Vivid Sydney: So much more than just a lightshow!

Vivid Sydney is in town and no one in Sydney should miss it! Well it’s on for almost a whole month and attracts an ocean of tourists, so unless you live under a rock, chances are slim that a Sydneysider would not know about it.

We decided to go on a weekday after work thinking the crowd would be less and queues smaller, and as it turned out, it was quite a smart move indeed! Well, the place was definitely not deserted but at least we did not have to elbow people and jostle for space as we made our way from one installation to another!

Our plan to see Vivid Sydney consisted of two parts. We decided to head to the smaller harbour-side installations first, as we had reservations for a Vivid Sydney cruise later in the evening. There were many Vivid cruise deals available and we decided to go for a Vivid dinner cruise,as it would save us the time of having dinner later.

We headed straight to ‘Eyes on the Harbour’ as that was one of the most talked-about Vivid Sydney installations where a smart camera scans your face and then projects it onto a big screen above Darling Harbour. You can select filters like you do on your phone to decide your final look. As cheesy as it was, we all took great pleasure in seeing our faces light up Darling Harbour! Next on the itinerary was to head to the Royal Botanical Garden to see ‘Synthesis’, which portrayed how a tree sustains itself giving and taking from Earth. It looked like one of the trees in Avatar, glowing in many colours. 

‘Sydney’s Hidden Stories’ was also an interesting exhibit that primarily holds great appeal for children, but that didn’t stop us adults from dropping our jaws in amazement once in a while. It featured the exploits of a lizard leading you through a fairytale land of witches, gnomes and other creatures. ‘The Matter of Painting’ used the Museum of Contemporary Art building as its canvas to project images onto its walls. We couldn’t get tickets to go for ‘Drone 100’, a synchronised performance to music by hundred drones over Sydney Harbour. That would have been a visual treat, but sadly had to give it a miss.

By then, it was time for our Vivid Sydney special dinner cruise out on the harbour. A Vivid cruise on Sydney Harbour is a great way to get good views of the Opera House and see ‘Lighting the Sails’. The famous sails of the Opera House transformedinto an animated canvas of Australian indigenous art, the theme for this year. The Harbour Bridge, another icon of the city was outdone by the Opera House but still put up a decent show with the pylons changing colours of many hues. The food and drinks aboard the Vivid dinner cruise were perfect accompaniments for the evening, further sweetening the experience.

The final place to check in before calling it quits to our Vivid day was the ‘Memory frame’, a giant photo frame set against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour. We got our pictures clicked, souvenirs to keep forever to remember this day by, in case our memory ever failed us. From harbour installations to the Vivid dinner cruise to the Opera House, Vivid Sydney 2016 has lived up to expectations. Can’t wait to see what the next edition has in store!

Vivid Sydney 2017 Installations at the Royal Botanic Garden

Vivid Sydney 2017 is almost upon us and it’s time to book your Vivid Sydney cruise tickets. Some of the installations for this year are already on the official website of Vivid Sydney so plan your cruises and visits accordingly. This year’s Vivid installations look to increase the user interaction with the visitors thus making it more interesting.

The Royal Botanical Garden has a few installations this year with the obvious nature-centric theme, but these concepts are visually and thematically mind-blowing!Plan your evening in such way that you visit these fantastic works of art at the Botanic Gardens before heading down to the harbour for your Vivid Sydney cruise that treats you to the visual extravaganza on the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge & the other harbour precincts.

‘Spreading Life’tries to capture the experience of blowing on a dandelion and letting the seeds float and glide through the air resulting in the spreading of new life. It shows the passage of nature, as a flower slowly dies for others to be born.

This installation reminds us of a simple but beautiful action like blowing a dandelion which in turn represents dreams and desires.

‘The Big Red Button’ is another installation at the Botanical Garden which shows an attractive green plant and a visibly placed red button with a sign that reads ‘DO NOT PRESS’. But people will always do what they are told not to do and if you end up pressing the button, the plant bursts into flames gradually turning into charred and smoky remains. At the next press of the button, things get back to normal where the bush starts sprouting tiny leaves and gradually grows back to its full glory again.

The visitors are made aware of the impact that humans have on the environment and the fact that it is in our hands to decide whether it should be a positive or negative impact.

‘Immersion’ delves into the sensory exploration of the colour red. Our senses and brain are most stimulated when exposed to shades of red as it is the colour of extremes. Some find red powerful, exciting and of good fortune. Others see it as the symbol of fear, blood and a warning of danger.

The dual nature of red is brought out through this installation and the different effects it will have on the visitors.

‘The Sunflowers’, as the names suggest, are a row of potted sunflowers that greet each visitor with a gentle bow while imparting the message of harnessing solar energy for a sustainable future. Solar panels store energy from the sun throughout the day and this energy is then used to light up the LEDs of the sunflowers and also to power the bowing movements.

Visitors to this installation are made aware of the importance of solar energy and the part it plays in leading the world towards a sustainable future.

‘Waratah’ pays tribute to the iconic flowering plant that is native to Australia. The floral emblem of the state of New South Wales, Waratah is a difficult plant to grow, but once it thrives, it blooms majestically. The installation shows the beauty of this native flower and how it reacts to its immediate environment. Responding to sound, movement and direct contact, the installation comes to life with an explosion of light or change in light patterns.



