Speaking on Today this morning (Monday 10th of June), the NSW Premier said he believed the crowd size could be attributed in part to the cost-of-living crisis and the draw of a large-scale free event & said the resulting crowd crush criticism was “fair”:
Not good & not enough. We need to do better. We didn’t anticipate the crowds on that night. What I can say is that the organisers, the NSW Police worked quickly to learn from the mistakes of the night before. They did a major walkthrough with all the agencies, Destination NSW as well as NSW Police.
Some street closures were brought in earlier in the day. Some of the crowd barricades were moved to different sections & the following night worked better.
I’m grateful that we learned from the mistakes of the night before but I want to see families out enjoying Sydney. I know people are doing it tough at the moment. When you’ve got free entertainment & this is an opportunity to get with your families to spend time together, you’re going to take it up & enjoy something that doesn’t cost any money. We’ve got to make sure it’s a safe night out. Get out there and enjoy it.
Chris Minns, New South Wales Premier
Vivid Sydney & NSW Government agencies undertook the major walk-through on Sunday morning according to news.com.au.
Last night, the 2nd of the 3 drone shows occurred but thankfully, capacity limits were enforced this time & no incidents occurred. The final Love Is In The Air drone show is on at 9:10pm, Saturday the 15th of June, which is also the final night of Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity. Crowds are expected to be significant but two-thirds the size of last weekend’s drone shows’ crowds.
Vantage points for the Vivid Sydney drone show have reached capacity. Please avoid Circular Quay and The Rocks. Other Vivid Sydney locations are operating at Barangaroo, Darling Harbour and The Goods Line.
Vivid Sydney‘s Love Is In The Air drone show resulted in 2 near-crowd crushes, 1 behind the Overseas Passenger Terminal in The Rocks & 1 at the intersection of Albert & Phillip Streets. The Rocks near-crowd crush occurred before the show had even started.
The Rocks near-crowd crush was the worst near-crowd crush since, though slightly not as bad as the one that occurred at the Moore Steps in 2016. It was 5 times larger in size but less serious in terms of medical incidents, of which there were none.
The scientific definition of a crowd crush is when crowd density reaches 9 to 10 people per square metre & this number is sustained for a significant amount of time but a density of 6-7 people per square metre is when people become uncomfortable & the situation becomes dangerous. When Circular Quay’s capacity of 70,000 for Vivid‘s drone shows are reached, the density should be about 1-2 people per square metre.
1 woman told The Daily Mail that VividSydney 2024 – Humanity staff were failing to direct the crowd out of the chaos:
We waited 1 hour standing to see 10 mediocre drone formations & a bunch of ads & took us 30 minutes to just leave the spot.
We had to get on top of the grass bedding to avoid the crowded part. It’s half a metre high but we have kid & elderly.
In the crowd there are baby less than a year old crying. Even as an adult. I felt pushed around. Very, very badly organised. Don’t recommend.
Vivid Sydney attendee
Sydney Spectaculars believes 94,000 people were caught in it. Both near-crowd crushes lasted until 9:50pm – half an hour after the drone show concluded.
I felt like I was going to die. It was terrifying. All it would have taken was just 1 person pushing too hard or for someone to fall over for the situation to have catastrophic consequences. There was no form of crowd control. It was shocking & clearly poorly managed.
People were barging through the eating areas to try to find their way out of the crowd. 1 of the women sitting down to eat said people who came to the restaurant were leaving because so many people were in the alfresco area.
It’s sad that businesses were losing money when ‘Vivid’ is designed to bring business to the CBD (central business district). We decided to keep pushing through the crowd until we were at a laneway & were able to bail out & then we went home.
Vivid Sydney Attendee
‘Love Is In The Air’ drone show near-crowd crush on Argyle Street looking west from West Circular Quay (Photograph: The Daily Mail)
After the drone show, New South Wales (NSW) Police reportedly weren’t told anything & according to Today, the riot squad had to remove metal barriers to let the crowd leave the area from all directions. According to 9News, the mounted unit had to be called in.
Red – Near-crowd crush Locations, Purple – Drone Show Location
Absolutely dangerous scenes at Vivid festival. After the 9:10pm drone show finished, there was a crowd crush starting to happen by the overseas passenger terminal. Police had to step in to remove barriers because of how serious it was.
People management very poor. For example people flowing into dead ends like the food trucks near the passenger terminal entrance and had to turn back.
Last year, the extraordinary crowds for the Written In The Stars drone show created a ‘traffic jam’ from the Circular Quay railway station/ferry wharves after the show due to 98% of people trying to immediately go home. Last night, trains were still at capacity as late as 11pm – when the lights of Vivid go off each night, most likely as a result of the crowds which were anticipated to be 4 times as large as last year.
