Vivid Sydney

Vivid Sydney is an annual celebration of creativity, innovation, and technology that transforms Sydney for 23 days and nights. In 2024, for its 14th year, Vivid Sydney will fuse art, innovation, and technology in collaboration with some of our time’s most boundary-pushing artists, musicians, thinkers, and culinary experts.

Mark the dates 24 May – 15 June 2024 in your calendar and explore the Light, Music, Ideas and Food program, united by this year’s artistic direction, “Vivid Sydney, Humanity”.

Immerse yourself in thought-provoking experiences and heartfelt discussions led by inspiring minds and free-thinkers addressing the big questions. We’ll also indulge your palate with pop-up markets and dining experiences that pay homage to the rich diversity of our community through delectable culinary delights.

Just some of the many major festival highlights include:

SYNTHONY

Get ready for an unforgettable experience that combines the energy of electronic dance anthems with the grandeur of a live orchestra as SYNTHONY, the biggest orchestrated dance party in Australia, heads to Carriageworks as part of the Vivid Music program.

Bringing together a 29-piece orchestra with spine-tingling vocalists, instrumentalists and leading DJs, SYNTHONY will perform some of the most iconic electronic dance anthems of the last 30 years – all accompanied by breathtaking lighting and visuals.

SYNTHONY reimagines legendary tracks from artists like Avicii, Calvin Harris, and Eric Prydz in ways you’ve never heard before. With new set lists curated annually, each SYNTHONY show promises a fresh and exciting experience, blending nostalgic classics with cutting-edge sounds.

A truly immersive experience, SYNTHONY will take audiences on a journey of the most memorable electronic tracks that are embedded in your subconscious.

A New Normal

Convert an old petrol car into a solar-powered ‘forever car’, see how leftover food can heat a sauna, or use furniture made from rubbish. This immersive, interactive building takeover is a slice of what life could look like in the not-so-distant future, and it’s bright.

Part gallery, part pavilion, part meeting place, this is an optimistic vision of a more sustainable, self-sufficient Sydney.

A New Normal is a future prototype hub at the heart of the Vivid Sydney action. Here, all ages are invited to connect with projects that will be built in the near future by some of Sydney’s leading minds in architecture, engineering, design and culture.

See concepts like circularity, zero waste, renewable energy and unlimited water translated into tangible designs and applications. Discover how these important topics are translated into practical projects across greater Sydney to speed up our transition to a greener future.

It’s time to imagine a better, more connected future for the planet and ourselves. This could be our new normal.

Lightscape

Re-imagined for 2024, this globally renowned multisensory phenomenon of light, colour and sound changes every year.

Experience the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney in a new light, with breathtaking light works created by acclaimed local and international artists. Wander beneath towering tree canopies illuminated in colour, stroll beneath larger-than-life flowers and through dynamic, glowing tunnels. Discover moments of wonder to share with everyone around you.

Additionally, here are just some of the many Light Walk Highlights (please refer to the image gallery below for pictures of each):

Hika Rakuyo

Reflective dark water, brilliant lasers and projections, Japanese philosophy – see Cockle Bay in a new light.

This spectacular artwork is a celebration of Hika Rakuyo, a Japanese concept that uses flowers and falling leaves as a metaphor for the transient beauty of life. Told through an eight-minute holographic light and laser show, admire the story of native Australian flowers blooming across the dark water of the bay.

Hika Rakuyo is an eight-minute spectacular that is on repeat from 6pm, with the final show at approximately 10:45pm.

Lighting of the Sails: Echo by Julia Gutman

Denim, hessian, a stitched and bunched patchwork of scrap material – fabric becomes our reality as we’re led into the shadowy world of Narcissus. As we wade through the textural folds of the story, we’re left to question what it means to truly see yourself.

Watch as the iconic sails of Sydney Opera House are wrapped in swaths of Julia Gutman’s textural work for Lighting of the Sails: Echo and see Roman poet Ovid’s myth of Narcissus afresh. Not only is this an old story made new, but it’s also a collision of bygone craft and modern technology. By digitising centuries-old fabric-making techniques, Julia and Pleasant Company have transformed donated textiles into an animated, pertinent epic.

