More than 1.2 million people have already immersed themselves in the first week of Vivid Sydney 2025, up approximately 10 per cent on last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first two Saturdays of the festival delivered bumper crowds, with close to 200,000 people per night packing the city to experience the 100 per cent free Vivid Light Walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A record-breaking 51,169 diners were recorded in restaurants on Saturday 24 May \u2013 the highest number ever in the event\u2019s history, up 45 per cent from 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vivid Sydney\u2019s world-class food offering continues to be a major drawcard, with more than 850,000 people purchasing food and drink so far, including over 335,000 across the opening weekend alone, delivering a significant boost to local businesses and the state\u2019s visitor and night-time economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darling Harbour, Darling Square and The Goods Line continues to prove popular with over 330,000 people exploring the precinct so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vivid Sydney 2025 fast facts from Thursday 5 June:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Food lovers are in for a treat over the June long weekend, with internationally renowned food writer and television cook Nigella Lawson curating three sold-out Vivid Sydney Dinners<\/em> in the newly opened Muru Gili tunnel at Martin Place. Adding to the culinary excitement, Our Shared Dream<\/em> food events with OzHarvest on 11 and 12 June are also sold out, underscoring the strong demand for unique and memorable visitor experiences in NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday 10 June designer, director and BAFTA-nominated producer Liam Young will bring his visionary speculative film Planet City<\/em> to life in an immersive experience at City Recital Hall. Then on closing night, Saturday 14 June, US comedy couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally will take the stage at ICC Sydney for a one-night-only appearance as part of the festival\u2019s Global Storyteller<\/em> series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Open Streets Program is activating streets and laneways to support local businesses and bring communities together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Highlights include Spice Lounge<\/em> on Mary Ann Street as part of the Vivid Fire Kitchen, open every night of the festival, where visitors can savour world-class food over special fire pits and fire drums. On Saturday 7 June, visitors can experience Sound Walk <\/em>in Angel Place with the iconic city laneway awash with light, sound and roving entertainment for one night only, free for all ages to enjoy. Then, on Saturday 14 June, Hollywood Dreaming<\/em> will illuminate Foy Lane in Surry Hills with stunning light art, live music and DJ sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe verdict is in, and people are voting with their feet. Vivid Sydney\u2019s outstanding attendance numbers so far reaffirm NSW’s status as one of the world\u2019s premier creative and cultural destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to see more than one million people already immersing themselves in Sydney\u2019s vibrant, open-air art gallery and even better to see our restaurants full, proving that people aren\u2019t just coming for the lights but embracing everything our city has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith more than a week still to go, there\u2019s every reason to dive deeper into Australia\u2019s largest event. Whether you\u2019ve visited before or are planning to come for the first time, now\u2019s the perfect opportunity to explore a different Vivid Sydney zone, experience live music performances, savour world-class food, or be entertained by some icons of comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Transport and Tourism Forum CEO Margy Osmond said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to see the roaring success of yet another incredibly curated Vivid Sydney. This festival not only makes Sydney shine, but it\u2019s also a tremendous boost for the visitor economy and plays a huge role in showing off the icons and hidden gems alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe positive numbers and bumper crowds speak for themselves, but if you haven\u2019t already, be sure to experience the fun for yourself with over a week to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accommodation Australia CEO James Goodwin said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Vivid Sydney and major events like it, are crucial for hotels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Over the last few years Vivid Sydney has turned what are usually a few quiet winter weekends into a boom period, with occupancy rates in Sydney regularly close to 90 per cent, which is a remarkable achievement.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Service and Creative Skills Australia CEO Natalie Turmine said<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVivid Sydney injects millions into the visitor and night-time economy, creating thousands of jobs across Arts, Retail, Tourism, Hospitality and Event Production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith more visitors comes a higher demand for skilled staff in hotels, restaurants, transport and attractions, providing a powerful boost to the state\u2019s workforce. From students gaining their first industry experience to seasoned professionals leading complex productions, Vivid Sydney fuels opportunities at every career stage and drives long-term employment growth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More than 1.2 million people have already immersed themselves in the first week of Vivid Sydney 2025, up approximately 10 per cent on last year. The first two Saturdays of the festival delivered bumper crowds, with close to 200,000 people per night packing the city to experience the 100 per cent free Vivid Light Walk. … Continue reading “Vivid Sydney soars past one million attendees ahead of June long weekend”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33118"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33119,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33118\/revisions\/33119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}