Tag: ‘Flagship’ Sydney Spectaculars

The Sydney New Year’s Eve Calling Country segment is themed Forward With Heart in 2024.

The segment for the 2nd year running is produced by Indigenous social enterprise We Are Warriors, supported by R/GA Australia, a creative studio. They both crafted the segment’s script & voiceover.

The word ‘Heart’ in the theme will be symbolised through references to connection, unity & togetherness, such as Barangaroo’s role as a provider for her children & community. That role will also symbolise regeneration while her connection to the ocean will be a symbol of strength.

These references & symbols will feature in the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections, which are designed by Bundjalung & South Sea Islander artist, Kimberly Engwicht & Anungu graphic designer, Oumoula McKenzie. The pylon projections will blend these cultural symbols with vibrant landscapes.

The Calling Country soundtrack will also feature First Nations supergroup, 3%, First Nations rapper, Alinta-Jade Quaylee & 3 other First Nations children, Eliana Webster & Lenny and Paycen Wright. These, along with already-announced Calling Country soundtrack artists are the next generation, expressing their pride of being young, Blak & bold.

The message of Calling Country 2024 is also being reinforced in a series of outdoor signage, emphasising that the ground connects & unites us all, inviting everyone to recognise our shared history.

Sydney NYE2024’s Calling Country is to be held at 8:57pm on the 31st of December with a Welcome To Country (video on television & pylon projections at the event) at 8:30pm.

This is about unity – honouring history, celebrating First Nations identity & embracing the diversity that defines Australia. It’s a reminder to First Nations people that these are your fireworks, your evening & your celebration.

Nooky, Yuin rapper & ‘We Are Warriors’ Co-Founder

Last year’s Calling Country was fierce & provocative, capturing the intensity of the post-referendum moment. It sparked love, pride, respect & even animosity – a response we were proud to provoke.

This year, we’ve pivoted. Our message unites the foreshore & viewers at home, focusing on positivity & the love of the next generation. It’s about moving forward together, embracing femininity, strength, matriarchy & regeneration. Value we can all rally behind, no matter our background.

Ben Miles, ‘We Are Warriors’ Co-Founder & R/GA Chief Design Officer, Asia-Pacific

Regarding the above quote, last year’s Calling Country “capturing the intensity of the post-referendum moment” was entirely coincidental. The referendum was held on the 14th of October 2023 & the creative planning for Calling Country finished on the 9th of October 5 days prior.

VANDAL, the Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2024 pylon projection designers, have revealed that this year’s Midnight Fireworks sequence will utilise the largest and most complex generative artificial intelligence (AI) motion capture animations yet as they & the City Of Sydney release previews of the world-famous Midnight Fireworks show.

The Midnight Fireworks pylon projection show will have as its centrepiece, The Woman Of The Water, an ocean spirit representing the Gadigal women of Sydney Harbour. Using a custom AI system, VANDAL integrated a dancer, Alice Robinson, with photographs of ocean flora, marine fauna & the texture of water to form The Woman Of The Water.

Set to an original soundtrack composed by Luna Pan, this pylon projection show will turn the upcoming Midnight Fireworks as the most creative in a decade, when the Bridge Effect was last used.

Below is a 30 second preview of the Midnight Fireworks soundtrack when it was being recorded, with a 10 second preview of the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projection show in the middle. Based on the soundtrack preview, Sydney Spectaculars believes that music will be the opening sequence to the Midnight Fireworks – essentially the 1st thing Sydneysiders will hear in 2025 as the Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House erupt in celebration.

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We’ve made huge strides this year in our work with generative AI, which has paved the way for a visual experience that merges human artistic performance with stunning generative graphics. Not only does it look spectacular, but this fusion of human & technological art symbolises where we see the future of AI. We’re proud to be at the forefront, creating something truly unique for Sydney & the world to experience.

Chris Scott, ‘VANDAL’ Creative Director

Sydney NYE2024 is on the 31st of December 2024 to 1st of January 2025, beginning at 7:30pm.

The Gadigal women of Sydney Harbour will be the theme of the Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2024 fireworks displays as more women than ever help produce the world-famous event.

This is only the theme of the fireworks & not the whole event.

The fireworks will feature 23,000 individual pyrotechnic shots, more than 13,000 aerial shells, 40,000 ground-based shooting effects & 10 new unique-to-Sydney designs including birds, fish, jellyfish & emu’s feet!

Held at 8:57pm on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) stage on the Sydney Opera House’s Northern Broadwalk with an original song titled Country’s Calling led by producer, rapper and Australian Recording Industry Association-Award winner, Nooky, which, by sonically representing Barangaroo’s spirit, will call for Australians to move forward, together, leading with heart.

When the Calling Country Fireworks kick off at 9pm, projections on the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylons will illustrate Barangaroo & her female warriors’ connection to water & fishing in the Harbour while an exclusive accompanying soundtrack, also produced by Nooky, will featuring the voices of his daughters, Olivia & Calula Webster, who are aged 7 & 6 respectively. Barangaroo’s story will culminate with the message that by putting aside differences & working together, we can create a future that works for us all.

