Tonight’s Pink Moment as part of Sydney New Year’s Eve 2024 has been rescheduled to 10:25pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT).
Originally scheduled for 10pm AEDT, the Pink Moment sees Sydney will glow pink in support of & to raise awareness of the event’s charity partner, the National Breast Cancer Foundation. To honour the 58 people in Australia diagnosed with breast cancer each day, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Harbour Lights parade boats, 10 city buildings, the 6 pyrotechnic barges & the Luna Park Ferris Wheel will be lit pink, remaining that colour for half an hour to celebrate the Foundation’s 30th anniversary.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation was formed in 1994.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections during the Pink Moment will include a photo of NBCF Community Ambassador, Tarryn Fowler, accompanied by key breast cancer statistics & the Foundation’s logo.
Sydney New Year’s Eve 2024 begins at 7:30pm AEDT tonight, the 31st of December, with the Pink Moment on at 10:25pm AEDT.
While thousands of extra public transport services will run throughout the day & into the early hours, services close to the Harbour do pause for periods & extensive road closures are in place.
We’re expecting big crowds & it can be a long, hot day so please make sure you’re prepared with water & sun protection.
Celebrate safely by coming into the city centre early on public transport, regularly checking how busy viewing spots are online & planning your trip home.
Stephen Gilby, City Of Sydney Producer
City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore Photograph: Chris Southwood for City Of Sydney
Once again, the eyes of the world will be on Sydney as we ring in the new year & we’re ready for our biggest New Year’s Eve event ever.
Tonight’s spectacular event will feature world-leading fireworks, incredible musicians, spectacular light shows & hours of cutting-edge Sydney Harbour Bridge projections.
Sydney sets the global benchmark for New Year’s Eve & whether you’re joining us along the foreshore or watching on TV, I hope you enjoy the show. Happy New Year!
Clover Moore AO, City Of Sydney Lord Mayor
(From left to right) ‘Calling Country’ Creative Director ‘Nooky’ & City Of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore and Producer, Stephen Gilby Photograph: Chris Southwood for City Of Sydney
If you weren’t planning to bring a radio to Sydney Harbour, you better now.
Wherever you are around the world this New Year’s Eve, you can farewell 2024 by singing with, yes, with 18-time Brit Award winner, Robbie Williams!
At 11:25pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), Robbie Williams will take to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) stage on the Northern Broadwalk of the Sydney Opera House for a 35-minute set.
But that’s not all!
His performance will be projected live onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons & the whole world will be encouraged to sing along to his hits in the final 35 minutes of 2024 in Sydney’s time zone.
In case you don’t know the words to his songs, the lyrics will be projected onto the pylons alongside the live images from the Sydney Opera House. The lyrics will not be part of the television/Internet broadcast so if you need help while watching the broadcast, do a quick Google search of the song title.
1 million people are expected around Sydney Harbour and 280 million people are expected to tune in globally for the Midnight Fireworks.
During the concert, but not necessarily from 11:25pm, Robbie Williams will promote his critically acclaimed satirical musical ‘biographical’ film, Better Man, in cinemas now, with a behind the scenes look at how it was made. The concert begins at 9:10pm AEDT.
Ok so on Sydney Harbour, I can see (at least on the pylons) & sing with Robbie Williams but how can I hear him?
The concert will be broadcast on ABC Radio Sydney (105.7 FM) from 9:10pm AEDT until Midnight. The concert has always been synchronised to the light show on the Sydney Harbour Bridge so don’t wait until 11:25pm to tune in, tune in right after the Calling Country Fireworks finish at 9:08pm AEDT & dance under the spectacular synchronised lights of the Sydney Harbour Bridge until Robbie Williams takes the stage!
IMPORTANT NOTE: As far as we are aware, ABC does not broadcast the official fireworks soundtracks on radio. To hear the official fireworks soundtracks, you need to tune into KIIS 106.5FM at 9pm for the Calling Country Fireworks & just before Midnight precisely at the end of Robbie Williams’ set (otherwise you will miss him sing!) to welcome in 2025.
