Tag: Sydney New Year’s Eve

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

The official boating exclusion zone map for Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2024 has revealed an extra pyrotechnic pontoon set will appear west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the 1st time ever while the Smoking Ceremony will have a slightly different route this year.

The boating exclusion zone map was released between mid-September & early October.

News of the extra western pyrotechnic pontoon set follows the earlier announcement on the 5th of September that the western lower arch, hangars & catwalk of the Sydney Harbour Bridge will be used for fireworks for the 1st time ever.

The extra western pyrotechnic pontoon set will not be precisely in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge but more in front of the Bridge’s southern half. It will be in front of Blues Point, north-west of Dawes Point & south-west of Luna Park.

It is unknown whether the western pontoon set will appear during Calling Country but it’s guaranteed to appear during the Midnight Fireworks. Its size is also unknown. Usually during the Midnight Fireworks, the eastern set consists of 4 pontoons spread out but all we can be sure is that the upcoming Midnight Fireworks will feature a minimum 1 pontoon in the west in addition to the eastern set. However, it is possible the eastern set will be reduced in size to allow for the creation of the western set. The size of the eastern set cannot be confirmed as yet. However, it can be confidently said at least 2 pontoons will remain on the eastern side.

Nevertheless, the next Midnight Fireworks looks set to be the most spectacular pyrotechnic display viewed from the western side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge since the Closing Night Harbour Spectacular of The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad: Sydney 2000.

The boating exclusion zone map also reveals the Smoking Ceremony, held from 7:30pm on board the Indigenous vessels, Tribal Warrior, Mari Nawi & Wirawi, will begin at Barangaroo’s ferry wharves before heading north past it’s Reserve, east past the Walsh Bay wharves, around Dawes Point before completing a lap of Circular Quay before heading to its centre, arriving & finishing there at around 8:30pm.

This is a slightly different route than last edition. Previously, it began at Towns Place Wharf at the western end of Walsh Bay (this wharf is closed for maintenance this year) & it also went out to near Fort Denison before turning around to re-enter Circular Quay.

Sydney NYE2024 begins at 7:30pm on 31 December 2024.

Sydney’s heritage-listed & State Parliament-protected theme park, Luna Park, has been officially listed as a Sydney New Year’s Eve vantage point for the 1st time. It is a paid ticketed 18 years old & above vantage point.

The listing was made on Thursday the 12th of September.

On New Year’s Eve, Luna Park will be hosting Harbour Party, which costed a minimum AUD$199 per ticket in September’s initial ticket release, though the price has since risen to AUD$299 for the final ticket release. The most expensive ticket was AUD$799, however, these are now sold out. Remaining tickets on sale are now AUD$549 or less.

This vantage point, with a capacity of 6,420, has disc jockeys (DJs) with artists including “The Netherlands’ most striking DJ duo”, Mr Belt and Wezol, Brooke Evers, Carolina Gasolina, Casual Connection, Discovery (A Daft Punk Tribute), Helena Ellis & Sydney NYE2022 Midnight Fireworks Soundtrack Artist, Stace Cadet.

Luna Park has always been open on New Year’s Eve since 1995, even when it was closed to the public all year round between 1996 & 2004, so being a vantage point is nothing new. What is new is it being officially listed. Whilst Sydney NYE has been held since 1976, Luna Park has only had a good view of the fireworks since 1990, when the Sydney Harbour Bridge was introduced to the display. The theme park was closed at the time and didn’t reopen until 1995.

This New Year’s Eve, fireworks will be fired for the 1st time off the western lower arch, hangars & catwalk of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. However, the Bridge’s light show will remain only on the eastern side still. The pylon projections will be on both the eastern & western sides of the Bridge though. Nevertheless, as it is located on the western side of the Bridge, this will give the vantage point of Luna Park it’s best viewing of the Midnight Fireworks yet.

Harbour Party is not an official Sydney NYE event though. However, the light show on the Ferris Wheel has been synchronised to the fireworks soundtracks since NYE2018, making that part of the night & park an official part of Sydney NYE.

