Festival of lights, music and ideas.
Vivid Sydney is an annual event that occurs during the winter where bright colourful lights are on display everywhere. This year, Vivid Sydney is on from 24th May - 15th June.
The first place we recommend visiting during the festival is of course the Circular Quay where particularly the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the buildings by are very well lit with many colours.
Visit the official site
The Opera House.
Lights on between 6pm-11pm, enjoy the effects of the colourful lights against the Opera House. Themes from marine, to wildlife, to abstract colours, you'll be in awe of the transformation of this iconic building.
As usual, you can also always go inside and watch the shows on schedule inside the Opera House.
Book a show
The Harbour Bridge.
Unfortunately only one side of it is lit, so make sure to be on the Circular Quay side. However, we do recommend entering Circular Quay from Walsh Bay / Ives Point (the other side of the bridge) as you'll be welcomed by colourful lights and rays that are on display across the tall buildings of the city.
Of course, you can always walk across the bridge or even do the bridge climb if you are an adrenaline junkie!
The buildings of Circular Quay.
The best place to enter the Circular Quay is from the northern side, coming in from Walsh Bay / Dawes Point / Ives Steps. You will definitely be greeted by the well-lit high rise buildings of Circular Quay.
Food trucks by the Rocks.
Where there's a crowd, there's a food truck! And stalls... Walk by the Rocks, which is next to Circular quay, and you will find lots of food options. From crepes, to sausages, BBQ and bubble tea, it will be hard not to get tempted and have a bite.
If you are, however, looking for a nice sit-down restaurant but still be surrounded by these lights, deeper in The Rocks you certainly will find lots of options.
Watch a video in public at the Argyle Cut
Lie down the ground (they do have grass mats) and watch Pixar celebrate 30 years of animation with videos projected against the ceiling of the Argyle Cut. Quite a unique viewing experience!
This is obviously in the Rocks so maybe head here after you've loaded your tummy? :)
The Darling Harbour.
Another great area to enjoy the bright colourful lights of Vivid Sydney is the Darling Harbour. Packed with restaurants, cafes bars and retail shops, this area will not disappoint.
For those who enjoy fireworks, there certainly is a show every Saturday some time between 8:30pm to 9:00pm so make sure to check the signs in the area so you don't miss out on the schedule!
...fan of the Transformers?
This year, the Vivid Sydney team chose to stand up 3 formations taking inspiration from the Transformers movies. One of them is Megatron standing up facing the harbour surrounded with colourful lights. Sounds and music go off along with a show of lights to depict a mini battle against a station in front of him. Worth watching!
or stroll along the Tumbalong Park.
They also set up quite a few stations in the park to show off bright and colourful lights.