I want to listen to the radio,but I am not down on Sydney Harbour?
If you are in Australia, all ABC Local Radio stations are broadcasting the concert. If you cannot access an ABC Local Radio station, you can find Internet options on our ‘Watch LIVE’ page.
I am not down on Sydney Harbour but want to sing along on television (TV)/Internet?
However, if you do not live in Sydney’s time zone in Australia, to watch & sing along live you need the Internet stream as the TV broadcast is delayed to your time zone.
There will be no lyrics shown during the TV & Internet broadcast so if you need help, do a quick Google search of the song title.
Can I get tickets to the concert?
Sorry. The ballot for tickets closed 9 days ago.
I missed out on concert tickets, but projections aren’t enough for me. Where is the closest I can see him in person?
GATES TO THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE CLOSED AT 11:55AM AEDT. BOATING IS NOW YOUR ONLY OPTION.
The Sydney Opera House vantage point is the only place. However, just being there isn’t enough. The very north-western corner of the Sydney Opera House is open to the general public & is right behind the concert stage so you can definitely hear & likely see him from that spot. However, it has a very small capacity so only the first people who get there will get the spots. To get this spot, it is best to be there at the Sydney Opera House when gates open at 7am AEDT.
If you miss out on getting there early for that very exclusive north-western corner, most of the general public won’t be able to access the Sydney Opera House north of the Bennelong Sails (the small stand-alone set of sails) once that north-western comer is full due to ticketed events taking up that space so getting any closer to being in sight of Robbie Williams is impossible after then. The Sydney Opera House’s southern forecourt is still open to the general public after then but there are no views of Robbie Williams from there – just great pyrotechnic views. Gates to the Sydney Opera House close when the capacity of 6000 is reached & if not, at 2pm AEDT regardless.
If you are boating, the best place to be likely to see him is if you float around Mrs Macquarie’s Point. If you can see the ABC stage from there, you will have the best view you can of him on the water. Again, like with land vantage points, it is first-come, first-served and spaces are limited so be quick! Event exclusion zone is enforced from 8pm AEDT. Vessels under 15min length are only allowed in nearby Farm Cove & all vessels must stay clear of the naval exclusion zone around Garden Island & Fleet Base East. Some areas around Garden Island outside of the naval exclusion zone you cannot anchor at. For more details, check the boating map.
All that is left to be answered is – will Robbie Williams do the Midnight countdown?
I love and adore Australia & the Sydney fireworks are truly magical. To be ringing in the New Year in the country where my biopic, Better Man, was shot will be the perfect end to 2024 & the ideal start to 2025. I can’t wait to perform & celebrate with my incredible Australian fans.
Robbie Williams
If you are wondering why this was only published just now, it was only just announced. Not enough time, I know! Gates open in a few hours & you might never have thought to bring your radio.
On the official Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2024 website, new details about the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections have been revealed along with the fact that First Nations rapper, BARKAA, will feature in the Calling Country Fireworks soundtrack.
The 8-minute soundtrack, titled Our Greats, will feature First Nations supergroup, 3%, along with children, Olivia (7), Calula (6) and Eliana Webster & Lenny and Paycen Wright. First Nations rapper, Alinta-Jade Quaylee is also part of the soundtrack. She is the daughter of BARKAA, whose real name is Chloe Quayle. Her artist name is the Barkindji word for the Darling River & her 2021 debut album, Blak Matriarchy, honoured powerful First Nations women who paved the way for future generations, which is a central message during the fireworks of this upcoming edition of Sydney New Year’s Eve.
My main inspiration has been my mum, raising us kids, working, going to Uni & juggling like a superwoman. We have a lot of women like that in our lives. Our aunties, grandmothers & mothers are people who carry community on their backs.
It’s always from the heart, still. I want people to still connect with me & on a different level. I’ve shown how proud I am as a Blak woman & how proud I am of my culture with Blak Matriarchy.
‘BARKAA’
BARKAA, along with the already-announced Calling Country soundtrack artists are the next generation, expressing their pride of being young, Blak & bold.
