Vivid Sydney 2015: Biggest Ever Program Announced

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Expansion into city suburbs Chatswood and Central Park

Over 60 Lighting Installations and Projections

Expanded Music Program and Australian exclusives including The Hoodoo Gurus and Daniel Johns

Award-winning, Australian-first global speakers at Vivid Ideas

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Mar 18, 2015, 02:42 ET

SYDNEY, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivid Sydney is set to shine even more brightly in 2015 when the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas delivers its biggest program yet. For 18 nights, from 22 May -- 8 June, Vivid Sydney will again transform the city and harbour. The 2015 program includes expansion into new city precincts Chatswood and Central Park, its biggest ever music program including Australian exclusives such as The Hoodoo Gurus at the Powerhouse Museum and Daniel Johns' international solo debut at the Sydney Opera House, and heavy-hitting speakers at Vivid Ideas.

Sydney Opera House Lighting The Sails artist impression by Universal Everything, for Vivid Sydney 2015

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Mechanised Colour Assemblage artist impression by Danny Rose and Rebecca Baumann, for Vivid Sydney 2015

Vivid Sydney, now in its seventh year, is owned and managed by the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said: "Vivid Sydney is an incredible public event that has seen amazing growth, attracting a record 1.43 million attendees in 2014. It's the largest festival of its kind in the world, and with our biggest program yet, there's even more to love about Vivid Sydney this year.

"While the heart of Vivid Light is still beating strongly in and around Circular Quay, Vivid Sydney is spreading even further into the city suburbs, with Central Park and Chatswood joining the program this year," Ms. Chipchase said.

"Favourite locations Circular Quay, Walsh Bay, Martin Place, and Darling Harbour are back with over 60 light installations and projections with even more opportunity for visitors to get hands on, more water theatre shows – this time with lasers and fire - and new and expanded programing at Pyrmont & The Star and the University of Sydney. The sandstone canvases of Customs House and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) will also return with spectacular new 3D projections.

"With all eyes on the Sydney Opera House, Lighting of the Sails will once again take its place as the centrepiece of the amazing light spectacular during Vivid Sydney, with Universal Everything promising awe-inspiring projections that will reimagine the architecture as a living mural, with a diverse series of vibrant, hand-drawn sequences.

"Vivid Music will introduce its most expansive program yet, featuring more shows and venues and an impressive line-up of local and international talent," she said.

The Hoodoo Gurus will perform an exclusive one-off show at the Powerhouse Museum and a new line up of cutting edge, innovative performances will be held across the city at new venues Goodgod Small Club, Oxford Art Factory and Freda's, with the Seymour Centre, The Basement, The Argyle and Barrio Cellar part of the line-up again in 2015.

Part of the Vivid Music program, Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House features a 10-night run of exclusive Sydney-only performances and for the first time will also include two large scale outdoor events, internal light projections and an event for kids and families. Features include four exclusive performances from Morrissey, Daniel Johns in his international solo debut, Sufjan Stevens in his only Australian performances and FCX -- 10 Years of Future Classics featuring Flume and Flight Facilities.

With a line-up of heavy-hitting speakers, Vivid Ideas introduces The Game Changers, a new talk series this year headlined by three global influencers: multi Emmy-winning writer Matthew Weiner, series creator and executive producer of Mad Men and former executive producer and writer on The Sopranos; Grammy-winning designer Stefan Sagmeister, whose clients include the Rolling Stones, Lou Reed and the Guggenheim Museum; and entrepreneur and publisher Tyler Brule, founder of the world-famous magazines Wallpaper and Monocle.

"With such an amazing festival planned, Destination NSW will continue to work with the travel industry to encourage visitation to Sydney from across Australia and the globe for this incredible event. We aim to build on the results from last year when more than 20,000 international visitors travelled to Sydney on dedicated Vivid Sydney travel packages," Ms. Chipchase said.

"Vivid Sydney will also work with event partners, land owners and a new accessibility specialist to build on the positive initiatives undertaken last year.

"A new sustainability partnership with The Banksia Foundation will also further develop Vivid Sydney's sustainability agenda which includes recycling assets, environmental waste management practises and improved energy efficiency," she said.

Vivid Sydney welcomes the return of Intel, a world-leader in computing technology, as event partner for the fifth consecutive year. 2015 Supporters include Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, City of Sydney, Sydney Opera house, The Star, Canon, Indeed, 32 Hundred Lighting, Oracle and TDC.

Some of the highlights of Vivid Sydney 2015 program:

Where	What	When
Sydney Opera House	Design collective Universal Everything will be Lighting the Sails with spectacular projections.	Nightly from 6pm
Customs House	Enchanted Sydney by Spinifex, a continually evolving and blossoming world with free-flowing images of Sydney's flora and fauna.	Nightly from 6pm
MCA (sandstone original building)	Mechanised Colour Assemblage by Danny Rose and Rebecca Baumann transforms the MCA into a series of sound and colour machines.	Nightly from 6pm
Sydney Harbour, Circular Quay, The Rocks and Walsh Bay	Harbour Lights returns with boats lit up, floating on the Harbour in a symphony of colour, Paint the Town allows visitors to illuminate the city's skyscrapers, plus more than 60 light installations adorn the harbour foreshore.	Nightly from 6pm
Martin Place	The daytime centre of the city is illuminated at night with installations including Transcendence, an impressive towering structure featuring mesmerising projection mapping, code-driven light shows and divine fare from Sydney's hippest purveyors of food and beverage.	Nightly from 6pm
Darling Harbour	Vivid Laser-Fountain Water Theatre presented by Oracle-Liquid is a choreographed audio visual symphony featuring fountain jets and spirals, colour lighting, rainbow lasers and dancing flames.	Nightly from 6pm
Central Park	STREETS AHEAD featuring projections from contemporary artists Reko Rennie and Beastman onto the heritage Carlton & United Brewery façade, plus Silent Discos every Friday and Saturday.	Nightly from 6pm
University of Sydney	Vivid Path to the Future, a week long program of light, music and ideas with spectacular 3D mapped projections and a light walk.	25 - 31 May
Pyrmont & The Star	Vivid Sydney Game Zone, a buzzing multisensory entertainment precinct with interactive installations at Pyrmont Bay Park and Sky Terrace at The Star.	Nightly from 6pm
Chatswood	Aquatic Wonderland, a mesmerising water world featuring giant sea creatures and an animated aquarium, culminating in a beautifully-illustrated 3D animation set over the façade of The Concourse.	Nightly from 6pm to 11pm.
Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House	Morrissey, Daniel Johns, Sufjan Stevens and FCX – 10 Years of Future Classic featuring Flume and Flight Facilities.	22 May to 8 June
Vivid Music	Hoodoo Gurus at Powerhouse Museum, Modulations at Carriageworks, the Seymour Centre and new venues Oxford Art Factory, Freda's and Goodgod Small Club.	22 May to 8 June
Vivid Ideas	The Game Changers talk series with Matthew Weiner, Stefan Sagmeister and Tyler Brûlé, plus the Vivid Ideas Exchange sessions at the MCA.	22 May to 8 June

Travel packages to be announced. For more information on Vivid Sydney visit www.vividsydney.com.

The full Vivid Sydney media kit, broadcast quality footage and high-res imagery including 2015 Vivid Sydney light renders and footage of 2014 festival highlights is available at www.vividsydney.com/media-centre.

NOTES TO EDITORS - Further background on Vivid Sydney

VIVID LIGHT

From 6pm to midnight each evening, Vivid Sydney will transform the city and surrounds into a night time playground for small and big kids alike. Vivid Light Walk installations follow a playful theme with illuminated swings, a grand scale Duck Duck Goose game, musical stacking dice and Vivid's largest multi-player experience, INTER/Play at Cadmans Cottage.

There's also no shortage of big and small creations and visitors can expect a human brain, graceful dresses, an enormous Rococo pig, curious monsters and a giant crochet dolly who just wants a hug.

New, interactive installations and projections will see many create their own art and this year for the first time, visitors will literally be able to Paint The Town! as they colour the city's skyline over Circular Quay with state of the art lasers controlled by interactive touch screens, setting the stage for collaborative design or lighting battles.

VIVID MUSIC

Music at Vivid Sydney will continue to pulse through the city and sound a new vibe, showcasing local and international talent at more venues than ever before, taking Vivid Music to a wider audience.

ARIA Hall of Fame legends, the Hoodoo Gurus will perform a Sydney exclusive one-off show at the Powerhouse Museum, Be My Guru: Evolution, Revolution. Founding Guru Dave Faulkner will be joined on stage by all members of the band, as the Guru's evolve from their 1980s beginnings to now, backed by Hoodoo Guru memorabilia from the Powerhouse collection.

Modulations at Carriageworks returns featuring performances from Grammy Award-winning American jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and Bill Drummond, co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF.

One-off events that simply can't be missed include Soul of Sydney, the city's best Soul Train party experience, Heaps Gay presented by FBi Radio at the Factory Theatre and Toby's Cosy Nook, an evening of sophisticated and eclectic music, art and cabaret.

Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House is part of Vivid Music.

VIVID IDEAS

Asia Pacific's annual celebration of innovation, creativity and community, Vivid Ideas is all about turning inspiration into action and there's plenty about the 2015 program to inspire with events at more than 30 venues across the city.

Creative conferences and public events will activate venues across the city, spanning the creative sector including STREETS AHEAD, showcasing the contemporary street art movement and the reach of this global trend, The Sunrise: The Silicon Valley Myth Explained bringing together Australia's biggest technology success stories to explore the key factors needed to create a Silicon Valley right here in the Southern Hemisphere, and Game | ON a three-day event diving into the world of games, e-sports and online video content.

The Vivid Ideas Exchange also returns with over 60 sessions presented by industry experts across the creative sector, from architecture to augmented reality, marketing to media.

FAST FACTS FROM VIVID SYDNEY 2014

Over 1.43 million attendees
Injected $41.3 million into the NSW visitor economy
Almost 90,000 people from outside Sydney, including almost 30,000 visitors from overseas came to experience Vivid Sydney. Of these 30,000 international visitors, more than 20,000 purchased Vivid Sydney travel packages, including over 9,700 visitors from China
Named Australia's Best Tourism Event In 2014 (and Australian Event of the Year in 2013) and Helpmann Awards Best Special Event in 2014
Media coverage in more than 190 countries and territories
More than 37,000 tickets sold for Vivid LIVE
More than 34,000 people attended Vivid IDEAS
More than 15,000 tickets sold for Vivid Music
Average Vivid Sydney Facebook reach - 2.8 million people a day (3.49 million on Vivid Sydney launch day on May 23)
873,995 likes on the Vivid Sydney Facebook page
More than 1,600,000 visitors to vividsydney.com
60,559 downloads of the Vivid Sydney app and VividSnap
More than 95,000 images tagged with #vividsydney on Instagram.