Australian Associated Press reporter Scott Bailey said people were squeezed in like cattle with no security or event staff to be seen:
Was as if organisers didn’t account for anywhere near the crowd they got.
Scott Bailey, Australian Associated Press Reporter
We were there part of this crowd & it’s very scary. We were pushed from side to side by the crowd. Many kids were crying & parents pushing prams didn’t know where to go. We heard the police saying they were not told anything. 1 mother was crying she lost 2 of her children. It was a total disaster. No proper coordination. They closed lots of areas which was a problem, so difficult to exit.
Vivid Sydney attendee (‘CitrusHoneyComte‘ Daily Mail commentator)
The Love Is In The Air drone show is on again tonight (Sunday 9th June 2024) and next Saturday – the final night of Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity, both at 9:10pm. Attendance is expected to be just as crowded tonight for the drone show.
Victor Dominello attended Saturday’s drone show and told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that crowd control was “non-existent from what I saw”.
It was human sardines. These are New Year’s Eve crowds but on steroids. No-one anticipated how many people would be on the foreshore
Victor Dominello, MyGov Advisory Group Chairperson
Vivid Sydney attendee, Anthony Warren, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, “something bad” was going to happen as people tried to leave the area saying he could not see any crowd control people:
Looking at the crowd, you could see it was all families and people with prams, and they were packed together like sardines. It could have gotten so much worse very quickly, if someone started running or shouted ‘fire’. They had nowhere to go.
People didn’t know where to go and started to crush. People with babies, prams, elderly people — I noticed some were quite distressed. It was quite confronting to see.
People looked a bit panicked but were trying to keep their cool.
People just could not get out – there were people stuck there for over an hour, just standing & I noticed some of the barricades were being disassembled, which eventually eased the crush.
Anthony Warren
Another attendee wrote that she was sorry she went to the event:
A huge crush saved by a random opening a barrier. Bloody lucky no one panicked. The worst crowd control. No coordination, direction & clearly untrained crowd management staff…
Vivid Sydney attendee
Sydney Spectaculars anticipated this would happen since the drone show was announced in late April, publishing on Friday an article on the drone show stating:
Whilst we cannot be 100% sure when predicting crowd numbers, Sydney Spectaculars is expecting 194,000 people to attend per long weekend drone show in 2024, about a 270% increase on last year, due to the limited number of drone shows. Circular Quay cannot handle this amount of people at once. As implied earlier, Circular Quay’s capacity for a drone show is around 70,000 people. To have nearly 3 times that amount is dangerous, especially with a Harbour on 1 side. People falling into the water, crowd crushes & impatience leading to violence is all very possible if this situation plays out.
The full cancellation of most of Vivid Light on the just recent Saturday didn’t help. That meant about 174,000 people missed out their night and may return, most likely, on the drone show nights. That would add an extra 58,000 people per drone show to the numbers above. In other words, 252,000 people per drone show – nearly 4 times the amount of the average drone show audience of last year.
Sydney Spectaculars
Our article was only published on Friday, a day prior to the 1st drone show, for 3 reasons:
Sydney Spectaculars is currently working on a major project, resulting in less time to write.
Vivid Sydney should have learnt the lesson from 2016 plus they have issued capacity limits in the past.
To avoid extra publicity of the drone show, adding to the predicted crowds.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared in my life. Everyone pushing from all sides with no escape.
Our predicted quarter of a million people attending did occur as 7 News reported that 500,000 extra trips on public transport were made. If there was 1 trip to the drone show and 1 back home, that would equal to a quarter of a million people.
Staff described the events last night as like New Year’s Eve
Howard Collins, Transport For NSW
Vivid Sydney slowly realised the chaos about to ensure. They did deliberately hold off their drone show announcement by 3-4 weeks after the main media launch, most likely to avoid the publicity but last week, they announced the Facebook LIVE live stream would be screened near the stage in Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour & on the day of the 1st drone show they announced that Macquarie Street between the Sydney Opera House & the State Library Of NSW will be closed to traffic between 8:35pm & 9:20pm due to the Love Is In The Air drone show.
Unlike previous years, we believe Vivid Sydney did not enforce capacity limits last night. Instead they just encouraged people to “avoid” Circular Quay. If you are planning to attend, arrive before 8:40pm – that’s 40 minutes before the drone show starts.Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity Director, Gill Minervini, says capacity limits will be enforced tonight.
According to ABC News, Vivid Sydney & NSW Police met this afternoon (Sunday 9th of June).
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said this morning said that extra police would be on duty tonight for the 2nd drone show. As we’ve said before, more police just takes up more space. Mr Park also advised people not to go to the foreshore unless it was necessary:
It’s an incredibly popular event. It’s a long weekend. It’s good weather at the moment, people are out and about. Police advise that there was a lot of people there, a lot more than expected. They’re not saying anyone was injured or there was any serious incidents. The crowd was able to disperse, uh, very quickly.