Produced by 18YOMAN, Nooky, Tasker & One Above, Our Greats is written by Nooky, Dallas Woods, Angus Field & One Above with mixing & mastering done by Tasker.
I wanted to give them (his daughters, Olivia & Calula Webster) the opportunity to get up here & show the world their culture and the strength they carry.
‘Nooky’, Yuin and Thungutti rapper & ‘We Are Warriors’ Co-Founder
I felt a little bit afraid, but you’ve just got to stand up, tell them what you’re feeling, what your culture is & what you want to do.
Calula Webster, singer
I was a bit nervous & when I found out that my favourite singer (BARKAA) was on the song too, I really wanted to do it.
Olivia Webster, singer
BARKAA previously performed live at Sydney NYE2021’s Welcome To Country, performing the song Blak with DOBBY:
Meanwhile, new details about the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections have been revealed. The pylon projections will feature “ancient & futuristic themes” & bioluminescence as well as the “shape” of water itself.
Portrayed in dance by Alice Robinson, The Woman Of The Water will morph in-between coral, kelp, fish, octopus & finally to water. This sequence combines human dance, motion capture, photographs of ocean flora, marine fauna and the texture of water & a custom cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence (AI) system allowing creative studio VANDAL to produce the largest & most complex generative AI motion capture animations yet.
Sydney New Year’s Eve 2024 begins at 7:30pm on the 31st of December.
As part of the Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2024 fireworks displays, for the 1st time ever in Australia, 4 pyrotechnic drones (“aerial pyrotechnic platforms”) will be used.
Replacing 3 pontoons to the east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the drones will launch around 600 pyrotechnic effects.
The drones will feature in both Calling Country & the Midnight Fireworks.
Pyrotechnic drones have been used around the world since 2021. Mostly seen in the Middle East so far, the 1st prominent display of firework drones was utilised at the 2021 Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix:
Golden waterfalls have been used on these aerial pyrotechnic platforms already but the most creative use of these drones so far was held in Paris earlier this year & surprisingly not at The Games Of The 33rd Olympiad! On Bastille Day, the annual fireworks display off the Eiffel Tower & around the Trocadero Gardens, which, since 2019, Sydney Spectaculars has deemed as the best annual pyrotechnic display on earth, was jaw dropping with their use of drones, even if it got repetitive after a while. Themed to the values of the City of Lights, Olympism & Paralympism, the full 20-minute display can be watched below as a preview to the potential these pyrotechnic drones provide to Sydney NYE:
The above Paris display used 1000 drones, not all pyrotechnic drones, while Sydney will use just 4 pyro drones in their Australian debut so don’t expect Paris-sized pyro drone spectacles yet in Sydney.
Anyway, back to the Harbour City. Despite the removal of 3 pontoons on the eastern side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for these 4 aerial pyrotechnic platforms, 1 pontoon will remain there.
Georgia Rapisarda, Fortunato Foti & Nicolette Anastasio of Foti International Fireworks at the Glebe Island Sydney NYE2024 Pyrotechnic Barge Preparation Site Photograph: Chris Southwood for the City Of Sydney
A special waterfall creating the name, ‘Sydney’, will also feature during the fireworks displays. This is highly likely not the traditional ‘streaming candle’ waterfall effect but rather the ‘Roman candle’ waterfall effect that used to feature frequently during the 9pm fireworks. However, it is more likely this ‘Sydney’ waterfall will feature during the Midnight Fireworks.
One of the fish-shaped fireworks will form the shape of sharks. Looking out for the sharks will be fireworks in the shape of fishhooks while accompanying fireworks of emu’s feet are fireworks in the shape of tracks of emus.
