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SYDNEY, May 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivid Sydney 2024 has kicked off its 14th year with a spectacular opening night, as the festival transforms Sydney's glittering harbour, iconic landmarks and cityscape with a showcase of creativity and innovation for the next 23 nights.

The Southern Hemisphere's leading multi-artform festival will run from Friday 24 May to Saturday 15 June, featuring the world's most innovative artists, culinary talent, contemporary musicians and thought leaders as part of its 2024 program under the theme of
Humanity.

The 'Lights On' moment wowed onlookers with over 30 light installations and 3D projections across the famed 8km Vivid Sydney Light Walk, highlighted by the Sydney Opera House featuring the breathtaking new digital artwork,
Lighting of the Sails:
Echo (2024) . Created by multidisciplinary Australian artist and 2023 Archibald Prize Winner
Julia Gutman,
with creative technologists
Pleasant Company,
the projection on the Sydney Opera House Sails digitises centuries-old fabric making techniques into an animated, modern epic.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said:

"The bright lights of Vivid Sydney are officially on.

"For the next 3 weeks Sydney will showcase the magical lights, art and fun of Vivid Sydney. There is something for the whole family, so I encourage everyone to come along and make the most of Vivid Sydney this year."

Minister for the Arts, Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, and Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham said:

"Since 2009, Vivid Sydney has been a global platform showcasing our vibrant culture, bustling nightlife and creative talents.

"Going from strength to strength in its 14th
year, Vivid Sydney shows the world our colourful creative side. Vivid Sydney shows the world we have big dreams.

"With the majority of this year's festival being free, we're looking forward to welcoming visitors back again in the millions.

"Tonight, we begin 23 days of Light, 23 days of Music, Ideas and Food. 23 days of shared experiences. For the next 23 days, Sydney will be beautiful by day, Vivid Sydney by night."

Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini said:

"Vivid Sydney is the original festival of light, art and culture, and we're proud to be celebrating its 14th year with an incredible line-up of light, music, ideas and food under 2024's theme of
Humanity.

"It is such a privilege and honour to direct this year's program and we're so excited to bring festival-goers a calibre of Australian and international talent that not only maintains the standard we've set in previous years but takes the program to new heights. Vivid Sydney 2024 is a must-see, and we can't wait to welcome all Australians and global visitors alike for the next 23 nights!"

Staged across the Sydney CBD, Vivid Sydney festival locations and venues include Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, State Library of New South Wales, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, University of Technology Sydney, The Goods Line, Wynyard Tunnels, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Carriageworks, and more.

For more information and tickets visit
vividsydney .

VIVID SYDNEY HIGHLIGHTS

VIVID LIGHT

As the sun goes down each evening during Vivid Sydney, the city will transform with light installations, 3D projection artworks and ticketed events for visitors to immerse themselves in a new world of colour and light across the 8km Vivid Sydney Light Walk.

• Vivid Sydney has again partnered with
  Cinewav , enabling visitors to listen to the soundtracks to select projection artworks wherever they are on the Vivid Sydney Light Walk
• From almost anywhere in the city, visitors will witness a 40km stretch of rainbow lasers emanating from the Sydney Tower, a universal symbol of hope by US artist Yvette Mattern titled
  Global Rainbow
• One of Australia's most-beloved artists, Reg Mombassa will reimagine the classic Aussie road trip on Customs House for
  Gumscape with Road and Creatures
• Celebrated Chinese Australian artist Guan Wei's signature iconography will transform the Museum of Contemporary Art for
  Sea, Sand and Stars
• Nest , a collaboration between Leila Jeffreys
  and Melvin J. Montalban, features a large-scale circular projection at the Stargazer Lawn in Barangaroo, spotlighting the ritualistic mating dance of the brolga and humanity's connection with nature
• Step up to the
  Omnivisu
  view finder in Tumbalong Park, and let your eyes become the literal windows to our city's soul
• Horizon
  from Spanish artists
  Playmodes
  is a hypnotic, full-body experience complete with trance-like sounds and strobing lights at Harbour Park, Barangaroo
• Towering over 15 metres tall,
  PORTAL
  from Lucid Creates frames Barangaroo Headland with a glowing display of light and atmospheric sounds
• The Vivid Sydney 2024 drone show
  Love is in the Air
  will feature more than 700 drones over three separate nights for another fan-favourite Vivid Sydney spectacle over the harbour
• Dark Spectrum: A New Journey
  returns to the Wynyard Tunnels in new and fantastic ways to take us on a journey of light and sound
• The internationally acclaimed multi-sensory experience of light, colour and sound,
  Lightscape, returns to The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

VIVID MUSIC

Vivid Music will ignite the city with a curated program of live performances, concerts and DJ sets across
diverse venues, with something for the whole family, at any age.