We’re saying to people that if you can see the city, you’ll be able to see the light show. You don’t have to be right down there at the foreshore.
NSW Health Minister, Ryan Park
In regards to the drone show, the drone show only faces the southern side of Circular Quay so if you’re on the northern side while you can see the city & the drones, you will see a back to front drone show. The only view of the drone show is on the southern side of Circular Quay and from The Rocks, both places where you can see the city. However, for Vivid Light in general, the main walk is the 8km foreshore walk from Central Railway Station, via Barangaroo, to the Sydney Opera House. For Vivid Light in general, you do not need to be at Circular Quay as the NSW Health Minister states. NSW Police will also tonight more move barriers if needed to, according to 7News.
It’s slow & it’s busy but we will ensure your safety if you listen to what’s said.
NSW Police Detective Superintendent, Jodi Radmore
Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity Director, Gill Minervini, said that all agencies working at the event, including NSW Police, Ambulance & Transport For NSW, had vast experience in managing big crowds & were prepared. She said more police officers were sent to the near-crowd crushes when they occurred. She also urged people to exercise “patience, kindness and tolerance” at future drone shows:
The crowd did move safely through the festival. Yes, it was very busy but like when you go to a football game or a concert, it was a very big crowd, all moving out at once. Of course, we’re always reviewing our plans & have continued to do so today, as we do every day with this event. Police will have a lot of officers on site. We will be closing some of the areas earlier when they’re full & a variety of other operational things are in place for tonight so yes, we’re hoping that it will be a smooth & enjoyable experience for everyone.
It will be slow. If you need to stop & have a rest, stop and have a rest but we just ask for people to bring their understanding & their patience to see this fabulous drone show in the best harbour in the world. Some people weren’t comfortable in the crowds but we just, um, ask people to be very understanding to one another. Be very kind to one another.
Not all people felt afraid for their safety & of course, we’ve acknowledged that some people felt uncomfortable in the crowd but the crowd did move safely through the egress through the festival.
Gill Minervini, ‘Vivid Sydney’ 2024 – ‘Humanity‘ Director
Vivid Sydney organisers work with government partners & agencies to plan & deliver a successful & safe event including to manage the crowds that turned out to see last night’s drone show.
Event and security personnel monitor crowd flow & implement scalable measures to manage crowd flow at various points if required, particularly on the busy nights and peak periods.
This includes advising visitors that certain areas have reached capacity and adjusting infrastructure to support crowd flow
We understand that a large number of people leaving a major event at the same time can be slow & challenging and are grateful to the public for their patience and cooperation.
We encourage our festival attendees to plan for their Vivid Sydney visit & stay up to date including via our social media channels and the digital signage around the footprint.
Vivid Sydney spokesperson
At the conclusion of yesterday’s drone show (Saturday 8 June 2024), officers working for ‘Operation Vivid’ 2024 assisted the large crowd in leaving Circular Quay.
Larger than expected attendees resulted in pedestrian traffic congestion, particularly in and around the transport hubs; however, the crowds dispersed after a short period and there were no injuries or incidents reported.
NSW Police continue to conduct a highly visible and coordinated policing response to this year’s ‘Vivid’ event.
As of 8:40pm, Vivid Sydney is telling attendees of Vivid Sydney tonight, particularly of the Love Is In The Air drone show at 9:10pm, to avoid Circular Quay.
Earlier tonight, Vivid Sydney announced Macquarie Street between the Sydney Opera House & the State Library Of New South Wales will be closed to traffic between 8:35pm & 9:20pm due to the Love Is In The Air drone show.
We are experiencing large crowds for the Vivid Sydney drone show this evening. Please avoid Circular Quay. The show will also be live streamed near the stage at Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour.
Unlike last year when drone shows featured on 7 of the 23 nights, this year the number of shows is halved with the drone shows only be held on 3 nights in June – the 8th, the 9th & the 15th. These dates are the final night of Vivid Sydney 2024 and the main weekend nights of the King’s Birthday long weekend.
It should be noted that last year, only 6 nights were originally announced for drone shows. The 7th and final night were unannounced & unplanned but added due to the extraordinary demand for it. There is every chance additional nights will be added for 2024 but if they are added, they will only be on/announced around the 10th-14th June as an idea of 2024 drone show crowd numbers wouldn’t be confirmed until the 1st drone show on the 8th but if last year is any indication, there should be a drone show on at least all of these nights.
Given the halving of drone shows, Vivid runs the risk of making what is already the most popular nights of the event – the weekend nights of the King’s Birthday long weekend – too popular as spectators may hold off on their visit until these drone show nights, which are very few in number, given the extraordinary crowds received for them last year. This is because people like to have the most complete experience in the shortest amount of time possible, particularly given the only time most people can allow themselves to have a holiday is that long weekend due to the public holiday on the Monday for the King’s Birthday.
