Vivid shines a light on Sydney

Sydney will come alive this evening with the start of Vivid Sydney, which, over 18 days, will present a festival of light, music and ideas.

Now in its fifth year, the event, which is owned and managed by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, has become recognised as a platform to highlight Sydney to the world by featuring some of the biggest names in music, lighting artistry and ideas, to local and international audiences.

The city's major winter festival, Vivid last year attracted 500,000 people and contributed $10 million to the NSW economy.

Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) Chief Executive Ken Morrison believes that Vivid Sydney has been strategically positioned in the events calendar and "is more than just the brilliant light shows and displays.

"In addition to leisure activities, the festival also features a range of conferences and events which attract a host of business travellers to Sydney to exchange ideas.

"Vivid Sydney has been created specifically to attract visitors to Sydney in what is traditionally a period of lower tourism demand.

"This smooths out seasonal variations and generates spending in the visitor economy.

"These visitors spend money on accommodation, dining, transport and entertainment, helping support the jobs of tens of thousands of people employed in Sydney's tourism sector."

This year Vivid Sydney, which is being held from 24th May to 10th June, is being extended to include the Harbour Bridge, the North Sydney precinct and Darling Harbour, showcasing even more parts of the harbour city.

Meanwhile, German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk are the headline act for the Vivid LIVE program at Sydney Opera House during Vivid Sydney.

The performances by Kraftwerk, dubbed The Catalogue 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, 8, will showcase nearly 40 years of musical and technical innovation, including new improvisations, 3D projections and animation.

Combining sound and images, the performances showcase nearly 40 years of musical and technical innovation, including new improvisations, 3D projections and animation. Commencing with Autobahn, each night covers one of Kraftwerk's groundbreaking studio albums in full and appear in order of their release - Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour de France (2003) - alongside additional compositions from their back-catalogue.

Fergus Linehan, Festival Director of Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House explained "we are thrilled to have Kraftwerk in residence for Vivid LIVE following the phenomenal reaction to their performances in MoMA and TATE Modern."

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Stoner recently explained that the Vivid LIVE component of Vivid Sydney was a sign of exciting expansion across all tiers of Vivid Sydney in 2013.

Minister Stoner explained "in 2012, Vivid Sydney delivered record crowds ..., generated global media coverage in over 150 countries, fostered new tourism markets and opportunities, and saw tens of millions of dollars in new business achieved for NSW.

"Vivid Sydney has firmly established its credentials as a 'must see' global event and continues to highlight Sydney as the creative hub of the Asia Pacific, and will continue to grow and surprise audiences in 2013."

Among many free events during Vivid Sydney, Ken Morrison is looking forward to the lighting of the Sydney Opera House, concluding "the lighting of the Sydney Opera House sails will create unique iconic imagery which is broadcast both domestically and to a massive international audience, helping to building the Sydney brand around the world and reinforce its position as a creative hub and global city."

http://www.vividsydney.com/