Vivid Sydney: A festival of light you shouldn't miss!

I love festivals. Even so, it took me a while to get into Vivid. 'Lights shining on buildings' - how exciting could that be? As it turns out - really exciting, especially when one of those buildings is the spectacular Sydney Opera House! Vivid Sydney is in its ninth year. For the first five or so of those years I couldn't be bothered making the effort to drag myself into town to see it. It is only a twenty minute train trip from where I live, but Vivid is on in late autumn. It is cold and dark! I am not a great fan of either. A few years ago a family event forced me into the city purely by chance during the Vivid festival. Since I was there anyway I dragged David into town too, organised dinner in the city with number one son, dug my overcoat and winter boots out of the back of the wardrobe and set off to find out what all the Vivid fuss was about.

This is what I discovered. Forget fireworks on New Years Eve (too crowded), forget Lunar Lanterns at Chinese New Year (this year it rained), forget the Gay Mardi Gras (rain again - why do they hold this in March when it always rains), forget Sculpture by the Sea (although that one is pretty good) -  just drop everything and come to Vivid. It is without a doubt the best event Sydney puts on. So much more than 'lights shining on buildings', Vivid Sydney bills itself as a festival of 'Light, Music and Ideas'. I am not sure about the ideas but the lights and the music are stunning. Just to give you a taste of what you might expect I have dug out some old photos of Vivid in years gone by.

I am putting this post up now because THE CLOCK IS TICKING - but don't panic. It doesn't matter where you are in the world you still have time to jump on a plane, train, automobile or camel and make it to Sydney in time for VIVID!

Photo courtesy of Lindsay at Frugal Frolicker

Photo courtesy of Lindsay at Frugal Frolicker

Photo courtesy of Lindsay at Frugal Frolicker

Photo courtesy of Lindsay at Frugal Frolicker

When and Where is Vivid Sydney: -

• Where - Sydney Australia.  Vivid is not confined to the CBD. In 2017 the festival will also be on as far afield as Chatswood, in Sydney's north.  For where to see Vivid go to Vivid Sydney: Precincts.

• When - 26 May to 17 June 2017.

• Cost - There are paid events, (none of which I have ever been to) but seeing the lights is absolutely free.

My tips: -

• The best place so see the Vivid lights on the Opera House is from the opposite side of Circular Quay, between Hickson Road Reserve and the Overseas Passenger Terminal. There are a couple of harbourside restaurants here with great views. 

• There are boat tours which do Vivid Cruises and I am sure they are fantastic for seeing the Harbour Bride, the Opera House and all the buildings around Circular Quay, but don't just rely on a cruise because many of the best displays are not visible from the harbour. There is no substitute for arming yourself with a map and just walking around.

• If you want to see Vivid from the harbour but don't want to do a tour, catch an inner harbour ferry. The F4 and F5 ferries to Darling Harbour and Neutral Bay go past the Opera House. You can get off at Kirribilli or Milsons Point and walk or take a train back across the Harbour Bridge. Darling Harbour is also one of the Vivid Precincts. It is a short walk back to town and you can plan your route to take in the Vivid Sights at Barangaroo. 

• Don't just stick to the city centre. Go to Precincts on the Vivid website to see all the locations. The display at Chatswood sounds especially fun - a kind of Blade Runner comes to Hong Kong.  Chatswood is on the North Shore train line about 20 minutes from the city.

• Wear a warm coat, and comfortable shoes. May/June in Sydney can be a bit chilly at night and you will do a fair bit of walking if you want to see everything.

• Vivid can get very crowded so avoid weekends if you can.

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