Last year, 71,428 people attended each Written In The Stars drone show on average (including the surprise 7th drone show) – an at-capacity crowd for the drone show. 500,000 in total. Crowds seemed to peak around the drone show as it was an ‘event within an event’. It was not something that ran all night for 3 weeks. It happened only for 10 minutes per night or 3% of each Vivid Light night, for only 6 nights. It is literally blink-and-you-will-miss-it compared to the scale of the night, but it was a noticeable feature of the Vivid Light program/of the 23-day event, even though it was only advertised for just 6 nights. Being an unticketed event didn’t help to gauge likely crowd numbers pre-event but Circular Quay’s capacity was likely monitored and just within safe limits, even though the crowd may have been inconvenienced by having to wait to access Circular Quay’s transport hub due to the amount of people trying to get there all at once post-drone show.
Vivid Sydney has cautiously avoided promoting the drone show this year. They left it off the media launch announcement most likely to avoid it receiving maximum publicity, leaving it 3-4 weeks before adding it to their website and announcing it via social media.
Whilst we cannot be 100% sure when predicting crowd numbers, Sydney Spectaculars is expecting 194,000 people to attend per long weekend drone show in 2024, about a 270% increase on last year, due to the limited number of drone shows. Circular Quay cannot handle this amount of people at once. As implied earlier, Circular Quay’s capacity for a drone show is around 70,000 people. To have nearly 3 times that amount is dangerous, especially with a Harbour on 1 side. People falling into the water, crowd crushes & impatience leading to violence is all very possible if this situation plays out.
The full cancellation of most of Vivid Light on the just recent Saturday didn’t help. That meant about 174,000 people missed out their night and may return, most likely, on the drone show nights. That would add an extra 58,000 people per drone show to the numbers above. In other words, 252,000 people per drone show – nearly 4 times the amount of the average drone show audience of last year.
Vivid Sydney seems to have realised the possibility of chaos as they are suddenly promoting the fact that the drone show will be live streamed in Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour but who goes out of the way to watch a drone show live stream in a park? That live stream will make no difference. In the end, this is just a warning to be cautious for now. Vivid Sydney has capacity limits, which we expect will be enforced but how would 66% of the 252,000 people react to missing the drone show?When Sydney NYE returned after the COVID-19 pandemic, latecomers to the Midnight Fireworks caused a crowd crush to occur in The Rocks and some even tried to watch from a pyro-laded Sydney Harbour Bridge. We expect the crowd to shift around The Rocks as this is the only potential vantage point left due to its uphill incline. Some may resort to watching from the Cahill Expressway & Sydney Harbour Bridge southern on-ramp walkways or even from a window of a tall building. Some may be clever enough to watch from Fleet Steps or in that vincinity.The crowd will likely then build up around Dawes Point, following the Vivid Light Walk if they are coming from that direction or throughout the CBD if they are showing up just for the drone show. This potential scenario we are predicting is significantly larger than the NYE2022 late crowd build-up, crush and security breaches. Notably, Vivid Sydney once had an even more serious but heavily under-reported crowd crush. Has Vivid Sydney learnt the lesson? Are they now underestimating the popularity of drone shows over Sydney Harbour? In any case, whether chaos ensues, or crowds are managed well, to spread the crowd out, Vivid Sydney should have been of the opinion – either more drone shows than last year or none at all.
As no extra drone shows were added before the opening weekend, which was another record-breaker in attendance, a couple of weeks ago, we would likely not find out how big the audience for the drone show is until the most popular Vivid Sydney night – the Saturday of the King’s Birthday long weekend – and by then, it is too late as there is only a week left of the event & whatever chaos would ensue the worst has already happened. People would have made plans for those 3 specific drone show nights and most people would likely be unable to change their plans to attend new dates. Drone shows are very difficult to book due to high demand so this may be the reason for only 3 drone shows this year (particularly as there was no Lights On! moment drone show like last year) but as we said before – either more than last year or none at all.
Anyway, back to the drone show itself, Love Is In The Air is a 10-minute drone show held at 9:10pm, assuming the weather is allowable for it to go ahead. The creative team behind the show is the same as last year’s Written In The Stars drone show with the technology provided by Australian Traffic Network, concept & direction by Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity Director, Gill Minervini & the soundtrack by Pee Wee Ferris (aka Pipi Le Oui). However, the show will be smaller than last year’s by 300 drones. In 2024, it will be a 700-drone show. While the theme of love is obvious, it will focus specifically on romantic love, telling a love story through drones with the creation of universal love symbols along the way.