Through ‘Waratah’, visitors are made aware of the fact that plants can also respond emotionally to different stimuli like humans and can sense changes in their environment. It also vividly showsthe unseen relationship that exists between humans and plants.

Vivid Sydney on The Rocks

When Vivid Sydney is in town the city lights up, welcoming all to its many installations scattered around the place. Spread over the city, Vivid Sydney encourages you to explore Sydney and discover its hidden treasures. Head to the Rocks to enjoy Vivid Sydney and embrace the rich history of the city. Have one on the rocks from Sydney’s oldest pubs for some liquid courage before exploring the cobbled streets of the Rocks, enjoying the history of the place while keeping an eye out for Vivid Sydney installations.

They wouldn’t be hard to miss especially at night with the installations lit up in their finest glory. With its close proximity to the harbour, you wouldn’t miss any of the action happening out there as well. Get one of the best views of the Opera House as it is illuminated in all its Vivid glory. Watch and marvel at the visual imagery as the sails of the Opera House transform to a kaleidoscope of colours and images, putting up a show on its own. Also catch the Harbour lights parade in which ships and vivid dinner cruise vessels partcipate, all lighted up in different shades making the harbour a bright and colourful place.

Explore the rich history of the Rocks while munching on some bikkies or sipping some refreshments. The birthplace of modern Sydney, this is where the great city began in 1788 with the arrival of the first convict ship. The beginnings were rough,but now the Rocks is one of Sydney’s prime locations and still retains an old-world charm making it a very appealing Vivid Lights Festival venue.

There is lots more to see around the place if you want a change from Vivid Sydney. Sydney Observatory is one of the sights to not miss and a night tour is a must. View the stars, planets and other celestial bodies through a telescope and marvel at these natural beauties. There are many Aboriginal art galleries to visit if the art bug bites you. And if old buildings and architecture are your thing, there are numerous preserved structures of yore still maintained as heritage sites that’s worth a visit. 

You also won’t go hungry while exploring the Rocks. There are lots of eateries around the Rocks serving delicious food from around the world. With a mix of different cultures, you get almost every major world cuisine here from Italian to Thai to Indian. Souvenir and bargain hunters will also find the place a happy hunting ground as you can spot bargains from traditional Aboriginal art to fine Australian opals.

So head to the Rocks this Vivid Sydney as you wouldn’t miss out on anything. And more importantly have a good time with friends and family as there are activities galore to suit people with diverse interests. After a Vivid Sydney Cruise, this might be the next best place for a get-together withfriends and family to experience this brilliant light festival and create lasting memories!

Vivid Cruises

Explore Sydney at its ‘Vivid’ Best

It seems the sun never sets in the Harbour City! Sydney has something in store for every season, making sure that there is no dull time of the year to complain about! After such a resounding New Year’s Eve celebration, complete with fireworks, parades and many harbour events, you’d think the city is done with events. And, that’s when you hear about Vivid Sydney!

Vivid Sydney showcases Australia’s culture and heritage in an all new state-of-the-art-way. It’s a celebration of light, music and ideas. There are many installations that interact with the visitors making the experience memorable and interesting. This is probably why more than 2.3 million visitors are drawn to Sydney during the Vivid Sydney Lights Festival.

A visual extravaganza like no other, the artists use lights to convey thoughts and ideas to the visitors. The Sydney Opera House is a key partner in the visual element with its iconic sails acting as a canvas for projecting thematic light installations. Another major Vivid Sydney partner is the Harbour Lights exhibition where the Harbour Bridge is lit up brilliantly in colours of many hues. Many Vivid cruise vessels that operate Vivid dinner cruises on Sydney Harbour take part in the Harbour Lights exhibition, making it nothing short of a spectacle. Vivid Sydney is not just a visual statement, but also a showcase of technological prowess where creativity knows no bounds.

The whole city comes alive during the Vivid Sydney festival, though, a major display of installations and Vivid events happen in and around the harbour. So, the best views can be enjoyed from one of the many Vivid Sydneycruises on Sydney Harbour. You can get good Vivid cruise deals ranging from sightseeing cruises to dinner cruises giving you excellent value-for-money options, making a Vivid Harbour cruise your best bet for a complete Vivid experience!

Last year’s installations spread across the harbour conveying interesting messages were stunning to say the least. The Fountain, a light sculpture that showed the global birth rate as ‘human water droplets’ that shoot skyward, land on their feet to walk into the distance, was extremely thought-provoking. Heart of the City was an installation where the viewer is made to sit on a beanbag that glows red to the heartbeat of the person. It was a hugely popular installation mainly due to its immersive nature and interactivity with the visitors.

Musical cubes was another popular one where a computer program would calculate the music tune based on the placement of cubes on a table. ‘I Love You’ was a rather cheesy exhibit, but nonetheless an attractive one, where a heart is a giant love-o-meter that fills up depending on how vociferously you declare your love.

Vivid Sydney can be a modern version of many traditional displays of art and culture. The way it moulds in light which can be seen as art, music and ideas makes it a multi-faceted platform that is turning out to be one of global significance. It has evolved into a portal through which a large crowd can be influenced and exposed to new ideas and thoughts. Let’s see what Vivid Sydney 2017 has in store for us!