Click here to access the new content pack including interviews and behind-the-scenes footage
Click here to view images and video news materials of the 2026 Vivid Sydney lighting moments (including Minister Kamper pressing the button and fireworks over Sydney Harbour), content will go live at 10 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time
For the full event schedule and ticket information, please visit: www.vividsydney.com
SydneyMay 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The 16th Vivid Sydney has officially launched, with Sydney Harbour and the Central Business District once again draped in a dazzling cloak of light, transforming into a vibrant and colorful city. For the first time, this year’s festival has eliminated a unified creative theme, freeing artists and creators from creative constraints, allowing visitors to anticipate an unprecedented feast of creativity through carefully curated activities in “Light,” “Minds,” “Music,” and “Food.”
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Starting now, the festival will run for 23 nights, featuring over 200 events. The experiences will thrill the senses, stimulate the mind, and unlock unknown wonders, allowing locals and visitors to discover Sydney from a fresh perspective.
More than 80% of this year’s events are free, available both day and night; along a 6.5-kilometer condensed light walk, there are 43 light installations, projection works, and large-scale public art exhibits; the highly anticipated drone show also makes a grand return, staging 22 spectacular aerial light displays over Cockle Bay.
Additionally, the beloved Vivid Fire Kitchen food event has moved to a new location at Barangaroo Reserve, featuring a lineup of heavyweight chefs. The Vivid Minds segment (formerly “Ideas”) offers thought-provoking dialogues and performances from leading global creatives.
Vivid Sydney Festival Director Brett Sheehy AO stated: “This year marks a new phase of development for Vivid Sydney. We have comprehensively expanded the content of the four major segments, relaxed artistic creation requirements, and abandoned the constraints of a single theme.”
“Visitors can look forward to more immersive and interactive experiences that will encourage them to explore new venues, encounter surprise installation art, and enjoy the festival’s delights day and night, making them reluctant to leave.”
“We are returning to the core essence of the festival, fully unleashing creative energy. This is both a showcase stage for outstanding local Australian creators and an opportunity to invite internationally renowned artists to gather in Sydney and radiate artistic charm.”
Vivid Sydney Partners
Kia and Samsung Electronics Australia will return in 2026 as major partners.
This marks Kia‘s fifth consecutive year as a major partner, presenting a work titled Kia Refraction at Bligh & Barney Reserve.
Samsung, also in its fifth year of collaboration, will create the immersive interactive sculpture installation Sky Portal Studio at First Fleet Park.
IREN joins as a new partner for 2026, sponsoring the “Star-Bound: Vivid Sydney Drone Show.”
Lilly Australia joins as an official partner, celebrating its 150th anniversary, presenting a panel discussion titled A New Horizon of Health within the Vivid Minds segment.
Uber also joins as an official partner, with dedicated drop-off and pick-up points within the event area.
Dine Out with Uber Eats will also serve as the naming partner, presenting the Food for Thought Stage activity within the Vivid Fire Kitchen segment.
The festival’s 2026 charity partner is Foodbank NSW & ACT, which will set up an interactive installation, the Foodbank Truck Packer, at Tumbalong Park.
Vivid Sydney will be held from Friday, May 22 to Saturday, June 13. For more information, please visit vividsydney.com.
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