LET THERE BE LIGHT

This year, the festival comprises over 200 events across five unique zones around the city’s CBD, all designed to inspire wonder, expand thinking and give each visitor the opportunity to see Sydney in a new light. Making Vivid Sydney more accessible than ever, over 75 per cent of this year’s program is free to enjoy, including the entire Vivid Light Walk.

Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said, “Vivid Sydney is our city’s living legacy and the world’s focus will once again be on our beautiful Harbour City as it’s transformed into a canvas of innovative light installations, immersive experiences and cutting-edge artistry."

Vivid Sydney 2025 kicked off at Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay for the annual First Light ceremony, featuring performances by NAISDA dancers that honoured Yolngu culture in Arnhem Land. The ceremony culminated as Sydney Harbour burst to life with pyrotechnics, projections and installations illuminating the city’s world-famous buildings and landmarks followed by First Light Live, a free concert honouring the power and pride of First Nations music.

Vivid Sydney 2025 Highlights 

Vivid Light comes to life like never before with exclusively commissioned pieces featuring world-leading animation and projection technologies.  

• The late David McDiarmid’s bold and visionary work is showcased on the Sydney Opera House for Lighting of the Sails, entitled Kiss of Light (2025).
• Vincent Namatjira presents King Dingo on the facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia  
• Fresh from AFC Fashion Week, Sydney’s own Romance Was Born debuts House of Romance on Customs House. 
• New buildings and landmarks illuminated for the first time, including: Admiralty House in Kirribilli, Museum of Sydney, The Bond in Barangaroo, and Challis House in Martin Place. 
• Visitors are invited to interact with installations and 3D projections including voice-activated animation, suspended swings, whimsical seesaws, a tennis match with light, and self-portraits turned into 3D projections by world renowned entertainment studio, Moment Factory. 

Vivid Ideas continues to offer an array of engaging and exclusive experiences designed to push boundaries, inspire awe and entertain.  

• Lifestyle Icon Martha Stewart tells all at her In Conversation event at International Convention Centre Sydney. 
• D.W. Pine, Creative Director of TIME Magazine, delivers the keynote ‘Where Do Ideas Come From?’ 
• Professor Matthew Walker presents ‘Why We Sleep’ to delve into one of the most important but least understood aspects of our lives. 
• Comedy’s coolest couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally present Unscripted and Unfiltered on the closing night of the festival. 
• An evening with Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, National Geographic photographer and New York Times bestselling author, Jimmy Chin in conjunction with Sydney Film Festival. 
• Free Vivid Ideas events include the weekly Firetalk series at Barangaroo Reserve, and Endling, a major new physical theatre work performed by Sydney’s Legs On The Wall. 

Vivid Music amplifies our collective dreams through sound and song, with a specially curated program of artists from around the globe. 

• Tumbalong Nights focuses on free music in diaspora communities and First Nations artists, featuring Winston Surfshirt,Ayesha Madon, V-Pop's Mỹ Anh and Chi Xê, Grammy-winner Dobet Gnahoré, and Korea’s Stella Jang. 
• Oxford Art Factory showcases UK rapping sensations Pete & Bas, Metro Theatre will see local labels Bad Applesand NLV Records celebrate their 10^th anniversaries and City Recital Hall will host German electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream, Soccer Mommyand long weekend dance party,Sound Escape.  
• Vivid Supper Club returns to Mary’s Underground, with a new line-up reflecting contemporary cabaret. 
• Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House boasts over 50 cutting-edge and legendary artists, including Anohni and The Johnsons, Beth Gibbons from Portishead, Sigur Rós with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and indie pop darlings Japanese Breakfast.
• Carriageworks will have performances by techno producer Mall Grab, Sydney based-Papua New Guinean artist Ngaiire, and Byron Bay duo Skegss.  

Vivid Food, in its third year as part of the festival, has never been more enticing.  

• Nigella Lawson will curate three sold out Vivid Sydney Dinners in the recently opened pedestrian tunnel Muru Giligu in Martin Place. 
• Neon Dreams is a roller rink and plant-based American diner in Darling Harbour by Shannon Martinez and Trolley’d. 
• Vivid Fire Kitchen returns to The Goods Line honouring fire and adding a Spice Lounge for 2025, plus Vivid Chef Series will see the world’s most innovative chefs collaborate with dining intuitions Ester and Eleven Barrack. 
• Surry Hills’ Hollywood Quarter will be home to street parties, Foy Lane Lights Up and A Taste of HQ sees Foster Street transforming into an alfresco food festival within a festival. 

 The festival runs until Saturday, 14 June.