Vivid flips the switch on Sydney in first-night spectacular
The Sydney CBD lit up for the first night of the annual Vivid festival on Friday night.
More than three million people are expected to hit the streets over the 23-day event, taking in over 40 installations and projections spread across the Harbour City.
This year's theme is Dream – a vision of light, harmony and a future in balance.
'In 2025, Vivid Sydney invites you to dream big,' the official website reads.
'To go to the outer reaches of your mind, to think differently, without boundaries or preconceptions and to immerse yourself in new experiences and ideas.
'We want you to dream with the lights on, to daydream, to dream without boundaries, to soar.'
Celebrations kicked off on Friday evening by First Light, a special welcome ceremony featuring Indigenous Australian dancers from NAISDA.
Dancers in traditional wear, illuminated by bursts of fire and colourful lighting, brought Campbells Cove at The Rocks to life, followed by a free concert celebrating First Nations pride.
Hosted by rapper Ziggy Ramo, visitors were invited to celebrate the next generation of Indigenous artists such as DJ Rona, Kaiit and Jeremy Whiskey in a one-night-only music extravaganza.
One of Vivid's most highly-anticipated centrepieces is the lighting of the Opera House Sails.
This year, it will display the works of David McDiarmid in Lighting of the Sails: Kiss of Light on the 30th anniversary of the artists death.
The projections will act as a 'rallying cry for equality, inclusion and freedom', the festival organisers said, through a colourful and quirky lens – including slides of moving tiled shapes, rainbows and a green eyeball.
Circular Quay is not the only spot to get in on the action.
The festival will be split into five zones, including The Rocks, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, The Goods Line and inner city and, for the first time since 2018, Martin Place.
Things look a little different this year with Vivid deciding to scrap its drone show and make its famous light walk free.
Destination NSW confirmed the decision to scrap the drone show, which has been part of the festival since 2021, in March citing safety concerns.
It was thought the spectacle would bring in too many people and create dangerous conditions after crows were stuck in a bottleneck while trying to leave the western side of Circular Quay last year.
Meanwhile, the light walk – which previously set festival-goers back $30 – will now be free as this year's festival aims to be as 'budget-friendly' as possible.
'We are all feeling the pinch in terms of the economy and cost-of-living crisis,' Festival director Gill Minervini said.
'I really wanted Vivid to respond to that. My job as director is to renovate and refresh the festival every year.
'We want audiences to come back time after time, and not think, 'Oh, it's the same old Vivid'. We want to keep everyone guessing.'
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Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The dancing may be a bit cringe, but Katy Perry can still put on an electric show
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The Advertiser
3 days ago
- The Advertiser
Museum lights up with Cerith Wyn Evans neon sculptures
As the Vivid festival lights up Sydney, the city's contemporary art museum is also illuminated, with the neon glow of artworks by Cerith Wyn Evans. The Welsh artist has exhibited worldwide and the Museum of Contemporary Art's winter exhibition represents his first major solo show in Australia. The show, Cerith Wyn Evans ... in light of the visible, looks back at the last 15 years of the artist's work, his installations filling the gallery with both light and sound. The exhibition has been conceived as if the visitor is strolling through a garden, with potted palms on rotating platforms across the gallery. One standout is the 2020 artwork F=O=U=N=T=A=I=N, a wall of white neon Japanese script measuring three metres high and ten metres wide, with an archway for gallery-goers to walk through. It's installed near an earlier work, 2018's Composition for 37 Flutes, in which air is drawn through 37 glass pipes, periodically breathing sound into the luminous space. 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It's all inspired by the artist's deep interests in music, history, literature and philosophy, exploring ideas such as space, time and perception. Despite his global reputation, at a media preview Wednesday Evans did not appear entirely comfortable being the centre of attention. "I feel vulnerable because I'm on display, and that makes me feel sensitive, so that's where it comes from," he said. AAP travelled to Sydney with the assistance of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. As the Vivid festival lights up Sydney, the city's contemporary art museum is also illuminated, with the neon glow of artworks by Cerith Wyn Evans. The Welsh artist has exhibited worldwide and the Museum of Contemporary Art's winter exhibition represents his first major solo show in Australia. The show, Cerith Wyn Evans ... in light of the visible, looks back at the last 15 years of the artist's work, his installations filling the gallery with both light and sound. The exhibition has been conceived as if the visitor is strolling through a garden, with potted palms on rotating platforms across the gallery. One standout is the 2020 artwork F=O=U=N=T=A=I=N, a wall of white neon Japanese script measuring three metres high and ten metres wide, with an archway for gallery-goers to walk through. It's installed near an earlier work, 2018's Composition for 37 Flutes, in which air is drawn through 37 glass pipes, periodically breathing sound into the luminous space. Evans has spent weeks in Australia working on the installation of dozens of delicate artworks like these, including site-specific new works made in response to Sydney's winter light. Of these, the biggest is Sydney Drift (2025) which fills a whole room with neon scribbles installed across three dimensions - from circles of various sizes to parabolas and dramatic straight lines. Mirrors installed on columns also amplify the artworks into entire scenes of luminosity. "People have just been extraordinarily kind to me in Australia, and I can really pick up on people's generosity and their capacity for poetry," said Evans. But what does it all mean? Unlike most exhibitions, there are no curatorial explanations telling people the answers - these tiny plaques are something the artist hates. "People need to walk in there and just feel their gut reaction to what the hell is going on," he said. It's all inspired by the artist's deep interests in music, history, literature and philosophy, exploring ideas such as space, time and perception. Despite his global reputation, at a media preview Wednesday Evans did not