• Exclusive to Vivid Sydney,
  Tekno Train by Paul Mac
  is a one-of-a-kind event that will transform a Sydney Trains ride into a moving, sensory sound and light experience
• The
  reimagined 100-year-old substation
  Machine Hall
  will be open to the public for the very first time during Vivid Sydney 2024, pulsating with performances from
  Deerhoof ,
  Jen Cloher ,
  CLUB4A
  and
  No Fixed Address
  
• On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights of the festival,
  Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour will become the Vivid Sydney go-to for free and contemporary music right in the heart of the Light Walk for
  Tumbalong Nights . The 12-night line-up features artists such as
  Christine Anu ,
  Sneaky Sound System, Forest Claudette ,
  Teenage Jones,
  ,
  tiffi ,
  Budjerah ,
  grentperez , and more, plus DJs and kids programming on Saturday nights all free of charge
• Comedy darling Rhys Nicholson
  and ARIA award winning musician
  Georgia Mooney
  will transform Mary's Underground into an intimate cabaret lounge for the
  Vivid Sydney Supper Club
  featuring
  live performances and appearances from
  MO'JU ,
  Don't Thank Me Spank Me ,
  Montaigne ,
  Brendan Maclean ,
  Mark Humphries
  and more each Friday and Saturday from 9pm to 1am
• Diverse and multi-sensory experiences at Carriageworks , with an electrifying line-up including
  Electric Fields ,
  Yves Tumor ,
  Yasiin Bey
  and many more.
• The Vivid LIVE
  at Sydney Opera House
  line-up features more than 40 Australian and international artists.
  Arca ,
  Air ,
  Underworld ,
  Fever Ray ,
  Devonte Hynes ,
  Snoh Alegra ,
  Sky Ferreira ,
  Thelma Plum
  and many more will take to the stages of the world-famous building in a program curated by Sydney Opera House's Head of Contemporary Music
  Ben Marshall

VIVID IDEAS

The Vivid Ideas program sparks curiosity with new ways to experience ideas through the exploration of humanity, community, authenticity, respect, love and lessons learnt from the natural world – with theatre, installations and engaging discussions just the beginning.

• From the football team that united Australia in 2023, Tony Gustavsson , head coach of the CommBank Matildas, and
  Mackenzie Arnold , celebrated CommBank Matildas goalkeeper and captain of West Ham United, will be hosted in an insightful conversation –
  Champions of Change
  - facilitated by Matildas alumni and now journalist Grace Gill at Sydney Town Hall
• Golden Globe® and Emmy Award® winning actress and comedian Amy Poehler
  will step inside the Sydney Opera House for a special and unmissable
  In Conversation
  Ideas event and a special first look at
  Disney and Pixar's
  Inside Out 2
• After The Fact
  will offer opportunities to engage in free weeknight discussions on current affairs with writers, journalists, ex-politicians, social commentators, artists and academics – including
  Annabel Crabb ,
  Rhoda Roberts AO ,
  Kim Williams AM ,
  Lucy Turnbull AO ,
  Charles Firth
  and more
• Unique experiences including A THOUSAND WAYS: An Encounter ,
  Window Dressing
  and
  Shifting Perspectives
  will offer immersive moments to connect with both strangers and ourselves
• The Golden Age of Humanity
  will showcase nine selected films over nine starry nights at Surry Hills' beloved Golden Age Cinema - curated by nine great Australians including
  Amar Singh ,
  Saxon Mullins ,
  Kylie Kwong AM ,
  Kate McClymont AM ,
  Craig Foster AM
  and more

VIVID FOOD

• Vivid Chef Series
  returns to hatted restaurants
  Fred's ,
  AALIA, The Porter House, Firedoor
  and
  The Charles Brasserie & Bar
  as they host unmissable foodie collaborations with Michelin-starred chefs including
  Max Coen ,
  Ivan Brehm ,
  Selassie Atadika ,
  Niklas Ekstedt
  and
  Sally Abé
• Vivid Fire Kitchen
  is also back in 2024 with delectable offerings at its new location on The Goods Line, bringing together the world's hottest culinary concepts, curated drinks
  and cocktails from
  Archie
  Rose
  and
  Starward,
  and entertainment with demonstrations from local and international pitmasters including California-favourite
  Shalamar Lane ,
  Christine Manfield ,
  Mindy Woods ,
  Lennox Hastie ,
  Jess Pryles , and more
• Making its debut at Vivid Sydney 2024, the Messina Milk Bar
  will be an illuminated full-scale pop-up with a menu of gelato-infused chocolate bars, dixie cups, tailor-made milkshakes and spiders from the cult-gelato innovators at Messina
• A Culinary Canvas by Danielle Alvarez
  is set to showcase women in Australian gastronomy at the incredible Yallamundi Rooms at the Sydney Opera House
• Plates with Purpose
  will offer a taste of Ukraine at Kyiv Social, courtesy of head chef, Borys Chernyk who brings over 30 years of experience in Ukrainian fine dining
• Visitors can explore over 20 top chefs and restaurateurs at the VividPlace Food Trail
  or indulge in a bespoke bar snack and cocktail experience at
  Aurorae at Bennelong Bar , offering an incredible view of the lights across Sydney Harbour

