Whether or not you’ve been to the land Down Under, nothing can beat the unique touch that Vivid Sydney, the largest 23 day festival of light, music and ideas in the world, brings to one of its largest cities in Australia.
Named Australia’s Best Tourism Event for three consecutive years, Vivid Sydney is a festival that combines the best of art, music, technology and commerce together, and is touted as one of the best festivals to be experienced in Australia. It will go on from May 27 to June 18.
The three main happenings of the festival are Vivid Light, Vivid Music, and Vivid Ideas, all of which celebrate Sydney as a creative hub of the Asia-Pacific.
Vivid Light will be bringing with it larger-than-life light sculptures that transform Sydney into a night time wonderland. Tourists can expect to be wowed at the magnificent installations and projections that will be illuminating the likes of Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Walsh Bay, Martin Place and precincts including Taronga Zoo.
Vivid Music features a celebration of soundscapes through edgy musical collaborations, dance parties and headline acts that will be held at more than 22 live music venues including Carriageworks at Eveleigh and Vivid Live at the Sydney Opera House.
Vivid Ideas, on the other hand, will bring together thought and community leaders to share their ideas through a series of stimulating public talks, industry seminars, conferences, workshops and debates.
Here are some sneak previews of what to anticipate at the festival:
Customs House
Watch the fantastical wonders of Sydney’s Hidden Stories come to life at the Customs House. Artist impression by Spinifex
The grand sandstone facade of Customs House at Circular Quay is the setting for a mesmerising light-art extravaganza using the latest in 3D-mapped building projections. The fantastical wonders of Sydney’s Hidden Stories come to life with an adventurous blue-tongue lizard leading the way through landscapes inhabited by witches and wizards, gnomes and cockatoos.
Darling Harbour
The Laser-Dragon Water Theatre is a water-screen mounted on a 13m robotic arm. Artist impression by The Pulse
Darling Harbour will see the next astonishing and technologically-advanced incarnation of the much-loved multimedia water theatre. This light show features four video-projected water-screens, forty 20m-high vertical fountains, sixteen 25m-high moving fountains, twenty-two 15m-high flame jets, and 10 powerful lasers. The Laser-Dragon Water Theatre will introduce a world-first: a water-screen mounted on a 13m robotic arm. Floating high above 56 fountains, arranged in snake-like coils, this moving water-screen assumes many forms, from ferocious dragons to the characters of commedia dell’arte.
Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb
The summit of the bridge promises you spectacular, breathtaking views. Photo: Destination NSW
Standing a proud 134m above Sydney Harbour, the summit of the bridge promises you spectacular, breathtaking views. Don flashing light vests and enjoy music on illuminated multi-coloured dance floor while watching Sydney transform before your eyes from the summit.
Taronga Zoo
Be the Light for the Wild will feature ten critical species from Australia and Sumatra. Artist impression by Ample Projects
Vivid’s wildest precinct will light up with an illuminated trail comprised of giant animal multimedia light sculptures at Taronga Zoo, which is also celebrating its centenary in 2016. Be the Light for the Wild will feature 10 critical species from Australia and Sumatra, ranging from the magnificent Asian elephant to the brightly coloured Corroboree frogs, species that Taronga is committed to protecting. With interactive lighting, sound effects and moving parts, these giant light sculptures will be among the largest and most technologically advanced lanterns ever to be featured in Vivid Sydney.
This article is brought to you by Malaysia Airlines.
