Dancing drones and a ball of fire: Here’s what to expect from Sydney’s Vivid Light Festival

Vivid Sydney reaches for both the sky and the horizon this year, debuting a “refreshed” creative direction across Circular Quay, Barangaroo and Darling Harbour which will see the return of its popular aerial drone shows.

For his first festival, new director Brett Sheehy will focus on the harbour front with a shorter but unbroken 6.5-kilometre Light Walk, new daytime events and 22 drone shows.

It’s the largest drone series ever undertaken by Vivid, Sheehy says, and will be based at Darling Harbour and spread over 11 nights, with two shows happening Sundays to Wednesdays.

Vivid cancelled its drone shows in 2025 on the advice of NSW Police and Transport for NSW following a potentially dangerous crowd crush around Circular Quay.

Organisers say crowds will be better managed at Darling Harbour and the early week shows aim to discourage the weekend crushes that beset previous festivals.

“The sky at Darling Harbour will come alive with each show running eight to 12 minutes and featuring a fleet of 700 to 1000 drones,” Sheehy said. “And we have secured the latest drone technology to ensure these are the brightest drones in the world.”

Tourism minister Steve Kamper said this year’s edition – the 16th – was a “showstopper, no doubt” and a powerful driver of the NSW economy, bringing millions of visitors to Sydney in the city’s winter months.

Destination NSW declined to disclose its budget for this year’s Vivid because of “commercial in confidence”, or say if the new artistic director was delivering his refreshed program on a smaller budget. The agency claims 2.5 million people visited Vivid last year.

Among the 33 installations and 10 projections on the condensed light walk, the festival will debut its tallest-ever installation, Molecule of Light, described as a flaming “meteorite” on metal legs, so tall it will be seen from Balmain to Chatswood.

It’s the creation of acclaimed British artist Chris Levine, who was the first to photograph the late Queen Elizabeth II with her eyes closed. The 23-metre structure uses single-frequency laser beams and geometric patterns to project an immersive sound and light show high above visitors.

Levine’s work is designed to challenge perception, inviting visitors to briefly step into another dimension made of light, sound and data.

While Levine reaches upward, Victorian designers Reelize Studio stretch across the waterfront with Obstacle. At 45 metres long, this monumental holographic structure is one of the longest works ever featured in the festival. Made of translucent LED mesh and light choreography, its shifting visual layers make the solid barrier appear fluid and dynamic.

Nearby, Pendulum by Marrickville-based studio Amigo & Amigo blends science with art through a glowing supersized structure that mimics the rhythm of gravity. Visitors can push interactive spheres to send waves of energy, light and sound through the swaying installation.

As previously revealed by this masthead, Vivid will have daytime offerings for the first time this year, including 38 light box LED screens featuring moving images and traditional art and The Prism at the Quay, illuminated at night but filled with bean bags for daytime relaxation.

For food lovers, the Star Gazer Lawn at Barangaroo is to be the new home of Fire Kitchen, moving from the Goods Line. UK chef Yotam Ottolenghi will be headlining the Vivid Food program. Music acts will include King Stingray, Scottish rock pioneers Mogwai and hip-hop icon Lil’ Kim.

A new pillar of Vivid Minds will also be introduced. Academy Award-winning filmmakers Sean Baker (Anora) and Chloe Zhao (Hamnet) will be appearing alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Jerry Saltz.

Sydney’s iconic landmarks will undergo a painterly digital transformation. French artist Yann Nguema will illuminate the Sydney Opera House sails with Opera Mundi, an ode to architect Jorn Utzon. Each of the 10 sequences offers unique scenes from nature, blooming hydrangeas and goldfish. Sheehy said the presentation will be neither garish nor gaudy.

For the first time The Garrison Church in The Rocks will be lit. A seven-minute presentation in the nearby Argyle Cut will begin with a beating human heart and take visitors on a flight into the future.

Samoan-Australian artist Angela Tiatia is taking her unique cinematic language and painting the Museum of Contemporary Art with motifs of pearls, fire and the female form. Her projection-mapping work Vaiola explores the life-giving force of water. Customs House is to undergo a hallucinogenic transformation through a projection by Javier Riera.

Managed by Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney remains a central pillar of the state’s goal to grow the visitor economy to $91 billion by 2035.

Vivid runs from May 22 to June 13.

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