First opening in 1935, Luna Park is one of 2 amusement parks in the world protected by legislation. The other amusement park is Tivoli Gardens in Denmark. Luna Park has been protected by legislation since 1990 & last reopened for all-year round operations in 2004 and is still operating today.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge’s western lower arch, hangars & catwalk will be used for fireworks for the 1st time ever this New Year’s Eve (NYE), according to the official & updated Sydney NYE website.

The Sydney NYE website was updated to its 2024 edition on Thursday the 5th of September.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge’s western upper arch has been used in the past to fire pyrotechnics. However, as the fireworks were fired directly above the Bridge, unless you were looking closely, you couldn’t tell whether the fireworks were fired from the western or eastern side of the upper arch. The use of the western upper arch was done only when Syd Howard Fireworks was the main pyrotechnic company for the Bridge.

They tended but not always put the shells that were fired the highest on the western upper arch. Sometimes, it may have been to make more room along the eastern upper arch. This was done from Sydney NYE1990-1998 & technology has changed significantly since then, particularly in computing technology, possibly making space considerations less of worry from the turn of the Millennium thus no longer needing the western upper arch.

The use of the western lower arch, hangars & catwalk for fireworks will, for the 1st time since the early 1990’s, allow spectators on the western side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to view the Bridge fireworks just like spectators on what is known as the ‘show side’ of the Bridge – the eastern side of the Bridge. The light show will still be only on the eastern side of the Bridge however.

The use of the western most lane on the roadway for fireworks is unlikely as the fireworks would look the same just when fired from the eastern most lane. It is for this reason, though applied to the upper arch, that we don’t think the western upper arch will be used once again – unless capacity limitations on the eastern upper arch necessitate the return of the western upper arch. The iconic waterfall effect is also likely to still be done from the eastern catwalk, again for the same reason.

This will be the most the Sydney Harbour Bridge has been used for fireworks since it was 1st used for pyrotechnics during the Royal Australian Navy 75th Anniversary Review Fireworks in October 1986. On that occasion, the eastern walkway & catwalk was used – the walkway for a set piece (pyrotechnic sign, which said ‘NSW Salutes The Royal Australian Navy’) & the catwalk for the debut of the iconic golden waterfall off the Bridge.

The only part of the Bridge not used for fireworks currently is the pylons. These were last used in 2013 during the International Fleet Review Spectacular for flame effects while it was last used for stationary pyrotechnics during the Midnight Fireworks of Sydney NYE2006 – A Diamond Night In Emerald City & moving ground pyrotechnics during the Midnight Fireworks of Sydney NYE2002 – The World’s Celebration In Union. It is understood heritage concerns prevent pyrotechnics from being used on the pylons often, especially ground pyro that breaks, after damage occurred during the Closing Night Harbour Spectacular of The Games Of The XXVIIth Olympiad: Sydney 2000. The only other time the pylons have been used for fireworks was during Sydney NYE1996 – Mask A Sydney Face. The pylons are overdue for another appearance but they are not expected to make an appearance for Sydney NYE2024.

In regard to the official website, whose design is quite modern this year, it will be updated even more in the lead up to the event with additional vantage points, location details, road closures & transport information.

Celebrating one of the biggest New Year’s Eve spectacles in the world takes planning so it’s important to us to ensure we enhance that visitor experience from the outset.

Pivotal to the visitor experience is making it as easy as possible to find out all the information they need to plan ahead for the big night.

I encourage everyone looking to celebrate New Year’s Eve to make arrangements in advance & explore our site for details about all the fantastic experiences Sydney has to offer.

Monica Barone, City Of Sydney Chief Executive Officer

Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) will continue to not have official themes & instead pursue a new visual identity for at least the next 3 editions from NYE2025 inclusive.

The City of Sydney is undertaking a 2-stage process to determine the successful visual identity.

The 1st stage is an expression of interest (EOI), which is open to any creative agency/consultancy. 

The 2nd stage will see the City Of Sydney select the best EOIs, no lower than the top 3, who will also be paid a fee of AUD$3000 (excluding Goods & Services Tax (GST)) by the City Of Sydney to improve on their EOIs & deliver their final full creative concept proposals along with requested financial quotes to them in a presentation.