Fortunato Foti, Sydney NYE2024 Fireworks Director & Stephen Gilby, City Of Sydney Executive Producer
Photograph: Chris Southwood for City Of Sydney
The official pyrotechnics provider, Foti International Fireworks, has worked 4500 hours in preparation for the iconic displays, including unpacking 120 tonnes of equipment from 18 shipping containers to link 80 kilometres of wires & cables to 16 computers & 32 firing panels since the 20th of December. On NYE, when 70 staff from the pyrotechnic company will work for the event, 1000 fireworks will be fired off the Sydney Opera House’s western sails while the Sydney Harbour Bridge will feature 30,000 pyrotechnic effects fired from 7500 cues.
The Calling Country Fireworks soundtrack was also revealed to be called Our Greats.
It’s no wonder our New Year’s Eve display is regarded as one of the largest & most technologically advanced fireworks shows on earth.
Every year, the Foti family works its magic to produce an event that continues to be bigger, brighter & more innovative and entertaining.
Clover Moore, City Of Sydney Lord Mayor
We spend weeks meticulously planning the displays to ensure they are perfectly synchronised with each show’s specially created soundtrack.
We work through every segment of the soundtracks – the lyrics, the highs & lows of the music, the breaks & the crescendo – to ensure the display visually matches the mood & energy as perfectly as possible.
We’re always looking at how we can evolve our show & believe this will be one of the most innovative New Year’s Eve displays in the world.
Not only do we have more fireworks than ever before, we’re extremely excited to introduce the aerial platforms concept – the 1st time this has been done in Australian fireworks history.
The introduction of 80 new positions on the Bridge & an additional firing location on the western side has enabled us to extend the footprint of the display & offer people a better view of the fireworks. No matter where you are around the harbour, you’re in for a great show!
Fortunato Foti, Foti International Fireworks Director
Circular Quay drone shows, Vivid Sydney water shows, Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour, Australia SailGP & fireworks from barges over Sydney Harbour at any time of the year are under threat from a proposed high-density housing development at Glebe Island. This does not affect Sydney NYE2024 (the upcoming edition).
Glebe Island is home to a port with 260 metres of deep waterfront wharf space, where Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour‘s enormous stage is prepared before been moved to Fleet Steps. Barges & pontoons are also moored at Glebe Island for the preparation of pyrotechnic displays & drone shows held from them. For the pyrotechnics, cranes are used to load the fireworks onto the barges & pontoons while for both drones & fireworks, the barges & pontoons are then moved into Sydney Harbour (or in the drone shows’ case, moored at Campbells’ Cove) for the displays. The same also applies for the annual water show held in Cockle Bay during Vivid Sydney, whose water pump infrastructure is first prepared at Glebe Island while Australia SailGP requires the delivery of 120 shipping containers.
Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE), the most significant annual pyrotechnic event on Sydney Harbour, uses 6 barges and 4 pontoons. Without these, the display would be reduced to just the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House & city buildings. Fireworks displays at any other time of year & drone/water shows as well as Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour & Australia SailGP will be impossible to be held.
And according to Adam Huie of Banks Events, who has helped produce Sydney Spectaculars (the events, not the blog) since 1997, that’s what will happen if Glebe Island is no longer a port.
First things first, Glebe Island is a bit of a misnomer. It was an island originally, but it doesn’t exist anymore. It was joined to the mainland just over a century ago but now, fast forward to 2016.
On the 14th of November 2016, the New South Wales (NSW) Government announced Sydney Metro West, an underground rapid transit line. One of its proposed stations is to be at The Bays precinct, “Sydney’s new innovation hub where 95 hectares of land is being regenerated”.
Green: Glebe Island, Brown: Reclaimed Land, Blue Line: Sydney Metro West (under construction), Blue Boxes: Sydney Metro West Stations (under construction).
At the time, the land regeneration wasn’t to include Glebe Island, which was instead marked as “for further study”.
The Bays Precinct Urban Renewal Area In 2014 Image: The Sydney Morning Herald
And indeed, further study it was, in secret. On the 25th of July this year, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that the NSW Government had secretly commissioned a review into Glebe Island. The now not-so-secret review is being undertaken by Michael Schur, a consultant who was a former NSW Treasury secretary in 2011, who will also review the non-cruise ship terminal portion of the White Bay foreshore. He will be assessing options including:
Retaining the ports with no nearby high-density housing
Moving the ports for nearby high-density housing
Building a hybrid model
The proposal by the NSW Government to turn it into high-density housing is made due to the now-under construction The Bays Metro Station, which would be able to handle large amounts of passengers & therefore, potential residents. The NSW Government later admitted the review was real.
