Vivid Sydney’s 15th anniversary has Nigella Lawson and most events free

• The 15th annual Vivid Sydney has been locked in from Friday, May 23 to Saturday, June 14.
• “Dream” will be the theme informing all of the event’s four pillars: Light, Music, Ideas, Food.
• Big names like Nigella Lawson, Sigur Ros and Beth Gibbons will headline events across the 23-day event.

For the first time in its 15-year history, the iconic Vivid Sydney will connect Sydney like never before, leaning heavily on the fresh-faced Sydney Metro system to connect five zones, each with events from all four of the festival’s pillars: Light, Music, Ideas and Food from Friday, May 23 to Saturday, June 14.

The Vivid Sydney zones for 2025 are:

• Circular Quay and The Rocks
• Barangaroo
• Martin Place and the CBD
• Darling Harbour
• The Goods Line and Inner City

Organisers Destination NSW are clearly confident enough to expand the festival’s scope for the first time since 2018, given that the Sydney Metro makes getting around the city infinitely easier. Considering transport has always been a major issue during Vivid Sydney, it seems like we’ll experiencing the world famous multi-artform festival in a way that simply hasn’t been possible since the event first began in 2008.

Furthermore, over 75% of the Vivid Sydney program this year will be free for all, while the highly anticipated Vivid Light Walk remains completely free and accessible for all locals and visitors.

This year’s Vivid Sydney theme is simply “Dream,” with curation hinged on the question “What’s in a dream?”

When asked about this year’s theme, Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini said:

“Dreaming is as old as time as universal as life itself. Dreams can be prophetic, life changing and inspiration, as well as trivial, hilarious or terrifying. These interactions are evident in every aspect of Vivid Sydney’s program this year.”

And what has Vivid Sydney dreamed up for this year? Beautiful ethereal Icelandic music from iconic rocker Sigur Ros. Internationally renowned scientist Professor Matthew Walker presenting a panel on “Why We Sleep,.” Legendary chef and TV personality Nigella Lawson curating three immersive Vivid Sydney Dinner events at Martin Place.

These are the kind of events that will help ferry Vivid Sydney to a hypnagogic state, reimagining the festival as simply a dream come true. After all, for the many visitors who save their hard-earned money to see this once-in-a-lifetime festival, it quite often is the case of dreams becoming reality.

In 2024, Destination NSW recorded 2.42 million attendees for the annual festival, making it the third most successful Vivid Sydney to date, falling short of the 2023 edition which attracted more than 3.28 million people

To put that into perspective, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, considered the world’s largest performing arts festival and one of the most successful ticketed events of the year, sold 2.6 million tickets in 2024.

In an attempt to corral Sydney’s inspiring winter events, Vivid Sydney will now feature even more exclusive collaborations with both the Sydney Writers’ Festival (May 19-25) and the long-running Sydney Film Festival (June 4-15). More details on just what these collaborations will be are expected to be released in the lead-up to the festival, as well as further details on what to expect from all the festival’s pillars.

Vivid will also work with various Sydney institutions to bring the city to life like never before, bringing together institutions like The Art Gallery of NSW, Australian Museum, Bangarra Dance Theatre, City Recital Hall, State Library of NSW and Sydney Theatre Company. In short, it’s going to be the biggest Vivid to date in terms of both scope and ambition.

“Vivid Sydney continues to find exciting new ways and places to bring colour, creativity and fun to our city,” remarked multi-hyphenate Minister John Graham.

“This year’s festivals is helping people face the cost-of-living crisis by increasing the number of free events, which is great news if you want a good night out without blowing the budget.”

Vivid Light: From Vincent Namatjira to Romance Was Born

Vivid Light is the face of Vivid Sydney and an eternally glowing ambassador from our city to the rest of the world. You’ve no doubt seen the photos grace countless travel magazines and postcards alike. It’s the reason why so many international visitors cram into Sydney for the 23-day winter festival.

This year, Vivid Light will honour late Australian visionary David McDiarmid as his bold works are showcased on Sydney Opera House for the traditional Lighting of the Sails. His evocative Kiss of Light series will be writ large onto the world’s most iconic sails and beamed around the world, uniquely championing the artist’s mosaic-style, holographic foil works with cutting-edge technology.

