Vivid Sydney ’19

Bright lights, immaculate art pieces, colorful cruises…find it all during Vivid Sydney.

Vivid Sydney is night-time annual event that has been occurring in Sydney, Australia for 10 years now. The event takes place for about three weeks during May and June, transforming the city into a glowing art piece. It is truly remarkable and takes weeks to set up. Sydney’s harbours and landmarks are lit up in ways that make your heart skip a beat.

Australians proudly mention that many different people from across the country and even the world travel to Sydney just to view the exhibition of lights. The entire city does participate, but the main attractions lie on the bay areas of Sydney. Locations of these array of lights include Barangoo, Carriageworks, Chatswood, Circular Quay, City Recital Hall, Darling Harbour, Harbour Lights, Luna Park, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo, The Rocks, and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

As you can sense, there’s more than plenty to experience during the event. The festival embodied the beauty of art and music, combining them to enrich people with a beautiful mix of emotions. One of the best things about the festival is that it is a family event, children that attended the event were mesmerized by the sculptures emitting colors from specific musical sounds. Adults took in the beauty that could only be created by a team of creatives with a rainbow of imagination.

Some exhibits allowed visitors to take control and experience what it was like to create art pieces themselves. This helped let your imagination run wild. A touch of a round grey circle emitted a miraculous array of colors that ranged up a stem, lighting up the flower, and finalizing it with a perfect, beautiful melody only a magical flower can bestow upon you!

The real beauty is seen when you take your time walking through each section. When you observe the work that was done, you realize the true beauty that lies within the minds of the creators. The wild patterns and odd monuments almost serve as inspiration for you to branch out of your own comfort zone and do something daring.

While there I decided to partake in a Vivid Sydney Harbour Cruise. There are a number of these going on that include different routes and packages. The one we took was an hour ride in Sydney Harbour, costing $20 AUD. On board we were given a burger, along with a drink. The cruise was fun when experienced with friends and was a cool way to check out locations like Luna Park, that resides on the other side of Sydney Harbour. Although, it’s only worth it if you plan on standing outside on the deck. Inside, the music wasn’t that good and you couldn’t see much from the fogged windows. I tried to stay outside as much as possible, but keep in mind the weather there during this time is freezing, adding being on the harbour, it wasn’t easy standing out on the deck.

The exhibits look so much more beautiful when seen from up close. If you’re a tourists during this event, don’t waste your money on the cruise. I recommend going and walking around every area that Vivid Sydney covers. It’s free to roam around on your own and much more exciting.

If your stomach starts to rumble during your venture through Vivid Sydney, there are plenty of food options throughout your journey. There are food trucks parked in several spots around the event and many restaurants open for business. The food is delicious and very diverse. A lot of the meals are also fresh and warm which help with the chilly weather.

Be sure to check out concerts and other themed events happening during this time. Down in Darling Harbour was a glow-in-the-dark dessert bar. The Rocks featured a beautiful Pixar presentation that was projected onto the bottom of a concrete bridge. There was an Electric Playground in Circular Quay that had you reminiscing your childhood adolescence. You never know what you’ll find when being lead through the dark by these lights.

My absolute favorite part of Vivid Sydney was, of course, the projection on the Opera House. Being in Sydney, every time I saw the Opera House my heart would begin to beat faster, I would slow down in pace, and just smile. Seeing that never got boring. Usually, it was the highlight of my day. Now, imagine seeing these beautiful images of what looked like sea life dancing in the waves, accompanied by a magnificent sound of classical music. It was a site that will stay imprinted in my memory until the day I die. I could have sat and appreciated that for hours on end. It was magnificent.

Vivid Sydney was something like I had never seen before and I was so fortunate I was able to experience it while I was there. If you’re planning a trip to visit Australia, try to plan around Vivid Sydney. Trust me, you will not regret it. It’s a unique way to see Australia express itself in the most beautiful form of art.