Tom Forrest, Urban Taskforce Chief Executive said Glebe Island had the potential to be Sydney’s next Barangaroo which he described as “vibrant, open & perfect” but industry wants to stay at Glebe Island.
For example, the Port Authority of NSW, a corporation of the NSW Government, while supporting the Schur review, is opposed to the Glebe Island port closing down or being relocated. As noise, pollution & truck movements are all key considerations in whether the hybrid model can work, they even warned against that option, saying “sensitive uses” near ports & shipping threatened to upset operations. It is this position that has led event producers to not make a collective submission.
The NSW Liberal Party is also opposed to the relocation while Stuart Aryes, Urban Development Institute Of Australia, Chief Executive said a mixed-use precinct “could be a new jewel in the Sydney Harbour crown”.
The City Of Sydney, in a statement (below), gave a response which sounds like a wait and see approach with supreme confidence. The confidence is justified as Glebe Island/White Bay has not always been the location the pyrotechnic barges been prepared from. For example, in 1996, Wooloomooloo was the location for the set-up of the main barge used in the 9pm Family Fireworks that year. It relocated to White Bay/Glebe Island the following year.
However, Adam Huie told Sydney Spectaculars (the blog this time) that Wooloomooloo is “now occupied by other uses and unavailable”. You can read his full comments, which were published by The Daily Telegraph, at the bottom of this article.
The review is likely to be published by the end of the year.
The Sydney NYE2024 Glebe Island media call is on Friday the 27th of December at 10am & it wouldn’t be a surprise if questions are asked there about this situation.
Sydney NYE2024 is on at 7:30pm on the 31st of December while Australia SailGP returns on the 8th-9th of February with Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour 2025 being held between March 21 and April 20 & will be musical Guys & Dolls this edition.
There is a range of things that you could do with Glebe Island that are better than the way it has been used for a long period of time & one of those is obviously housing.
Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister Of Australia
If the government has an announcement to make, it will be made at an appropriate time.
NSW Government Spokesperson
The harbour is our jewel in the crown & Glebe Island supports that gem. Our harbour is also more complex & multifaceted than people realise so while we excel at events, they need a platform supporting them.
Margy Osmond, Tourism & Transport Forum Australia Chief Executive Officer
The government’s own department is telling them that this is a bad idea – that should tell you all you need to know.
Natalie Ward, NSW Legislative Councillor
Any proposed plans for the Glebe Island site is a matter for the state government.
Our experience over the years has meant we are adept at working around evolving changes to the event’s production to ensure we continue to deliver one of the world’s most spectacular New Year’s Eve celebrations.
City Of Sydney Spokesperson
(Barangaroo) That’s the sort of vision we need to see. Maintaining Sydney as a quasi-working harbour was a prospect that was abandoned by governments 30 years ago. Continuing to operate a hybrid model ensures the Bays Precinct will fail to deliver its potential. The last thing we want is to keep that giant hardstand area in order to satisfy the old Maritime Services Board.
Tom Forrest, Urban Taskforce Chief Executive
Sydney will struggle to be a better city without Glebe Island. The thought that the fireworks & other major events could be in jeopardy is truly alarming. Access to Glebe Island for preparing events is vital for the events sector & for Sydney’s economy, tourism and culture.
Paul Nicolau, Business Sydney Executive Director
We live here because of the working harbour.
Elizabeth Elenius, Pyrmont Action Group Founder
We use Glebe Island for a lot of events that mean so much to this city.
Because the Port Authority has had management of the site and their support for events is strong. We’ve seen that as the state government supporting our events but this report that’s coming has given everyone the jitters. We don’t know what is going on. These events are too important to Sydney. People around the world know us for our NYE celebrations. It would be terrible if we had to scale that back because a necessary work site was not available.
