland Shire
City Of Wollongong
City Of Shellharbour
Municipality Of Kiama
City Of Shoalhaven
The Municipality Of Kiama will be holding a helicopter flag display with the Australian National & Aboriginal Flags along their coastline at 10am & 3pm that day and the City Of Wollongong will be holding a flypast along it’s coastline at 5:45pm that day by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society but those aerial displays will not be considered as flagship Sydney Spectaculars as they are still COVID-19 pandemic responses.
Sydney Spectaculars will be providing coverage of the 2023 edition of Australia Day In Sydney and from that event on, we will also be considering military salutes on Sydney Harbour.
The Rationale
Why these events you ask?
With the addition of Wings Over Illawarra in October last year, major annual aerial displays are now considered and on Sydney Harbour, these usually occur only on the 26th of January. The 2023 edition only has 2 aerial displays that have been held before with a consistent history – the Navy Helicopter Flag Display and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II formation flypast salute and handling display segment of the Salute To Australia. The Salute To Australia, has, as detailed above, grown significantly over the years, particularly since 2014 and gathers the 2nd largest crowd during the day (The biggest crowd being for Australia Day Live). Also, we believe in the near future, aviation-based events such as drone shows will play a central role in Sydney Harbour events, as shown by the recent Elevate Sydney, Sydney Harbour’s first annual drone show and the southern hemisphere’s largest.
To acknowledge their history, growth, our site’s new ‘policy’ of considering aviation-based events & the future growth in such events, we have decided to designate Salute To Australia & the Navy Helicopter Flag Display as flagship Sydney Spectaculars.
Had the COVID-19 pandemic not occurred, this would have been announced a year ago for Salute To Australia.
What if I cannot attend the event?
The Salute To Australia last year was live streamed on YouTube. However, it has not been confirmed for 2023 yet so do not expect a live stream to appear on the ‘Watch LIVE’ page just yet. However, if prior to the event, they announce, confirm or on the event weekend, publish a live stream, we will promote it.
The Navy Helicopter Flag Display will very likely not be broadcast though it may make a cameo appearance during the potential Salute To Australia broadcast.
Sydney Spectaculars 
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