After the drone show, we expect all but 2% of the crowd to leave Vivid Sydney. The remaining 98% will head home. Out of those heading home, 4% will walk to Martin Place to catch a bus, 9% to walk to Town Hall for the light rail while 87% will head to Circular Quay to catch a ferry or train. Out of those heading to Circular Quay, 6% will catch a ferry while 94% will catch a train. I don’t need to explain what happens next regarding trains but here are some tips for those heading to Circular Quay ferry wharves & train station.
For ferries, instead of waiting at Circular Quay, if you want to ultimately head to Pyrmont Bay, or a wharf west of Barangaroo, walk the direct route (20 minutes) or the Vivid Light Walk (46 minutes) to Barangaroo Wharf to catch the ferry. If it is urgent, remember there are private water taxi services available if they are not already booked.
For trains, instead of waiting at Circular Quay for a connecting train: If your station is on the Northern/North Shore/Western lines, walk the 10 minutes to Wynyard to catch a direct train home. If your station is on the Eastern Suburbs/Illawarra/South Coast line, walk the 13 minutes to Martin Place to catch a direct train home instead. If your station is on the Blue Mountains/Central Coast/Newcastle line, walk the direct route (35 minutes) or pass the time by walking the Vivid Light Walk (1 hour & 25 minutes) to Central for a direct train home.
Remember, the Vivid Light Walk switches off at 11pm so try & enjoy the lights before heading home to help spread out the ferry & train usage.
For more details on Love Is In The Air, click here.
The 2024 drone shows remain an exciting highlight as part of this year’s Vivid Sydney program & we are confident that everyone will be amazed by the artistry and innovation on display.
Each year, Vivid Sydney reviews and refreshes the program across Light, Music, Ideas & Food, with the focus on delivering a more impactful & refreshed experience for our audiences.
Although the number of shows has decreased, the duration & complexity of each performance are just as incredible. We encourage you to attend one of the drone show nights & enjoy the amazing view firsthand.
For more information on the 2024 drone shows & Vivid Sydney, please visit our website www.vividsydney.com.
Due to a forecast of a thunderstorm with possible heavy falls, tonight’s Fire Kitchen & Lightscape are cancelled along with 7 Vivid Light Walk installations. The 7 installations are:
For Lightscape ticketholders, you will receive an email shortly from the event owner with further details, including how to rebook this experience or request a refund.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and remind those visiting Vivid Sydney this evening to keep an eye on our digital screens on the footprint for further updates.
Vivid Sydney
A thunderstorm is forecast for tomorrow, but no cancellations have been announced yet for tomorrow.
For Lightscape ticketholders, you will receive an email shortly from the event owner with further details, including how to rebook this experience.
Since our initial post, the forecast for Sunday the 2nd of June has improved. As a result, Sydney Spectaculars no longer expects a cancellation for that date.
Ignatius Jones AM, the creative director of Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) between 1996 and 2001 & Vivid Sydney between 2011 and 2019, has died suddenly aged 67, following a short illness.
He was also the creative director of the G’Day Opening Ceremony segment & the Closing Night Harbour Spectacular of The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad: Sydney 2000.
The iconic artistic direction he did for the Olympics & the Millennium propelled Sydney’s events into global popular culture.
In 2001, he was also artistic director of the Centenary Of Federation celebrations, which had a parade throughout Sydney as its’ centrepiece.
Between 2011 & 2015, he also artistic director of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.
In 2017, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Australian Event Awards, which was followed a year later with him becoming a full member of the Order Of Australia, General Division, for his “significant service to entertainment”, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Whilst he made most of his event achievements in Sydney, he also worked internationally:
Ceremonies of XXIst Olympic Winter Games: Vancouver 2010
Opening Ceremony of Expo 2010 Shanghai China
Ceremonies of XV Asiad: Doha 2006
Independence Of East Timor ceremony
Dolly Parton’s productions in the United States Of America
Before his iconic career in events, he was a musician, being a singer with the shock rock band Jimmy & The Boys, which introduced shock theatrics to Australia, before forming a swing band, Pardon Me Boys, with his sister, Monica Trapaga. His sister also performed the John Paul Young classic, Love Is In The Air, at the Millennium celebrations as well as doing sets at the Sydney NYE segments: 4 Kids (1997-2001), Carnaval (1999-2001) & Hot Jazz In The City (2001).
Ignatius Jones retired in 2022 & passed away in his birth country, the Philippines, in Iloilo City on May 7 at 9:30pm Sydney time.
He will be remembered for an Eternity.
Below the below quote, you can find highlights from his 3 most iconic Sydney events: the Midnight Fireworks of Sydney NYE1999: Sydney’s Millennium, the G’Day Opening Ceremony segment & the Closing Night Harbour Spectacular of The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad: Sydney 2000 & Vivid Sydney 2019.
We are absolutely devastated to announce the passing of my brother, Juan Ignacio Trapaga, the formidable Ignatius Jones.