The City of Sydney is requesting the creative concept proposal:

• provide a clear, consistent image/idea of Sydney NYE that is original & instantly recognisable
• acts as a graphic unifier for the event over time, providing consistency across the event from year to year 
• clearly positions Sydney as a cultural & creative city 
• showcases & promotes both Sydney & the City of Sydney
• excites & engages all stakeholders – audiences, businesses, sponsors & partners – to participate in Sydney NYE &
• leverages the event’s unique & attributable strengths creatively, avoiding predictability. 

The new visual identity should align with the event’s philosophy, which is that the event “is a bold, colourful & exciting celebration that marks the end of 1 year & the beginning of another, filled with hope & opportunity”.

It will provide a consistent visual “narrative” across decorations & marketing including online content, physical signage & communications.

For interested parties, it should be pointed out that Sydney & the City Of Sydney are 2 different things, though both are combined. ‘Sydney’ refers to the significant urban area of the Sydney basin, from the Pacific Ocean in the east to Katoomba in the west & Campbelltown and the Royal National Park in the south to the Hawkesbury River in the north. The ‘City Of Sydney’ refers to the local government area immediately south of the Sydney Harbour Bridge down to the industrial area of Beaconsfield as well east to Moore Park and west to the University Of Sydney.

Renumeration Dispute

The EOI was to initially close on Friday the 26th of July 2024 but just over a week after the EOI opened on the 1st of July, the City Of Sydney announced they will “pause” the EOI after complaints from designers regarding renumeration of the successful applicant.

The City Of Sydney was originally going to sign a AUD$70,000 (excluding GST) contract with the successful applicant to design the visual identity. That amount was likely for just the 1st of the 3 editions. The previous contract was valued at an average $73,333.3 per edition with $120,000 paid for the 1st edition when most of the work over 3 years was done. After consulting with the Australian Graphic Design Association, when the EOI reopened on Tuesday the 12th of November, it was announced the successful applicant would now sign a AUD$100,000 (excluding GST) contract to design the visual identity. It is likely this amount is still for the 1st edition only. However, it is notably AUD$20,000 less in value still from NYE2019.

The EOI will now close on Friday the 13th of December 2024. The best EOIs will be notified on Friday the 10th of January 2025 with Stage 2 presentations being held the next month on Wednesday the 5th of February.

Visual identities were introduced from NYE2019, replacing the iconic themes that occurred since the turn of the Millennium. Since NYE2019, the visual identity from Garbett Design has been the official visual identity of Sydney NYE.

Garbett Design’s contract with the City Of Sydney was extended by a year due to the New South Wales Government managing the NYE2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contract expired after NYE2022 but the City Of Sydney kept using their visual identity for another 2 editions likely due to the Big Creative Ideas initiative heavily influencing the potential future of the event.

The Big Creative Ideas initiative begun in September last year and finished in January this year & was held to find new creative ideas, especially environmentally sustainable ones, for the City Of Sydney’s events including Sydney NYE. The news of the continuation of visual identities for Sydney NYE leads us to the conclusion that the idea of returning to official themes has not been taken up by the City Of Sydney. Sydney Spectaculars has been allocating unofficial themes to those editions from NYE2019 inclusive except NYE2021 when an official theme did come back for that edition only.

The successful designer for the Sydney NYE2025-2027 visual identity will sign the contract on Friday the 28th of February 2025 & the new visual identity will be unveiled no earlier than Friday the 16th of May later that year.

For more information & to submit an EOI, visit city.sydney/nye-eoi.

Sydney New Year’s Eve is objectively the best fireworks display in the world, illuminating our Harbour with stunning pyrotechnics to herald in the new year.

With half a billion people watching, this is an opportunity for a designer to have their work displayed on an international stage & I encourage everyone with an exciting creative concept to apply.

We’re looking for branding that will connect with audiences of all ages & backgrounds, locally, nationally & internationally with a message of inclusion, celebration & safety.

Clover Moore AO, City Of Sydney Lord Mayor

OPINION: It is ironic that the visual identity criteria again asks to avoid predictability whilst also providing consistency. This was also the case in the NYE2019 EOI. The continuation of visual identities instead of themes will see Sydney NYE still be rather predictable as has been the case since NYE2019 with a focus on a bigger and larger Midnight Fireworks with a new unique soundtrack each year. Calling Country will still be the most creative segment of the event with it having the same creative level as the iconic NYE1999-NYE2018 themed editions of the event.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has announced that their Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2024 concert on the Northern Forecourt of the Sydney Opera House will celebrate national youth radio station Triple J’s 50th anniversary.

