‘Visual feast’: Sydney NYE program unveiled
This year’s highly anticipated Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks display will be the first to feature a four-hour visual light show using AI-generated images.
They will be synched to the music and fireworks display in a “world first for a production of this scale”.
More than a million people are expected to descend on Sydney Harbour and surrounding vantage points on December 31, with more than 58,000 individual fireworks to set be launched across an eight-minute show at 9pm and a 12-minute display at midnight.
Monday’s official event launch revealed the theme of this year’s display as “‘One Night: Many Ways to Celebrate”, with Sydney-based artists 18YOMAN and Nooky to score an original music track for the 9pm show and Brisbane-based group The Sweats curating the music for the midnight display.
For the first time in the annual firework bonanza’s 27-year history, a six-hour light show will be projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons, featuring AI-generated images.
VANDAL’s pylon projections creative consultant Joseph Pole, who worked on the year-long project, said it was a “world first for a production of this scale”.
He said the images would feature animations including “deep space, celestial bodies and neon kaleidoscopes”, with the project syncing up with the lights and fireworks during “key moments” throughout the night.
“The result is a new level of creative expression for us and visual feast for the audience,” he said.
The eight-minute 9pm Calling Country fireworks show will be curated by First Nation artists We are Warriors and Foto International Fireworks.
The show’s creative director, Nooky, said the theme, Buried Country, would focus on Indigenous resilience and “black joy”.
“(We want to) showcase our strength and resilience and to remind everyone that we are here and we have survived”, he said.
“(I’m) just really looking forward to putting on a nice show and ending (2023) on a high note for black joy, love and positivity.”
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore hoped the end-of-year celebration would create a positive end to what she says had been a difficult year for many.
“I hope the festivities mark the start of a safe and peaceful 2024 after a pretty appalling year for everyone, particularly internationally,” she said.
“We’re moving into a new year and hopefully wars in certain places will end and we will be able to cope much better.”
Punters looking to ring in 2024 will also be able to access the Barangaroo Reserve, West Circular Quay, Campbells Cove, Hickson Rd Reserve and parts of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and The Domain for free this year after the state government reversed ticketing programs that charged up to $520 for an exclusive spot.
The move will allow about 60,000 extra residents and visitors to watch the show, with each location open on a first-come, first-served basis.