As part of the Midnight Fireworks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections will feature a dancer, Alice Robinson, representing the Gadigal women of Sydney Harbour, moving to the ocean’s rhythms, morphing in-between coral, kelp, fish, octopus & finally to water (the latter wouldn’t be a surprise if it coincided with the golden waterfall off the Sydney Harbour Bridge). Produced by creative studio VANDAL, this sequence combines human dance, motion capture & cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence.

The “ocean’s rhythms” including the underwater world’s fluidity and freedom form the 3-part soundtrack, composed and produced over 8 weeks by Luna Pan & will combine various music genres incorporating orchestral music, techno house, reggae, lofi hiphop, liquid drum and bass & rock to showcase strong, feminine energy.

The 12-minute fireworks display will feature 264 firing locations across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, including 80 on the western side for the 1st time ever. Fireworks will also be fired from the 4 sails of the Sydney Opera House & 5 skyscrapers in the city centre on the southern side of Sydney Harbour.

It was also announced today that for the 1st time since the early 1990’s, the pyrotechnic barges will also host spotlights, which will be turned on from 8:30pm, accompanied by the annual light show on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which this year will feature dozens of sky beams.

Between 9:15pm & 11pm is the Sydney Harbour Lights parade, where a procession of tall ships, commercials vessels & ferries adorned with thousands of light-emitting diodes will parade around Sydney Harbour.

At 10pm, there will be the return of the Pink Moment where the Sydney Harbour Bridge, pyrotechnic barges, the Sydney Harbour Lights boats & the Luna Park Ferris Wheel lit up pink for the official Sydney NYE2024 charity partner, the National Breast Cancer Foundation. This year, there will also be 10 extra city buildings illuminated pink.

Vantage points at Pirrama Park and Observatory Hill will also offer food stalls & for the 1st time ever, live disc jockeys, performing from 7pm to Midnight.

Meanwhile, the ABC concert on the Northern Broadwalk of the Sydney Opera House will feature Casey Donovan, G Flip, Becca Hatch, Fanning Dempsey National Park, Cyril, 1300 & American country music singer, Randy Houser. Calling Country‘s Nooky will also be part of the line-up.

The concert, as announced in May, will celebrate national youth radio station, Triple J’s, 50th anniversary & the television (TV) broadcast will, as a result, hear from some iconic Triple J hosts including Doctor Karl, who will explain how fireworks work. 4 people working on Sydney NYE2024 used to or are currently hosting on Triple J: the TV broadcast co-hosts, Zan Rowe & Charlie Pickering, the TV broadcast’s roving host, Concetta Caristo (currently co-hosting Breakfast) as well as Calling Country’s Nooky (who currently hosts Blak Out). It was also revealed today that now only some of the songs will be classics from the national youth radio station’s Hottest 100 countdown.

A ballot for concert tickets opened today while 20 double passes will be up for grabs on ABC Radio Sydney’s Breakfast from Monday the 9th to the 16th of December. The ballot closes on the 18th of December.

Sydney New Year’s Eve is a wonderful celebration of our multicultural, harmonious, safe and inclusive community & it helps us promote Sydney and our stunning harbour setting to the world.

As one of the 1st cities in the world to ring in the new year, we set the benchmark with a spectacle that reflects what our beautiful city is all about.

With 26,500 lights & 9 tonnes of fireworks to be fired off 8 floating platforms & from 80 new positions on the western side of the Bridge, we’ll be lighting up 7 kilometres of Sydney Harbour, from Cockatoo Island to Point Piper & beyond.

Planning starts 15 months in advance, with many thousands of hours going into every aspect from programming & creative to safety, transport & logistics. More than 1,000 accredited personnel work together to ensure Sydney shines in all its splendour on New Year’s Eve.

From ages 6 to 79, women have been the force behind Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations this year.

Composers, singers, producers, creatives, technicians and directors have spent more than a year preparing for Sydney’s night of nights that will encompass an incomparable showcase of fireworks, pyrotechnics, lights & music.

As a nod to one of the most powerful female figures in Australia’s history, the 9pm & Midnight Fireworks shows will honour the spirit of Barangaroo, the Cammeraygal woman who led her people and who embodies the deep connection of Eora women to the waterways of Sydney Harbour.

Our New Year’s Eve celebrations are the best in the world & whether you’re joining us along the foreshore or watching at home, I hope everyone enjoys the show.

Clover Moore, City Of Sydney Lord Mayor

NYE is a night that has it all – fireworks, live music, stunning visuals, spectacular lighting and the best entertainment & we love working together with our partner, City Of Sydney. to bring this celebration to people across Australia & all around the world.

Kath Earle, ABC Head Of Arts, Music & Events