The Vivid festival Sydney lights up the night sky a night walk

The Vivid festival enjoy the light walk from the Sydney Opera House to Wash bay and back again

 Another electrifying Sydney free attraction every year the Vivid festival attracts locals and tourist that flock from all corners of the globe to Sydney to enjoy a free fun full festival of Colourful bright lights music artistic sculptures and Installations. It has been five times in five years that artists from all over the world have flicked the switch to show off their amazing ideas with bright lights and creative colour displays. This year people from 6pm each night from late May until early June discovered the night-light walk from the Opera House to Walsh bay along the edge of the water of Circular Quay were, they viewed many artistic light sculptures along the bay. This walk also uncovered breathtaking views of Sydney most treasured icons the harbour bridge the Contemporary art Museum, Customs House and the Opera House. The Opera House one of the main attractions at the Vivid with a continuously changing display of colour lights and themes on the cement seashells. You could view along the entire walk the live light show on the seashells all the way from the coat hanger until you reach the stairs of the Opera House. This year there was a special event for Doctor Who fans on the façade of the Customs House where special projections turned Customs House into an outdoor theatre every hour on the first Saturday of June. Every other night people enjoyed watching Custom House get up and boggy with music and creative artistic colours displays and themes projected on to the front of the building. 

Free interactive exhibitions

The Morphic mirror was a hit  for many visitors especially the children who were eager to dance wiggle and move to see the changed images the Morphic mirror reflected back. 

Cadman's Cottage allowed people of all ages to create their own magical light show using a large touch screen people of all ages created their own masterpiece of architectural design. At the end of each timed session participants projected, their computer graphics designed images to the cottage in real-time. Each participant had a photo taken of his or her artwork and published to a twitter account where the pictures were view downloaded or retwittered. The we see saw another interactive display where young and old ride the see saw to create their own stream of colours on a led light screen and watch the colour scheme change with each bounce.

The vivid markets

On Fridays and Saturday nights at the vivid, you are able to shop at the rocks markets and dine under the stars at one of the rocks best restaurants in Jack Mundy place and surrounding areas. The rocks market a tourism orientated market and great place for a browse at the arts and crafts, paintings and prints Australian sovereigns and memorabilia.        

Vivid Aquatique is a colourful light theatre submerged in water

Darling Harbour has officially become part of the vivid festival there are many bars and restaurants to sit back relax and enjoy the 20 meter of water display on show every night on the hour every hour. Also held on certain nights at Darling Harbour was a magnificent fireworks show that lights up the Sky alongside the waterworks show. The 2013 vivid festival has been outstanding it will be hard to improve come the 2014 festival I look forward   to see what is new to see next year.

The vivid The festival is held every year from late May to early June

 Many photos are taken of the Sydney Harbour bridge during the festival

Display near the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Circular Quay during the vivid

The contemporary art Museum ablaze with colour and lights

The wee sea saw Circular Quay

Watch Customs House get up and dance and boogie at the Vivid light festival

  Sydney most popular and best festival

record-breaking Vivid crowds

There were record-breaking crowds at the Vivid this year according to figures released on the 17 June 2013. Figures showed more than 800.000 people Sydneysiders and overseas travellers came to see this year festival. There was a tremendous interest from the Chinese community with over 7000 travel packages sold to the Chinese market. With so many people attending events such as the Vivid free light festival which this year included Darling Harbour and North Sydney has shown organisers a need to improve transportation for the visitors during the 2014 festival. The increased crowds lead to overcrowding of trains and public transport delays during certain event s such as the doctor Who theatrical display at Customs House. The Queen Birthday long weekend put a huge strain on the public services showing organises improvements need to be made for next year’s festival. Due to increasing crowds and the sheer number of people that are now visiting the vivid each year, plans are already being put forward to enhance and improve the public transportation system for the 2014 Vivid festival.

Things to see and do sydney festival the madi gras

The Sydney street party and parade the gay and lesbian Madi Gras

Sydney Madi Gras

In 1978 two thousand protesters took to the Streets of Sydney in an attempt to highlight the social injustice and discrimination that the gay community experienced in their daily lives. At this time 35 years ago homosexuality was illegal in Australia.  An organisation the gay solidarity group after a morning of protesting for equal gay rights continued their protest and demonstrations travelling from Oxford Street to Hyde Park walking behind a truck with sound system in tow wearing costumes and carrying placards calling for rights and acceptance.  Although the March down Oxford Street had already received prior permission the police violently swooped on the protesters closed streets and arrested some of the participants and some of these people were later beaten in police cells. Since this day back in 1978 Sydney Madi Gras and the gay community civil rights mile stone was born.  The Madi Gras has come a long way in thirty five years from a protest calling for rights and acceptance to a carnival that is more than just a street parade down Oxford Street thousands of people line route and attend the legendary parade every February.  

This year there was 9000 marchers and 108 floats that made their way up Oxford Street with the participants in their outlandish costumes dancing singing and celebrating with blaring rock and pop songs playing and promoting the theme of this year’s parade “generations of love”.

About Oxford street

This street has long been the home to gay and lesbian clubs, bars and shops. Oxford Street shops also called the golden mile, is the stretch on Oxford Street between Taylor Park and Green Square the golden mile has reclaimed it reputation as Sydney’s best fashion strip with distinctive boutiques unique to this part of the city, also along this street  are many great cafes and restaurants, pubs and factory outlets.