He was 67.
Originally a musician in a shock rock band, Jimmy and the Boys, Jones went on to become a prolific event director, helming some of Sydney’s biggest events.
Jones was the creative director of Vivid Sydney from 2011 to 2019, during which time the event grew massively.
He directed the Sydney New Year’s Eve Celebrations from 1996 to 2002 – including those which rung in the new millennium. For the Sydney Olympics, he directed a segment of the opening ceremony and directed the Harbour Spectacular Closing Ceremony, which was the biggest fireworks display in the world at that time.
During his time with Vivid Sydney, he was also the artistic director for Sydney Mardi Gras from 2011 to 2015.
Internationally, he worked on the ceremonies for the Doha 2006 Asian Games, the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 and the ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
Jones became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2018 Australia Day Honours for his contribution to entertainment.
He was also recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Australian Event Awards in 2017.
“I feel like I do have half of my lifetime here in this room,” he said in his acceptance speech at the Australian Event Awards ceremony.
“I’ve been working with all of you for so long and I think we’ve been having a lot of fun.”