After a successful debut last year, the ticketed experience, Dark Spectrum, returns to Vivid Sydney in 2024.
This year’s theme for Dark Spectrum, which is also its’ 1st, is A New Journey.
Located in the abandoned tram tunnels near Sydney’s Wynyard Railway Station, Dark Spectrum will feature 8 themed chambers, each with a monochromatic colour scheme, video effects & flashing, flickering and patterned lights.
1 chamber will feature a maze with 700 illuminated arrows.
The entire experience consists of a 1-hour, 1-way, 1 kilometre walk (limited exits along the way) & features 500 handmade hanging lanterns, 300 lasers and strobe lights, 250 searchlights as well as smoke and haze effects & a high-volume backing dark, atmospheric electronic dance soundscape and favourite club hits of the past night-club generation.
The entrance is via Wynyard Park Rooftop above Wynyard Train Station & the main/final exit is in The Rocks just south of the intersection of Essex & Cumberland Street. Head down the length of Essex Street then turn left into George Street (a 300 metre/5 minute approx. walk) to join the iconic free Vivid Light Walk at 1st Fleet Park at Circular Quay.
Dark Spectrum: A New Journey can be experienced as early as 12pm* & as late as 9:15pm, every 15 minutes. People with sensory needs who prefer smaller crowds are advised to purchase a session before 2pm on weekdays. The Vivid Light Walk does not begin until 6pm & concludes at 11pm each night.
*Except Friday the 24th of May, the 1st day of Vivid Sydney, where sessions begin at 6pm, at the time of the Lights On! Moment.
To experience Dark Spectrum: A New Journey, you must be aged minimum 6 years old. People aged between 6 & 12 years must be accompanied by an adult.
For people who used a wheelchair or mobility scooter, their wheelchair/mobility scooters’ width must be no larger than 1.1 metres & note the experience is on difficult terrain with gradients up to 6.7 degrees downhill & 7.8 degrees uphill.
Tickets for Dark Spectrum: A New Journey are on sale now! Depending on choice of time slot, tickets cost AUD$36-46 per adult, AUD$24-35 per child (6-12) & AUD$98-$154 per family (2 adults & 2 children). Group tickets cost AUD$31.50-$41,40. If your group contains more than 21 people, you can receive a 10% discount by contacting Ticketek here.
All tickets cost $5 more if purchased on the day regardless of purchasing method. A cashless ticket booth will be positioned between York Street & Carrington Street.
You are advised to dress warmly as temperatures inside the experience are similar to those outside.
It is recommended to arrive 15 minutes before your designated session start time, though you will be allowed to be admitted to the experience no later than 10 minutes after the designated session start time. All tickets, pre-purchased or not, are scanned in Wynyard Park before a steward guides you to the entrance as stated above.
Dark Spectrum: A New Journey is presented by Sony Music Entertainment and developed in partnership with Mandylights & Culture Creative. Mandylights also develop Our Connected City, the iconic light show utilising the Sydney Harbour Bridge & city buildings.
Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity is held between Friday the 24th of May & Saturday the 15th of June.
Vivid Sydney 2024 is exploring what makes us uniquely human, with a diverse program designed to foster connections, spark imagination & showcase the multitude of ways creativity enriches our lives. We are so excited to welcome back Dark Spectrum: A New Journey to Vivid Sydney 2024 to bring the festival theme to life with a brand-new wholly immersive experience.
Gill Minervini, ‘Vivid Sydney’ 2024 Director
We are so pumped to bring an all-new Dark Spectrum: A New Journey to Vivid Sydney in 2024. We’ve taken the latest in laser and lighting technology, the intensity of a music festival & the originality of an art exhibition & packed it all into Sydney’s historic Wynyard Tunnels in an unforgettable spectacle.
Richard Neville, Mandylights Managing Director
Dark Spectrum intrigued visitors last year with its unique underground location transformed into an immersive playground of light & sound. This year, we’re taking it to another level, returning with new themes with an epic soundscape to ignite emotions that make you feel alive!
Dark Spectrum: A New Journey is a great opportunity to bring together a talented, creative team to deliver an intense, vibrant “underworld” for all to experience. It’s the closest you can come to immersing yourself in the soul of the city.
Vanessa Picken, Sony Music Australia & New Zealand Chair & Chief Executive Officer
Every illuminated experience that Culture Creative designs and builds is unique & we are excited to once again work alongside Mandylights to create a labyrinth of light in such an unusual and thrilling location.
A 40 kilometre Global Rainbow, by United States artist Yvette Mattern, emanating from Sydney Tower Eye north to as far as Woy Woy on the Central Coast is the standout highlight of Vivid Sydney 2024.