Global Rainbow

Global Rainbow is a beacon of hope, inclusivity, and a guiding light above the Vivid Sydney festivities.

A spectrum of light reaches out from the Sydney Tower Eye, extending the footprint of the Vivid Sydney Light Walk into the night sky for all to see.

Beams of rainbow lasers fan out from the iconic Sydney Tower Eye for up to 40km, uniting us all with Vivid Sydney.

Sea, Sand and Stars

Breathe-taking. Whimsical. Profound. Plunge into Guan Wei’s visionary world at the MCA, as his signature iconography illuminates the night. This is the first time the globally celebrated Chinese Australian artist’s work has been transformed into a light projection, and the results are spectacular.

Journey from deep space, the ocean’s depths, to a busy day in the life of Bondi Beach as this stunning light projection illustrates the seamless connection between the macro and the micro, the mystical and the everyday.

Witness as stars fall, oceans ripple, and fantastical creatures soar across the MCA’s facade. Sea, Sand, and Stars blend the every day with the extraordinary in a unique exploration of what it means to be human.

Gumscape with Road and Creatures

The classic Aussie road trip turned on its head. Delve into this wild and surreal world as you journey from the familiar to the micro world of bacterial monsters.

Hit the road with national icon Reg Mombassa as retro-futuristic robots, one-eyed koalas, and other strange creatures take over Customs House. As one of Australia’s most beloved artists, Reg immerses us in an other-worldly journey, presented in his signature style.

Here, nothing is what it seems. A rebel at heart, his playful but biting humour plays with established Australian icons in a strange new light. We are left to question our collective identity and what it means to be human.

Dog Trumpet will perform live and free at Customs House on Saturday, 25 May, at 7:30pm.

Horizon

Enter the Horizon for a hypnotic, full-body experience. Here, trance-like sound and strobing lights play with your spatial perception and offer a glimpse beyond everyday reality.

Light and sound sweep over you as you gaze at a giant screen in the distance. A new vanishing point emerges, and it feels as though anything is possible. Human potential is as limitless as you feel in this moment.

Humanity / Humility

A large, red neon word, Humanity, punctuates the darkness of night at The Goods Line.

The sign flickers as if broken, but upon closer inspection, we see it intentionally but nearly imperceptibly switches between the words ‘Humanity’ and ‘Humility’.

An ever-present backdrop to the Vivid Sydney Fire Kitchen, this simple, bold and humbling message reminds us of our shared humanity in a world bombarded by technology.

General Information

The Vivid Sydney Light Walk is very popular and attracts many people across the 23 nights of the event. Generally, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday public holiday nights attract the largest crowds. Those with young families and strollers should also consider coming to Vivid Sydney on weeknights when visitor numbers are expected to be lower than on weekends, and earlier in the night. Lights On is at 6 pm every night.

All Vivid Sydney locations are easily accessible by public transport, and additional services will run throughout the festival. With major road closures and parking restrictions, public transport is the best travel method. Make sure you have a valid Opal card and top it up online before you travel to avoid queues at top-up machines. You can also use a contactless major debit, credit card or linked device to tap on and off transport services.

Buses and light rail services in the city will be affected, and different stops will be used while roads are closed for the event. Remember that ferries are a popular way to travel during Vivid Sydney and typically reach capacity on weekends, so plan a backup option.

Major road closures and parking restrictions will occur from 5pm each evening, and most roads will remain closed until 1am. Motorists are encouraged to avoid travel into the CBD and to expect delays as traffic will be heavy on detour routes.

Vivid Sydney runs day and night, and the projections and Lights On run between 6pm and 11pm. The best places to view the Vivid Light show are from the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, Bradfield Park and Darling Harbour.

While we have mentioned some of the most popular event highlights above, so many events are being held during the 23-day festival that it’s impossible to mention them all here. Please check out the official website’s event program for full information on each event, dates, times, venues and entry prices.