There’s quite a number of events that use that space as an essential part of their work. There’s Australia Day, Vivid, SailGP and Opera On The Harbour. They would all have major issues putting on some of their events without Glebe Island.
The drone show for Vivid in June required 110m of wharf space at Glebe Island for 4 weeks to build a barge & install the equipment allowing 800 drones to take off. Every city in the world that SailGP operates in, they deliver essentials by ship & set up on a wharf. If Sydney doesn’t have Glebe Island port, where are they going to go? All these events need waterfront access on the harbour.
People have spent years trying to work out how to deliver the New Year’s Eve fireworks if Glebe Island suddenly wasn’t available. We’ve never come up with a solution. The only sensible option would be to scale back on the event & surely no one wants that. Sydney has one of the best fireworks displays in the world, but the event could not be done the way it’s currently done without that Glebe Island facility.
I’d laugh at anyone suggesting (Port Botany, Kembla, Newcastle) that. There’s no way you’d be loading barges there & then shipping them here. Logistics require clear weather windows of opportunity. It would be unworkable, virtually impossible but why does that even have to be considered when we’ve got a working wharf right here?
18-time Brit Award winner, Robbie Williams, will headline the New Year’s Eve (NYE) concert hosted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on the Northern Broadwalk of the Sydney Opera House, performing his hits as well as promoting his critically acclaimed satirical musical ‘biographical’ film, Better Man, which opens in cinemas to the general public on the 26th of December (Boxing Day), with a behind the scenes look at how it was made.
With this news, the ABC has extended the concert’s ticket ballot to close at 11:59pm on the 22nd of December. It originally closed on the 18th of December. If you are successful, you will only receive a maximum of 4 tickets per person, each costing AUD$50 with the full cost going to the Gurrumul Yunupingu Foundation.
Other artists already announced to be performing at the concert are Casey Donovan, Nooky, G Flip, Becca Hatch, Fanning Dempsey National Park, Cyril, 1300 & Randy Houser.
The concert will be broadcast on local ABC Radio nationwide so people down on the Harbour (105.7 FM) can tune in. It will also be streamed online & televised globally via the ABC.
The ABC’s NYE concert is held at 9:10pm Sydney time on the 31st of December, hosted by Charlie Pickering & Zan Rowe, with Concetta Caristo roving around Sydney Harbour.
I love and adore Australia & the Sydney fireworks are truly magical. To be ringing in the New Year in the country where my biopic, Better Man, was shot will be the perfect end to 2024 & the ideal start to 2025. I can’t wait to perform & celebrate with my incredible Australian fans.
Sydney New Year’s Eve’s Pink Moment, which returns for a 2nd consecutive year, will be 30 minutes long this edition to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), who has proudly been the event’s charity partner for this & the previous edition.
For 30 years since 1994, the NBCF has invested, in Australia, more than AUD$200 million into over 600 critical world-class research projects, contributing to a 40% reduction in breast cancer mortality rates in Australia.
Last edition, the Pink Moment was 4 minutes long from 10:01pm as the Foundation was about to leave their 29th anniversary year & welcome in their 30th anniversary year.
Now celebrating that milestone, the 30-minute long Pink Moment this edition also honours the 58 people in Australia diagnosed with breast cancer each day & will see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, pyrotechnic barges, 10 city buildings, the Sydney Harbour Lights boats & the Luna Park Ferris Wheel lit up in pink from 10pm.
Last edition, only the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Harbour Lights boats & the Luna Park Ferris Wheel were lit pink.
NBCF Community Ambassador, Tarryn Forster. Image: NBCF
Also, as part of the half an hour-long Pink Moment, the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon projections will once again feature key breast cancer statistics & the NBCF’s logo accompanied by images of NBCF Community Ambassador, Tarryn Fowler.
While caring for her 2 young children, aged 2.5 years and 18 months, she found a lump in her breast. In November 2020, at the age of 33, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite initially believing she was too young for breast cancer, she immediately looked for medical attention. Her motivation: To be there for her children’s life milestones. 10 days later, her diagnosis was received: Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) & Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS).