VIVID SYDNEY PARTNERS

Vivid Sydney thanks its Partners for their support of Vivid Sydney 2024.

• Kia
  returns as major partner for a third year, presenting two visually immersive activations on the Vivid Sydney Light Walk –
  EV9 "Kia Kinetic"
  at Circular Quay and
  EV5 "Kia Kaleidoscope"
  at Darling Harbour.
• Australian Traffic Network (ATN)
  will partner with Vivid Sydney to deliver the
  Love is in the Air
  drone shows, with three shows on 8, 9 and 15 June planned to wow audiences during the festival.
• Sony Music Entertainment Australia
  returns for a second year and presents two ticketed immersive light events,
  Dark Spectrum: A New Journey , at the Wynyard Tunnels with
  Mandylights
  and
  Culture Creative , and
  Lightscape
  at the
  Royal Botanic Garden Sydney , in collaboration with
  Culture Creative .
• Samsung
  also comes onboard as a Major Partner of Vivid Sydney 2024, presenting
  Chorus of Light , an immersive activation on the Vivid Sydney Light Walk, designed to tap into our desire for connection through the enablement of barrier-free communication, inspired by Samsung Galaxy AI technology.
  
• Airbnb
  is the inaugural Vivid Sydney Community Partner, supporting the Vivid Sydney Volunteer Program.
• Official partner
  Sennheiser
  presents the
  Sennheiser Mirrorbox , an audio experience merging AI analysis, sound design and visual elements to explore the relationship between sound and human identity.
• Estee Lauder
  will partner with Vivid Sydney as an Official Partner, activating during the festival with
  Beauty Sleep , integrating elements of beauty and science.
• Supporting Partners include
  City of Sydney
  and
  Nova 96.9 .
• Supplier partners include
  Cinewav ,
  Event Engineering ,
  Mandylights ,
  Technical Direction Company,
  Transdev
  and
  Kennards Hire .
• Returning for the second year, the Local Business Program Partner is
  Experience Oz Australia .
• Vivid Sydney program partners include
  Carriageworks, Disney ,
  Museum of Contemporary Art
  and
  Sydney Opera House .
• The Vivid Sydney 2024 Charity Partner is
  Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) , which translates to Doctors Without Borders.
  
• Vivid Sydney locations include
  Barangaroo ,
  Darling Harbour ,
  The Rocks ,
  Barangaroo House ,
  Golden Age Cinema ,
  Machine Hall, University of Technology Sydney, State Library of New South Wales ,
  North Sydney Council
  and
  Walsh Bay Arts Precinct .

For more information and to keep updated about the program, go to vividsydney .

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Visit the Vivid Sydney News Room to download the full 2024 Vivid Sydney Lights On content package including a VNR with grabs from Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham, Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini and Vivid Sydney artists, as well as high-res imagery and broadcast-quality b-roll video footage:
.

ABOUT VIVID SYDNEY

Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere's leading multi-artform festival, transforms Sydney into a vibrant hub of creativity, innovation and community connection. Over 23 nights, light installations, music, ideas and food inspire global audiences and drive cultural exchange. The 2024 theme, 'Humanity,' sparks reflection and engagement, attracting visitors and fuelling economic growth. Proudly owned by Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney showcases NSW's cultural vibrancy and positions it as a global leader in artistic innovation.

ABOUT DESTINATION NSW

Destination NSW is the champion and voice for the visitor economy within the NSW Government. Spearheading a whole-of-government approach to visitor economy growth, Destination NSW influences and shapes the visitor economy through strategic research, policy and thought leadership, stakeholder engagement and consultation, commercial partnerships and investment in visitor experiences, business support, marketing and events. Destination NSW is also the major investor in Business Events Sydney (BESydney) for the purpose of securing more international and domestic conventions, incentive travel reward programs, corporate events and exhibitions.

SOURCE Destination NSW

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