The big, bright, light festival of Sydney is back and it’s better than ever. After a three-year hiatus, VIVID finally returned last week; and it is ready to wow you.
With light walks from Central Station to Sydney Opera House, music shows, inspiring speakers, bustling night markets and more. All ready to entertain you and celebrate our beautiful, vibrant city.
With so much going on, it can be daunting. And that’s why we thought we’d give a quick guide to this year’s festival. This has tips and suggestions about what’s on and the best way to see it all.
Where are the lights?
Yes, there is a big focus on Circular Quay and the harbour, and of course you’ll want to see it. But there are also quite a few other displays around the city and they are well worth your time. These are:
- Circular Quay and Sydney Opera House
- Sydney CBD and surrounds
- The Rocks
- Barangaroo
- Carriageworks
- University of Technology (UTS)
- Walsh Bay Art Precinct
- Darling Harbour
- Darling Square
- Darling Quarter
- The Goods Line
- Central Station
- Luna Park
- Taronga Zoo
If you’d like to know more about these locations, head to the official VIVID Sydney website to find out more.
Enhance your VIVID Sydney experience
If you’d like to know more about each installation there’s a hand audio guide. It’s called Cinewav and it’s free to download. If you do so before you leave for the night, you can select which projection you’re off to see and the audio download. Then, when you’re there, all you to do is put your headphones in and press play.
Sign up to My VIVID
To find what you’re looking for you can sign up to My VIVID. This will help you discover the shows, music performances, live talks and light installations that best suit your interests. You can set your preferences which will customise your homepage, add events to your planner and stay up to date with what’s going on.
Plan your experience
Whether you’re planning on going a few times, or just the once, it’s important to plan ahead. The crowds can get a little crazy so, if you can, try to go on a weekday rather than at the weekend. Definitely choose public transport over driving in, as road closures and sheer volume of traffic can make the roads a little slow. And, if you can, try to focus on a few zones per night. This will allow you to see as much of it as you can, especially the zones you are really interested in.
When you are planning which zones you want to see, don’t just focus on the main harbour. Some of the highlighted installations will be in the seemingly less obvious areas like Barangaroo or Taronga Zoo.
Keeping kids safe
If you have young kids with you, it can be daunting to take them in big crowds. Every medical post has special wristbands you can write your name and number on in case they get lost. There are also volunteers stationed all around, so point them out to your children and let them know to approach them if they can’t find you — they’ll be the ones in the bright pink jackets.
It’s a really special event and one that the whole family can enjoy. So, plan ahead and have a fantastic time at VIVID Sydney 2022.