appear entirely comfortable being the centre of attention. "I feel vulnerable because I'm on display, and that makes me feel sensitive, so that's where it comes from," he said. AAP travelled to Sydney with the assistance of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. As the Vivid festival lights up Sydney, the city's contemporary art museum is also illuminated, with the neon glow of artworks by Cerith Wyn Evans. The Welsh artist has exhibited worldwide and the Museum of Contemporary Art's winter exhibition represents his first major solo show in Australia. The show, Cerith Wyn Evans ... in light of the visible, looks back at the last 15 years of the artist's work, his installations filling the gallery with both light and sound. The exhibition has been conceived as if the visitor is strolling through a garden, with potted palms on rotating platforms across the gallery. One standout is the 2020 artwork F=O=U=N=T=A=I=N, a wall of white neon Japanese script measuring three metres high and ten metres wide, with an archway for gallery-goers to walk through. It's installed near an earlier work, 2018's Composition for 37 Flutes, in which air is drawn through 37 glass pipes, periodically breathing sound into the luminous space. Evans has spent weeks in Australia working on the installation of dozens of delicate artworks like these, including site-specific new works made in response to Sydney's winter light. Of these, the biggest is Sydney Drift (2025) which fills a whole room with neon scribbles installed across three dimensions - from circles of various sizes to parabolas and dramatic straight lines. Mirrors installed on columns also amplify the artworks into entire scenes of luminosity. "People have just been extraordinarily kind to me in Australia, and I can really pick up on people's generosity and their capacity for poetry," said Evans. But what does it all mean? Unlike most exhibitions, there are no curatorial explanations telling people the answers - these tiny plaques are something the artist hates. "People need to walk in there and just feel their gut reaction to what the hell is going on," he said. It's all inspired by the artist's deep interests in music, history, literature and philosophy, exploring ideas such as space, time and perception. Despite his global reputation, at a media preview Wednesday Evans did not appear entirely comfortable being the centre of attention. "I feel vulnerable because I'm on display, and that makes me feel sensitive, so that's where it comes from," he said. AAP travelled to Sydney with the assistance of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. As the Vivid festival lights up Sydney, the city's contemporary art museum is also illuminated, with the neon glow of artworks by Cerith Wyn Evans. The Welsh artist has exhibited worldwide and the Museum of Contemporary Art's winter exhibition represents his first major solo show in Australia. The show, Cerith Wyn Evans ... in light of the visible, looks back at the last 15 years of the artist's work, his installations filling the gallery with both light and sound. The exhibition has been conceived as if the visitor is strolling through a garden, with potted palms on rotating platforms across the gallery. One standout is the 2020 artwork F=O=U=N=T=A=I=N, a wall of white neon Japanese script measuring three metres high and ten metres wide, with an archway for gallery-goers to walk through. It's installed near an earlier work, 2018's Composition for 37 Flutes, in which air is drawn through 37 glass pipes, periodically breathing sound into the luminous space. Evans has spent weeks in Australia working on the installation of dozens of delicate artworks like these, including site-specific new works made in response to Sydney's winter light. Of these, the biggest is Sydney Drift (2025) which fills a whole room with neon scribbles installed across three dimensions - from circles of various sizes to parabolas and dramatic straight lines. Mirrors installed on columns also amplify the artworks into entire scenes of luminosity. "People have just been extraordinarily kind to me in Australia, and I can really pick up on people's generosity and their capacity for poetry," said Evans. But what does it all mean? Unlike most exhibitions, there are no curatorial explanations telling people the answers - these tiny plaques are something the artist hates. "People need to walk in there and just feel their gut reaction to what the hell is going on," he said. It's all inspired by the artist's deep interests in music, history, literature and philosophy, exploring ideas such as space, time and perception. Despite his global reputation, at a media preview Wednesday Evans did not appear entirely comfortable being the centre of attention. "I feel vulnerable because I'm on display, and that makes me feel sensitive, so that's where it comes from," he said. AAP travelled to Sydney with the assistance of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Harbour City gains unexpected cheerleader in Melbourne's lord mayor
One immutable fundamental of federation relations that founded the Commonwealth of Australia – state-on-state rivalry – was upended recently when Nick Reece, lord mayor of Melbourne, undertook a whistle-stop tour of Sydney ... and liked it. 'Sydney and Melbourne are the two best cities in the world!' Reece said glowingly of the northern metropolis on a LinkedIn post (but not in an official media release, as far as we could tell). Talk about undermining 124 years of slow burn resentment towards the Harbour City nurtured by our bitter, envious friends to the south. Reece also blew smoke in the direction of some of NSW's most prominent power players (though the state's unofficial premier, Peter V'landys, was missing). NSW Premier Chris Minns was 'a seriously smart guy … he also has an incredible knowledge of rugby league'. But Reece kept it real, musing that Minns might be lucky enough to score an invitation to the AFL Grand Final, which will be a non-event to most Sydneysiders, what with the Swans' season of woe. Loading Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore was a 'legend' who had 'copped a bit over the years' but was someone who deserves 'huge credit for her vision and determination'. He also name-checked Business Sydney's Paul Nicolau and Crown Resorts chairman John Borghetti, and mused that Melbourne had 'much to learn' from the Vivid festival, which should send chills down the spine of our snobbier southern neighbours. Still, Reece managed to straddle a line between enthusiastic guest and Melbourne advocate, ready to heap praise on his hometown. So when meeting hospitality baron Justin Hemmes, he cannily pointed out that while he loved his tour of The Ivy, the billionaire manbun's biggest project was Parkade in Melbourne, the next target of Merivale's imperial ambitions.
