2018 – ‘The Pulse Of Sydney’ Fireworks Soundtracks

  • Organiser: City Of Sydney
  • Event Creative Director/Fireworks Soundtrack Producer: Imagination Australia
  • Fireworks Provider: Foti International Fireworks
  • ‘Calling Country’ Creative Director: Rhoda Roberts
  • Lighting Director: ZZ (Ziggy Zeigler) Creative Australia
  • Pylon Projections: The Electric Canvas
  • Radio Broadcaster: KIIS 106.5  FM (fireworks soundtracks) & 702 AM ABC Sydney (concert)
  • Television/Internet Broadcaster: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  • Television/Internet Broadcast Host: Charlie Pickering
  • The Night Is Yours Charity Concert Television/Internet Broadcast Co-Host: Zan Rowe
  • Charity Partner: UNICEF Australia

The amount of fireworks on each barge this year has increased so much that the barges have increased in size. They are now 15 metres by 18 metres in size.

A synchronised light show on the Ferris Wheel of Luna Park Sydney featured as part of the event for the 1st time during the 9pm Family and Midnight Fireworks & Calling Country.

A camera angle from Fort Denison was used for the 1st time since Sydney NYE1997 – Masquerade.

During the Pre-Show Entertainment, a thunderstorm rolled into Sydney, which disrupted train services and resulted in the cancellation of the 7:30pm Indigenous Smoking Ceremony and Welcome To Country & the 8pm aerial display,  both of which were part of the Pre-Show Entertainment.

9pm Family Fireworks – Colour Burst & Calling Country

  1. Consider Yourselves Undermined – Michael Giacchino
  2. Dancing On Glass – St. Lucia
  3. Regular Touch – Vera Blue
  4. Not About You – Glades
  5. Don’t Take The Money – Bleachers
  6. What About Us – P!NK
  7. Run To Paradise – The Choirboys
  8. Peach – Broods
  9. Youngblood – 5 Seconds Of Summer
  10. Better – Screaming Jets
  11. Water Flows – Eric Avery

The Night Is Yours Concert

Huh, why is this here? As in 2017, the lighting display on the Sydney Harbour Bridge was synchronized to nearly all the music of the Concert. Also, more notably, the Concert was synchonized with the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Projections at 11pm as part of the Great Southern Land Moment, which you can watch below.

Apart from the TV & Internet broadcasts, the Concert was also broadcast on ABC Radio Sydney.

Most songs that featured in this concert were nominated by the Australian public. Each Australian could nominate 3 songs. All covers are also performed by The Night Is Yours band, which included The Wolfgramm Sisters as vocalists.

  1. Don’t Stop Me Now (Casey Donovan cover) – Queen
  2. Howzat  (Daryl Braithwaite cover) – Sherbet
  3. My Island Home (Christine Anu cover version) – Warumpi Band
  4. Friday On My Mind (Isabella Manfredi cover) – The Easybeats
  5. Can’t Get You Out Of My Head (Kimbra cover) – Kylie Minogue
  6. Everyone Wants To Rule The World (Kimbra cover) – Tears For Fears
  7. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (Ross Wilson cover) – The Rolling Stones
  8. Eagle Rock (Ross Wilson cover) – Daddy Cool
  9. Happy (Kaiit cover) – Pharrell Williams
  10. Groove Is In The Heart (cover) – Deee-Lite
  11. Proud Mary (G Flip cover) – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  12. Blame It On The Boogie (G Flip cover) – Mick Jackson
  13. Marryuna – Baker Boy featuring Yirrmul
  14. Mr La Di Da Di – Baker Boy
  15. Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? (Isabella Manfredi cover) – The Angels
  16. The Power & The Passion (Isabella Manfredi cover) – Midnight Oil
  17. Young Hearts Run Free (Casey Donovan cover) – Candi Staton
  18. You’re The Voice (Casey Donovan cover) – John Farnham
  19. I Need You Tonight (Client Liaison cover) – INXS
  20. World Of Our Love – Client Liaison
  21. Great Southern Land Moment (see below)
  22. Think (Casey Donovan cover) – Aretha Franklin
  23. (You Make Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Casey Donovan & Christine Anu cover) – Aretha Franklin
  24. Respect (Christine Anu cover) – Aretha Franklin
  25. 15 Minutes – Tim Minchin And Band
  26. Never Tear Us Apart (Tim Minchin And Band cover) – INXS
  27. Better Be Home Soon (Tim Minchin And Band & Ben Folds cover) – Crowded House
  28. Video Killed The Radio Star (Ben Folds cover) – The Buggles
  29. You Don’t Know Me – Ben Folds
  30. Steven’s Last Night In Town (Ben Folds cover) – Ben Folds 5
  31. I Still Call Australia Home (Ben Folds cover) – Peter Allen
  32. The Horses (Daryl Braithwaite cover) – Rickie Lee Jones
  33. Midnight Fireworks – The Pulse Of Sydney (see below)
  34. Auld Lang Syne (The Night Is Yours cover) – Robert Burns

Great Southern Land Moment

  1. Great Southern Land (Client Liaison cover) – Icehouse

Midnight Fireworks – The Pulse Of Sydney

The lights on the Harbour Of Light Parade were for the 1st time ever synchronised to the Midnight Fireworks soundtrack.

    1. Lift Off – Michael Giacchino
    2. The Man – The Killers
    3. Out The Window – Confidence Man
    4. Midnight Summers Jam – Justin Timberlake
    5. All The Stars – Kendrick Lamar & SZA
    6. Fools Gold – Jack River
    7. (Baby) I’ve Got You On My Mind – Powderfinger
    8. Lit Up – The Bamboos
    9. Lay Down – Touch Sensitive
    10. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) (Cher cover) – ABBA
    11. Love Like Waves – Friendly Fires
    12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin
    13. Do What You Want – The Presets
    14. Sabotage – Beastie Boys
    15. On My Knees – Middle Kids
    16. I Said Hi – Amy Shark – The iconic golden waterfall effect was supposed to drop at the start of this song but nearly all of it failed to fire. It is the 1st time the golden waterfall effect has failed to fire since the 1st one in 1986.
    17. Fight For Freedom – X-Ray Dog

The projections on the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylons at the end of the Midnight Fireworks had an error in it. Instead of saying ‘Happy New Year 2019!’, it said ‘Happy New Year 2018!’. This was noticed by lots of spectators & the error subsequently got photographed by spectators, which were posted on social media so many times to the point that it began to appear in mainstream media.

Train services, at this point, in the night had still not been resolved, leading to long delays especially with the large crowds leaving the event. This shouldn’t happen. The same problem occurred during Sydney NYE1993, shortly after Sydney was awarded the hosting rights for The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad – 2000. Subsequent NYE’s were held larger as a ‘test event’ for this event and later, the Millennium. The train system during events was subsequently improved between 1994 & 2000. Clearly, the train system has declined since 2000.