February 21, 2022 | By Bronwen Largier | Image: Vivid Sydney 2019 | Credit: Destination NSW
After two cancelled attempts due to the pandemic, government organisers of major winter festival Vivid Sydney are hoping for third time lucky with the 100-day countdown to the event kicking off last week.
“After a two-year hiatus I am delighted to launch the 100-day countdown for Vivid Sydney 2022, which will be a fantastic celebration of a return to life,” said Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade, Minister for Tourism and Sport and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres, at the unveiling of the event’s countdown clocks on Thursday last week.
“The 2022 program will be the biggest and brightest yet, with many festival-firsts, providing even more reasons for Sydneysiders and visitors from around the country – and all over the world – to immerse themselves in our city at its creative best.
“Vivid Sydney makes a vital social and economic contribution during winter. From our creative industries to entertainment and hospitality venues, accommodation and retailers, it supports the entire ecosystem of the NSW visitor economy.”
The 2022 event will activate new parts of Sydney city, including around Central Station and The Goods Line, which connects Central Station to the Darling Harbour precinct, as well as featuring the longest Light Walk and the largest laser installation of the festival’s history.
Vivid Sydney’s Festival Director, Gill Minervini, who was onboard for the postponed and eventually cancelled 2021 event and has a variety of major event credits under her belt, said the event would deliver fresh experiences for festival attendees.
“Vivid Sydney tells the compelling story of Sydney’s creativity and innovation, shared with a distinctive narrative that resonates around the world. We are innately drawn to Sydney’s urban landscape as a unique canvas, bringing us together to celebrate, reflect and immerse ourselves in this charismatic, surprising and intriguing city,” said Minervini.
“We are proud to have such an impressive collection of Sydney’s most prolific and world-renowned artists involved in the 2022 program. This includes the unmistakable work of Ken Done, delivering the Customs House projection with For Sydney With Love; and Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran’s multi-limbed avatar Earth Deities, enthralling audiences with animated fire and electricity.”
The event will run for 23 nights from May 27, 2022.
In its last outing in 2019, the festival was attended by a record 2.4 million people and injected $172 million into the NSW economy.