A full mastectomy and reconstruction were scheduled in December by the 25th, Christmas. Tarryn found herself too unwell to join her family in Christmas activities like viewing the neighbourhood’s lights & while striving to minimise the impact on her children, finished chemotherapy and radiation therapy the following May in 2021, which was celebrated by ringing the Captain’s Bell, a symbol of hope & accomplishment. She remains hopeful for a future with 0 deaths from breast cancer.
Tarryn Fowler ringing the Captain’s Bell.
Breast cancer is the 2nd most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia & the most prevalent among women, with around 1,000 cases occurring in women under 40 each year, about 3 women every day. 1 woman under 40 loses her life to the disease each week while 9 Australians die from breast cancer each day.
The Sydney New Year’s Eve 2024 Pink Moment will be held at 10pm on the 31st of December.
The City Of Sydney selects a charity to support each New Year’s Eve. I am happy to welcome back the National Breast Cancer Foundation for the 2nd consecutive year. Through this collaboration, we can continue to raise awareness & inspire hope for those impacted by breast cancer. As we ring in the new year, the City is proud to help shine a spotlight on the Foundation’s vision of 0 deaths from breast cancer.
Over the last 30 years, the NBCF has invested AUD$232 million in 642 projects. In this time, the death rate from breast cancer has reduced by over 40%. While the significant progress in reducing deaths from breast cancer is to be celebrated, the number of Australians diagnosed with breast cancer continue to increase. Each day, 58 people in Australia are diagnosed with breast cancer & 9 people die from breast cancer in Australia.
Clover Moore, City Of Sydney Lord Mayor
I think many people would put off doing something until the new year when health-related resolutions are top of mind but I wanted to find out immediately so I could enjoy the holidays. I wanted to finish treatment quickly so they (her children) wouldn’t remember or have too many questions about what was happening.
The hardest part wasn’t the pain or losing my hair. It was being unable to hold my kids for 6 weeks post-surgery. Missing out on their laughter while recovering was tough but it made me even more grateful to be here for their future.
Although the death rate from breast cancer in Australia has reduced, there is still a percentage of people who die. There are more young women diagnosed each year & it’s a timely reminder that it can happen to anyone but with continued investment into research, we can truly make a difference.
Tarryn Fowler, NBCF Community Ambassador
For 30 years, our commitment to funding world-class breast cancer research has led to extraordinary discoveries.
Driving awareness of the importance of breast cancer research, on one of the world’s biggest stages on New Year’s Eve is a special opportunity we’re incredibly grateful for.
New Year’s Eve is about celebrating new beginnings, setting goals and resolutions & entering a new year with positivity and hope. We are excited to see the City Of Sydney light up pink to support the research the National Breast Cancer Foundation leads to move us closer to our vision of 0 deaths from breast cancer.
The generosity of partners including the City of Sydney &our community enables us to accelerate progress in research that ultimately helps save lives. This is a collective effort – together, we can make 0 deaths from breast cancer possible.
Associate Professor Cleola Anderiesz, NBCF Chief Executive Officer
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.
Calling Country 2024 – Forward With Heart Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Projections Image: Sydney New Year’s Eve & R/GA
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.
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!
From left to right: Nicolette Anastasio (nee Foti), Elena Colosi (nee Foti), Calula Webster, Olivia Webster, Georgia Rapisarda (nee Foti), Luna Pan Photograph: Pheobe Pratt/Sydney New Year’s Eve
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.
From left to right: Luna Pan, Associate Professor Cleola Anderiesz (National Breast Cancer Foundation Chief Executive Officer), Kath Earle (ABC Arts, Music & Events Head), Olivia Webster, Emma Rigney (City Of Sydney Life Executive Director) Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Calula Webster, Nicolette Anastasio, Elena Colosi, Georgia Rapisarda, Alice Robinson (VANDAL) Photograph: Pheobe Pratt/Sydney New Year’s Eve
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.
Sydney Spectaculars 
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