Global Rainbow Artist Impression Artist Impression: Vivid Sydney
Yvette Mattern is a visual artist, based in Los Angeles & Berlin, whose work has an emphasis on video, film & public light installations. Her work has been internationally exhibited, with Global Rainbow already appearing in Berlin, London, Toronto & Northern Ireland & she has collaborated with many artists on film and theatre projects including Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer, Al Pacino, Diller+Scofidio and The Builder’s Association among others.
Global Rainbow Laser Path (Is there a pot of gold in Woy Woy?) Satellite Image: Google Maps
Vivid Sydney 2024, with its theme of Humanity, will spotlight our love, kindness, compassion & creativity. Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity Director, Gill Minervini, said this year will look at how our interconnected world is fuelled by creativity:
Humanity is at the core of everything we do & this year, Vivid Sydney is diving deep into what makes us uniquely human.
We have curated a diverse program that explores the human spirit, designed to foster connections, spark imagination & showcase the multitude of ways creativity enriches our lives. Everyone is invited to be part of this global event in the world’s most beautiful city to connect, create & celebrate.
Illuminating Sydney’s stunning harbourfront & CBD with vibrant bursts of colour, mesmerising artworks & dynamic 3D projections, Vivid Light beckons everyone to immerse themselves in a display of human creativity and experience. In 2024, we emphasise works of grand scale, interactivity & profound meaning, delving into the rich tapestry of human experience through exclusive artist collaborations only found at Vivid Sydney.
Gill Minervini, ‘Vivid Sydney’ 2024 – ‘Humanity’ Director
Made of laser beams, Yvetta Mattern is using her Global Rainbow to increase hope for a more inclusive world.
Over at the Sydney Opera House, the centrepiece of Vivid Sydney, the Lighting Of The Sails, will this year be themed Echo (pictured at top of article). Using the projection mapping technology of The Pleasant Company & a soundscape by Angus Mills, Echo sees reality being made of only fabric, a touchstone of the commissioned artist, the most recent Archibald Prize winner, Julia Gutman, who leads us into Narcissus’s shadowy water world, navigating rocky subsoils & dangerous rivers. to ask us ‘What it means to truly see yourself?’
Through puppetry, Echo tells a story of vulnerability & strength, weaving together the imagined and the real, the public and the private & the dark and the light, calling us to look inwards & meet our shadows head on.
My 1st ever animation, Echo is a digital translation of patchworks I’ve made to date alongside a suite of imagery created specifically from the work, all of which have been composed from worn clothing, sheets & blankets donated by my community. The lines between self and other blur.
The work is about the paradox of self-consciousness, the limitations of our own capacity to truly see ourselves & the way our own unconscious wounds spill out into our perceptions of one another. It’s a story about confronting your shadow.
Intimacy lives at the core of my practice. I truly believe that life is just one long conversation or at least that’s what makes it mean something. Echo brings together my interests in narrative, materiality and the psychological in a story that I hope can be simultaneously personal & universal.
I’m incredibly overwhelmed & grateful that this work will be projected on the sails of the Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid LIVE 2024.
Julia Gutman, ‘Lighting Of The Sails’ 2014 Commissioned Artist
The Sydney Harbour Bridge & city buildings will, once again, be illuminated by Mandylights in their non-interactive soundtracked installation, Our Connected City. The Vivid Light Walk is also the same length – 8 kilometres – stretching from the Sydney Opera House/Circular Quay to Central Station via the Sydney Harbour foreshore & The Goods Line.
In Cockle Bay at Darling Harbour, the annual water/light/laser/projection show returns, though for now without pyrotechnics & this year is called Hika Rakuyo, which is a Japanese concept that uses flowers & falling leaves as a metaphor for life’s transient beauty. Focusing on native Australian flowers, this 8-minute show, on loop & produced by ETERNAL Art Space of Japan, uses holograms as well with the last show concluding at approximately 10:53pm each night.
In a surprise move though, no drone shows were announced at the Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity media launch. In a response to Sydney Spectaculars’ request for comment, Vivid Sydney hinted that a future drone show announcement will be made.
Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2013 – Shine Creative Ambassador, Reg Mombassa, will be using his artwork from that event on Customs House this year in a projection mapping show, in collaboration with The Spinfix Group, titled Gumscape With Road & Creatures. Judging by the photo below, they have already done 1 projection of it!
Gumscape With Road & Creatures Photograph: Vivid Sydney
It’s a journey into a microscopic world of bacterial monsters (just what we need after COVID-19!) but leaving us questioning our collective identity & humanity’s meaning. The best night to visit it is Saturday 25th May as at 7:30pm, Reg Mombassa will be there in front of Customs House in person performing free live music as part of the band, Dog Trumpet. This may mean the projection show does not have an official soundtrack.
Vivid Music in 2024 elevates artist stories & connects audiences in a diverse range of spaces, from cultural institutions & theatres to free & accessible spaces across the Vivid Light Walk. Hear music in new parts of our city & gather to celebrate voices from all around the world, artists who remind us that songs vibrate at the centre of our shared humanity.
