Sydney NYE2022 – ‘Pride’ – Sydney Spectaculars

Organiser/Event Creative Director: City Of Sydney
Midnight Fireworks Soundtrack Producer: Stace Cadet
Fireworks Provider: Foti International Fireworks
Calling Country Creative Consultant: The Re-Right Collective
Light Show: ZZ (Ziggy Ziegler) Creative Australia
Pylon Projections: VANDAL
Charity Partner: The Smith Family
Visual Identity: Garbett Design
Radio Broadcaster: KIIS 106.5 (fireworks soundtracks), Australian Broadcasting Corporation (concert and audio descriptions)
Television/Internet Broadcaster: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Television/Internet Broadcast Host: Charlie Pickering
Concert Co-Host: Zan Rowe
WorldPride 2023 Moment Co-Host: Jeremy Fernandez
Photographers: Matt Lambley, Daniel Tran, Morris McLennan, Keith McInnes, James Cole & Paul McMillian

There is, once again, no overall theme. The designated theme of ‘Pride’ was chosen by Sydney Spectaculars as best matching the event retrospectively. It also reflects, not just the theme of the Midnight Fireworks, which was diversity, but to reflect the biannual international LGBTIQA+ festival that Sydney celebrated at 11pm, WorldPride, which Sydney is hosting in February & March this year. Also, after 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, how can Sydney not be prouder than after those Midnight Fireworks on January, 1 2023? Sydney’s back, baby!

We have had a couple of fairly difficult years; we’re absolutely delighted this year to be able to welcome people back to the foreshores of Sydney Harbour for Sydney’s world-famous New Year’s Eve celebrations

After the past few years, we really want to throw Sydney the party it deserves

We are ready and raring to go on the 31st of December

There are a whole bunch of new effects … that are really going to excite people
Stephen Gilby, Sydney NYE2022 Executive Producer

Sydney NYE2022 Fireworks Director, Fortunato Foti said a lot of planning has gone into making the Sydney fireworks memorable:

In 2020, there were no crowds which was a strange experience and last year was limited crowd so we’re very much looking forward to it.
Foti International Fireworks director, Fortunato Foti

The 2 fireworks displays of the night, Calling Country & The Midnight Fireworks, will contain 8 tonnes of fireworks including 35,000 shooting ground-based effects (such as comets, mines and crossettes), over 13,000 aerial shells & over 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects, from all firing locations including 7 water-based platforms such as the 6 barges – the first time the full set of barges has appeared since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will take 18 shipping containers, 50 crew, more than 5000 crew hours, 16 computers, 17 locations, several weeks and 35 kilometres of data link to put on the fireworks displays.

The City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, is also expecting a crowd of 1 million people to return for the 1st time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sydney’s iconic fireworks are the best in the world and kick off global celebrations with a spectacular bang.

This New Year’s Eve we are saying Sydney is back as we kick off festivities around the world and bring in the new year with a bang.

As we go over the final plans and get ready for the countdown, we are hopeful this will be our best New Year’s Eve yet!

After the challenges of the past few years, we’re excited to welcome international and interstate visitors back to Sydney to mark the beginning of what we hope will be a safe, peaceful and fabulous 2023.

Sydney is one of the first cities in the world to ring in the New Year and we set the benchmark with a spectacle that showcases the best of what our city has to offer as a stunning and safe, inclusive and buzzing destination.

We are not out of the woods of the pandemic yet and its impacts are still being keenly felt throughout the community. We’re hopeful this celebration provides some relief from the challenges faced over the past few years and an opportunity to look with hope to the new year.

Our service, hospitality and tourism industries have particularly struggled through the pandemic but are now making the most of strong, pent-up demand and starting to bounce back. I encourage everyone in the community come join us this New Year’s Eve and make a night of it. Make a reservation at a restaurant or bar to start your evening, stay overnight at a hotel and support our terrific Sydney businesses.

We’re delighted to be welcoming spectators back to the harbour foreshore to join in the excitement of a world-class celebration.

There’s nothing quite like the sound and colour of Sydney’s famous fireworks displays to bring in the new year.

2022 has been another year of significant challenges as we continued working to recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, but tonight we put the year behind us and look with hope to 2023.
City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore

The City of Sydney is working with NSW Health & Ambulance to ensure a COVID-19-safe event, this year costing $5.88 million to put on. The event currently contributes $280 million to the Sydney economy.