Triple J first aired on the 19th of January 1975 as Double J before being renamed to it’s current name on the 11th of July 1980.

They will celebrate the 50th anniversary milestone by covering popular songs from Triple J’s Hottest 100 music polls, first held in 1989.

The announcement of the concert theme was made on Thursday the 9th of May 2024.

Last edition’s Happy New Year concert featured 34 songs. Based on this, here are our predictions on which 34 songs will feature at the 2024 concert based on previous Hottest 100 music polls:

1. Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan
2. God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
3. The End – The Doors
4. Respect – Aretha Franklin
5. A Day in the Life – The Beatles
6. Imagine – John Lennon
7. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
8. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
9. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
10. Anarchy in the U.K. – Sex Pistols
11. Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush
12. Alison – Elvis Costello
13. Rock Lobster – The B-52’s
14. Shivers – The Boys Next Door
15. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
16. Throw Your Arms Around Me – Hunters & Collectors
17. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
18. Heart-Shaped Box – Nirvana
19. Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley
20. Wonderwall – Oasis
21. These Days – Powderfinger
22. Big Jet Plane – Angus & Julia Stone
23. Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People
24. Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye featuring Kimbra
25. The Less I Know the Better – Tame Impala
26. Never Be Like You – Flume featuring Kai
27. Humble – Kendrick Lamar
28. Confidence – Ocean Alley
29. bad guy – Billie Eilish
30. Heat Waves – Glass Animals
31. Elephant – Tama Impala (The Wiggles cover)
32. Say Nothing – Flume featuring May-a
33. Believe – Cher (DMA’s cover)
34. Paint the Town Red – Doja Cat

As 2 of the songs we have predicted are covers, we are expecting the ABC to try and get The Wiggles & DMAs to perform live at the concert. DMA’s have previously performed at the concert at Sydney NYE2020 – Thank You.

All this is speculation for now, but confirmation of the artists should come from early December, when tickets for the concert also go on sale at the time of the Sydney NYE2024 media launch.

The City Of Sydney has awarded Foti International Fireworks the contract to provide the fireworks for Sydney New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2024 & 2025 with 2 two-year options to extend beyond those editions to up to & including NYE2029.

The decision was made unanimously at a City Of Sydney Corporate, Finance, Properties & Tenders Committee meeting on Monday the 14th of August 2023, where they also resolved to delegate the authority to finalise, execute & administer the contracts to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Monica Barone, before being finalised, also unanimously, at a City Of Sydney Council meeting on Monday the 21st of August 2023.

As part of the tender process for this contract, respondents had to provide information on initiatives to continue reducing the event’s environmental impact. This information will assist the City in analysing and reporting against the environmental performance of the event. After each edition of Sydney NYE, the CEO will provide an update to Councillors on the just completed edition’s environmental performance.

There were 2 respondents to the tender: Foti International Fireworks & Howard and Sons Pyrotechnics.

During the Corporate, Finance, Properties & Tenders Committee meeting on Monday the 14th of August 2023, the Deputy Lord Mayor at the time, Greens Councillor, Sylvie Ellsmore, revealed the City Of Sydney had considered a drone show over “8 sites” but this was deemed currently not viable when it was revealed to Councillors in a briefing they were given by their Council staff a week earlier.

The City Life Director, Emma Rigney, also revealed at that meeting that the contract is designed to be 2 years with 2 two-year optional extensions in case of any environmental improvements or alternatives arising out of the Big Creative Ideas initiative that was launched last year.

The contract was signed on Monday the 13th of November 2023 & is worth AUD$7,804,000 or AUD$1,300,666.7 per edition.

After the not the well thought out combined pyrotechnics & barges and tugs tender failed, the tender was split back into 2 portions for NYE2024-2029. The pyrotechnics was handled as above while the barges & tugs tender will now be advertised now a long-term pyrotechnic contract has been signed.