Talking of music, Vivid Music in 2024 will expand to a new ‘Machine Hall Precinct’ in old Electricity Substation Number 164 at 183 Clarence Street with headliners of Deerhoof, Jen Cloher and No Fixed Address while down at Tumbalong Park near Darling Harbour, Tumbalong Nights returns for 12 nights with artists including Budjerah, grentperez (who performed at the last Sydney NYE concert) and Mallrat. Curated once again by Sydney Opera House’s Contemporary Music Head, Ben Marshall, Vivid Live also returns at the Sydney Opera House, featuring more than 50 Australian and international artists including Air, Arca, Underworld, Fever Ray, Snoh Aalegra, Sky Ferreira, Devonté Hynes, Sydney Symphony Orchestra with United Kingdom conductor Matthew Lynch & many more plus another annual series of Studio Parties.
And what’s bigger than Vivid Music? Vivid Food! Returning after its successful inaugural edition last year, Vivid Food in 2024 will see the popular Fire Kitchen relocated to The Goods Line while the 2023 sell-out Residence will return but the 2024 chef & host restaurant is still a mystery. A new VividPlace Food Trail just south of Circular Quay will feature a short but tasty journey through the ‘market’ stalls of 20 restaurants/bars while a unique bar snack & cocktail experience titled Auroeae (not May 29) will feature at Bennelong Bar by award-winning chef, Peter Gilmore.
In its 2nd year, the festival’s newest pillar Vivid Food explores how food is often at the core of the human experience, acting as both a vibrant expression of diversity & a powerful connecter. Blending internationally celebrated cuisine with authentic local food experiences, Vivid Sydney 2024 presents renowned & culturally diverse food cultures in Sydney to the world.
Gill Minervini, ‘Vivid Sydney’ 2024 – ‘Humanity’ Director
Plates With Purpose – A Taste Of Ukraine (4 June), allows you to show your solidarity with Ukraine through the 10-course cooking by Ukrainian refugees while a showcase of women in Aussie gastronomy & winemaking will feature at A Culinary Canvas by Danielle Alvarez (from 7 June). The Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout & renowned chef Luke Mangan will also again feature as Table on Tuesday-Thursday nights.
Carriageworks will also feature once again for 13 days & nights with both Vivid Music & Food events.
Lastly, Vivid Ideas will feature this year After The Fact, a nightly current affair discussion series (27 May-14 June except 5 June) featuring Sydney NYE2008-2010 Creative Director, Rhoda Roberts & The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad: Opening Ceremony – Awakening Co-Director, Stephen Page among others. You can also peek into someone else’s window and discover a universal human trait at Window Dressing (not on Mondays). Shifting Perspectives is another installation, featuring dancing & a mirror maze (29 May-1 June) to bend your mind in a perception deception. In our opinion, rhese latter 2 installations deserve to be a part of Vivid Light rather than Vivid Ideas.
The Vivid Ideas program of 2024 offers the panel discussions, conferences & talks for which it is renowned, but this year we’ve broadened the program to include events that express ideas in less traditional formats. Think performance, walking tours, a 1-on-1 experience with a stranger, meditations and cryptoscopophilia!
You can also foster connections with new people at the critically-acclaimed A THOUSAND WAYS: An Encounter (29 May-14 June except 4 June) or join a different influential Australian each night as they present a curated series of films at the Golden Age of Humanity (Tuesday, Thursdays & Saturdays).
Vivid Sydney 2024 – Humanity Director Gill Minervini, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, has also hinted there are still “stratospheric”“big”Vivid Ideas announcements to come!
Tickets for Vivid Sydney 2024 ticketed events went on sale on March 11.
We’re getting set for the 14th Vivid Sydney. It’s an important event every year that Sydneysiders & visitors alike have come to love. It’s not just a light show. It’s a celebration of light, music, ideas & food – a program full of rich cultural experiences that resonate with locals & visitors alike.
Vivid Sydney brings together important parts of Sydney’s culture – Light, Music, Ideas & Food. It celebrates what’s great and unique about our city and our state & creates a uniquely Sydney experience. That’s why it’s been so popular over so many years.
This year’s festival will have a variety of free & cost-effective events on offer to provide many opportunities for people to come together & celebrate.
Last year, the festival achieved the biggest attendance on record & the largest visitor expenditure in its history, with more than 3.48 million attendees generating more than $206 million in visitor expenditure.
We look forward to welcoming Sydneysiders & the world as they come & experience first-hand Sydney at its creative best at Vivid Sydney 2024.
John Graham, New South Wales Minister For Jobs, Tourism, The Arts, Music & The Night-Time Economy
Sydney Spectaculars 
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