Like last year, most of the Sydney Harbour foreshore is ticketed as a COVID-19 precaution. The City Of Sydney provides 6 of the many vantage points. However, unlike most of the iconic, large capacity vantage points, their vantage points are free of charge and for 4 of them, ticketed.

Facing questions from journalists at the media launch, Lord Mayor of the City Of Sydney, Clover Moore, agreed that the other vantage points, which are run by either local governments or the NSW Government and require a fee, should consider lower the current price of their fees to encourage event visitation. Sydney NYE spectators are encouraged to support local businesses on the night before heading to a vantage point to watch Calling Country and/or the Midnight Fireworks.

On 28 December 2022, the Australian Labor Party announced that if they form the New South Wales Government after the March 25 2023, New South Wales election, they will make all vantage points that currently charge for Sydney New Year’s Eve free of charge. For more details on this debate, click here.

While many ticketed events sold out days or months prior to NYE, the Sydney Opera House reached capacity at 11:22am on NYE while the East Circular Quay vantage point reached capacity at 3:07pm.

The radio broadcast was halved, going for 6.5 hours from 6pm instead of 12 hours from 3pm.

Vantage points were all full by 6:47pm – the earliest the vantages points have reached capacity on record.

Smoking Ceremony

A smoking ceremony on the vessel Tribal Warrior was held at 7:30pm.

The annual Sydney Harbour Bridge light show & pylon projections as well as the official visual broadcast started at 8:30pm.

We’re thrilled to be ringing in another new year with our partners City of Sydney to deliver yet another unforgettable NYE celebration. We hope that Australians at home and around the world join the ABC in celebrating what we expect to be a magical night
ABC Director of Regional & Local, Judith Whelan

Welcome To Country

Started at 8:56pm with the lights on the Sydney Harbour Lights vessels turning on, 2 Elders from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council will welcome visitors to Gadigal Country. It was done as Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections for those on the Harbour and for those watching it via the visual broadcast, it was done as a video, though with only 1 Gadigal Elder, Yvonne Weldon, at the start of the visual broadcast at 8:30pm.

**Calling Countr*y – Sky, Land & Sea***

Fireworks

First Nations storytellers will celebrate local histories and contemporary experiences through art, song, sound and dance.

While we honour the histories of our First Peoples of this Country, we recognise the strength and resilience that also exists in our First Nations youth, who lead us into the future.
Re-Right Collective Artist, Dennis Golding

Started at 9pm.

The video below also contains the last 30 seconds of the Welcome To Country Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections.

Calling Country – Fireworks Soundtrack:

Calling Country – Salllvage featuring Nadeena Dixon

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 9pm Family Fireworks have been cancelled for the 3rd year in a row and as a result, the compromise reached between the NSW Government & City Of Sydney to include an 8 minute fireworks display at 9pm continues this year as part of Calling Country.

Live Performance

Started at 9:09pm.

Calling Country – Live Performance Soundtrack:

My Home, My Country – Akala Newman & Kobie Dee

Dance performance by Brolga Dance Academy.

City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said the City Of Sydney is committed to celebrating First Nations stories in the public domain:

This year’s talented artists have created music, visual art and performances that celebrate Sydney’s rich First Nations identity and people, and the glorious land and ocean that surrounds us.

The City is committed to increasing recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage in the public domain, and New Year’s Eve provides the opportunity to do so loudly and proudly in front a global audience.
City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore

Sydney Harbour Lights

This is the first edition that the boat light parade is not named the Harbour Of Light Parade^TM and that is not exclusively organised by the City Of Sydney. This year, it is being organised by Banks Events on behalf of the Commerical Vessels Association in co-ordination with the City Of Sydney. Sydney Harbour Lights is boats lighting up Sydney Harbour at 8:56pm to be later synchronised for 11 minutes with Calling Country at 9pm before a 1 hour and 45-minute parade begins at 9:30pm, concluding at 11:15pm. The lights are later synchronised to the Midnight Fireworks soundtrack. The lights were also synchronised with the WorldPride 2023 Moment Sydney Harbour Bridge light show at 11pm.

‘Happy New Year’ Concert

Started at 9:17pm. The Concert was simulcast on ABC Radio around the world as well as being on the visual broadcast.

Track List:

WorldPride 2023 Moment

Started at 11:02pm.

Video coming soon.

WorldPride 2023 Moment Soundtrack:

Over The Rainbow (Courtney Act cover) – Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg
Xanadu (Courtney Act cover) – Olivia-Newton John & Electric Light Orchestra

Over The Rainbow is best known for being sung by Judy Garland in the film the sentimental ballad was written for The Wizard Of Oz.