Prolific Indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira, fresh from his controversial portrait of mining magnate Gina Rinehart, will take control of the facade at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia with his own 3D projections. Meanwhile, Romance Was Born will bring Customs House to life with a projection they’re calling ‘House of Romance.’

Vivid Sydney is always bringing new building into the fold for the signature Vivid Light Walk, which this year will welcome new projections at the Museum of Sydney, The Bond in Barangaroo and Challis House in Martin Place. The Argyle Cut in The Rocks is also making a return as part of the light walk, as is the CTA Building in Martin Place.

Across the Vivid Light Walk, visitors will be able to turn their own self-portraits into 3D projections with technology by Moment Factory. There will also be a large range of experiences from voice-activated animations and illuminated tennis matches to suspended swings and whimsical seesaws.

You’ll even be able to design your own 3D projection and 150 entries each week will be selected for display on the ASN Co. Building’s Clock Tower in The Rocks.

Vivid Ideas: Asking the abstract questions

Vivid Ideas will once pack the 23-day event with engaging panels, discussions and immersive experiences designed to inspire and educate. Headlining the program will be TIME Magazine’s Creative Director D.W. Pine, attempting the answer the abstract question of where ideas actually come from?

Similarly, internationally renowned scientist Professor Matthew Walker will ask why we sleep, exploring one of the least understood aspects of our lives and perfectly playing into the ‘Dream’ theme.

While most panels will be ticketed, there are a number of free Vivid Ideas events that visitors should be aware of. The popular Firetalk series at Barangaroo Reserve will highlight First Nations storytellers and Sydney’s Legs On The Wall has been tasked in producing a new physical theatre work which will be performed nightly.

Even Netflix is getting in on the action with Stranger Things: The Experience heading down to the Harbour City after immensely successful tours in cities like New York and London. The immersive, interactive all-ages adventure will bring the popular sci-fi series to life at Luna Park Sydney.

Vivid Food: Nigella Lawson’s light and sound dinners

A light, sound and food experience on Martin Place will be spread across three nights, curated by none other than Nigella Lawson in what will be her only Australian appearance. The renowned food writer and TV cook will take over a newly opened pedestrian tunnel in Martin Place and direct a menu of NSW produce and wine married with cutting-edge technology for a unique multisensory experience.

The three Vivid Sydney dinners will play out as something the event has never attempted before, bringing the pillar of food even closer into the fold with the event’s original three pillars of light, music and ideas.

Elsewhere, Vivid Fire Kitchen will return to The Goods Line with its homage to fire and spice while the Vivid Chef Series will task the city’s most innovative chefs with exclusive one-off collaborative dinners in some of Sydney’s most celebrated restaurants.

Other aspects of the Vivid Food program include a Spice Lounge pop-up, and a number of events crawling over the Hollywood Quarter in Surry Hills (where Pellegrino 2000 and The Rover are).

Vivid Music: Diversity takes centre stage

One of the most exciting aspects of Vivid Sydney is all the many big-name international and local musicians who get involved each year. The main stem, Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House, will this year be headlined by three performances from Icelandic rockers Sigur Ros as well as Beth Gibbons from Portishead. Once the full line-up is announced, there will be more than 50 artists spread across the festival’s three days.

But that’s far from it. Carriageworks will have its own series of parties, Metro Theatre will get involved by hosting 10th anniversary celebrations for beloved local record labels, and the City Recital Hall will debut as another new venue for exclusive concerts from the likes of Tangerine Dream and Soccer Mommy.

And then there’s Tumbalong Nights, the return of Darling Harbour’s popular free festival with performances from beloved locals Winston Surfshirt and Body Type along with a whole heap of musicians from diverse backgrounds and various cultures, from Vietnamese pop to Indian electronica. Even Prince’s former bassist, MonoNeon, will take to the stage as the ticketless night rolls on.

Stay tuned to Sydney Travel Guide where you’ll be the first to know of all the details rolling out ahead of the 15th annual Vivid Sydney.

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Vivid Sydney

Where: Sydney and surrounds
When: Friday, May 23 to Saturday, June 14
Price: Varies based on event although 75% of the program is completely free

vividsydney.com

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What else is on during Vivid Sydney?

• The Vivid Music lineup is packed with diversity