The Rocks Crowd Crush

Shortly before Midnight, a crowd crush occurred at an entrance to The Rocks free non-ticketed vantage point. You can find more details here.

Midnight Fireworks – Diversity

4 city buildings featured in the Midnight Fireworks for the 1st time in a decade. They are:

Overseas Passenger Terminal
Quay Quarter Tower
Grosvenor Place
Crown Sydney

The latter building being the 2nd time a casino has featured as part of the fireworks since Star City Casino featured in Sydney NYE1997 to celebrate it’s opening.

At the November 30 media launch, the official reason for the addition of the 4 city buildings after a decade was to “expand the footprint” and because “it would be a good time to (re)introduce them”, according to Sydney NYE2022 Fireworks Director, Fortunato Foti.

Fireworks Soundtrack:

Light Me Up (KLP vocal cover) – Stace Cadet
Follow The Lights (Extended Mix) – Stace Cadet featuring KLP

Purchase a “similar” version of the official Sydney NYE soundtrack song Light Me Up here! It does not feature the vocals of KLP. Available on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes Store, YouTube Music, Amazon Music & Soundcloud.

For only the 5th time the Midnight Fireworks Soundtrack consisted of music from 1 artist, which is most likely a new tradition to allow a prominent Australian artist to showcase their talent through the Midnight Fireworks soundtrack by producing a specially written music track.

The Sydney fireworks are so iconic and I am thrilled to be a part of this momentous occasion. I wanted to complement the light display with a cinematic journey purposely designed to articulate the joy that surrounds ushering in the new year and celebrating the last. I’m beyond grateful to have the insanely talented KLP and her amazing vocals featured.
Stace Cadet

What a spectacular night we’ve just had. After the challenges of the past few years, it was wonderful to welcome international and interstate visitors back to Sydney and mark the beginning of what we hope will be a safe, peaceful and fabulous 2023.

It was great to see restaurants and venues buzzing with locals and visitors from near and far and Sydney has once again cemented its reputation as the New Year’s capital of the world, so we hope those watching from across the globe start planning a visit here.

The fireworks, projections, music and live performances were a fabulous tribute to our remarkable city, showcasing the best of what our city has to offer as a stunning and safe, inclusive and buzzing destination. From our event organisers to the clean-up crews, thank you to everyone who made this event a terrific success.

After the challenges of the last few years, last night’s unforgettable show not only rung in a New Year it signalled to the world that Sydney is well and truly back!

We have sent a message of diversity and inclusion to celebrate the New Year and I hope it’s a sentiment that echoes around the world as we kick off 2023.

I’m proud we started the year off by centring First Nations stories and a spectacular welcome to those heading down under for WorldPride.

This jaw-dropping start to the new year is only possible because of the many thousands of hours of hard work by our City of Sydney team, NSW Government partners, the Foti fireworks family and the many creatives and professionals who help deliver the event. I offer them our sincere thanks. We said this year’s fireworks would be our best yet, and I believe it was!

We hope last night’s celebration provided some relief and an opportunity to look with hope to the new year. I’d like to wish everyone a happy, healthy, safe and peaceful 2023!
City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore

After the event, City Of Sydney employees in garbage trucks, sweepers & compactors worked until sunrise to ensure the City looked clean and accessible.

As part of Sydney NYE2022, The Smith Family is holding a raffle. You can buy up to 20 tickets at a time, with funds going to The Smith Family’s Learning For Life program, which provides long-term support for the participation of young Australians in education.

3rd prize is 2 premium tickets to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at Sydney Lyric Theatre with chocolate & drinks (Valued at $320.00); 2nd prize is 2 nights accommodation at Pullman Melbourne On Swanston, 2 premium seats to Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap and a Webjet voucher (Valued at $2,120.00) while 1st prize is a return trip to London for 2 people thanks to Singapore Airlines including 2 nights stay in the centre of London (Valued at $10,674.36).

You can enter here with entries closing 11:59pm, Sunday the 8th of January 2023 AEDT.

The Smith Family has supported children and young people for 100 years, and today we are helping more children than ever to achieve their potential through the transformational power of education.

We are so proud to mark the end of our centenary year as the City of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve official charity partner, and with the generous support of the community, we can help even more children experiencing disadvantage to create better futures for themselves.
Chief Executive Officer Of The Smith Family, Doug Taylor