Light Up Your Life With Sydney’s Iconic Vivid Festival
Running from May 22 to June 13, Vivid brings together the full breadth of Sydney’s visible creativity, from light to sound, to intellect to cuisine.
Vivid Sydney is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest annual festival of Light, Music, Ideas, and Food, transforming Sydney into a creative hub over 23 nights in the Southern winter. The event features stunning 3D light installations and projections on iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, alongside live music, engaging public talks, and unique pop-up culinary experiences.
More than 80 per cent of the festival remains free, including the entire Vivid Light Walk, an unbroken 4-mile journey featuring over 43 installations and projections created by acclaimed local and international artists.
The Vivid Light Walk stretches across Sydney’s famed beauty spots: Circular Quay, The Rocks, Barangaroo, and Darling Harbor, with additional venues in and around the CBD hosting Vivid Music, Vivid Food, and Vivid Minds events that bring the entire city into the experience.
Showcasing Sydney’s creative pulse during winter, Vivid Sydney will feature collaborations for a series of events with Biennale Sydney, as well as cultural institutions, venues, and arts companies such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Australian National Maritime Museum, City Recital Hall, The Mint, Carriageworks, State Library of NSW, Sydney Opera House, and more.
“No other city in the world can host Vivid, because no other city in the world has what Sydney has to offer. Vivid Sydney 2026 will redefine how we experience our city, delivering a bigger and bolder event program that will come to life both day and night,” says Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper.
Vivid Sydney 2026 marks Brett Sheehy AO’s first year as Festival Director; a creative homecoming after two decades leading major festivals and arts companies across Australia.
“For 2026, we are expanding our program into new art forms, including aerial performance, daytime public art, theatre , and dance. These join our vast Vivid Minds, Light, Music and Food offerings to now make your Vivid Sydney one of the great comprehensive arts festivals of the world,” says Sheehy.
“This year we invite you to go beyond your previous expectations of Vivid Sydney into a bold new festival designed to surprise, delight, challenge, entertain, and fill you with joy.
“Whether you encounter Vivid Sydney as a happy observer, an eager participant, or someone keen to engage with one of our dozens of interactive opportunities, we can promise you a festival of a lifetime.”
Vivid Light returns with a bold new sense of scale and ambition, anchored by two landmark centerpieces. Molecule of Light, the festival’s tallest installation at 23 metres, and Obstacle, is one of the longest‑ever works stretching 45 metres along the harbour.
British artist Chris Levine brings his internationally acclaimed work Molecule of Light to Barangaroo Reserve, a laser and sound installation that fuses single‑frequency beams, geometric light patterns and a solfeggio soundscape inspired by ancient healing frequencies, creating a meditative atmosphere.
Obstacle by Melbourne collective Reelize ignites Wulugul Walk with a 45‑metres of high‑resolution LED installation to create a pulsing corridor of color and movement after dark.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia becomes a canvas for Vaiola, a powerful projection‑mapping work by Sāmoan‑Australian artist Angela Tiatia, whose practice explores gender, neo‑colonialism , and performance. The piece reflects on “vaiola,” the life‑giving and healing force of water, weaving restorative symbolism with Tiatia’s deep connection to her ancestral home.
Across the harbour, renowned French artist Yann Nguema unveils a major new work, Opera Mundi, illuminating the Sydney Opera House sails. This breathtaking original commission reflects on the transformations found in nature and the elemental forces that inspired Opera House architect Jørn Utzon.
For its 16th year, Vivid Sydney will transform Cockle Bay with a nightly laser show, Laser Lightfall, set to music, sending choreographed beams of light sweeping across the harbour sky. Running continuously throughout the evening, the presentation features four shows each hour, marking it the most ambitious free laser show ever staged in Australia.
Cockle Bay will also see the return of Vivid Sydney’s much‑loved drone experience, debuting under its new name, Star‑Bound: Vivid Sydney Drone Show.
Vivid Minds Brings Top Tier Talent
Vivid Minds invites audiences to engage with leading storytellers and cultural thinkers. This year’s program features Academy Award–winning filmmakers Sean Baker (Anora, The Florida Project) and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Hamnet), alongside influential music industry tastemaker and broadcaster Zane Lowe, Pulitzer Prize–winning art critic Jerry Saltz, and bestselling author Roxane Gay. Together, their conversations will unpack creative practice, cultural shifts, and the forces shaping today’s artistic landscape.
Midweek Minds is a weekly series of rapid-fire keynote talks and discussions that showcase contemporary creative practice, featuring architect Dong-Ping Wong, designer and researcher Mindy Seu, The New Yorker creative director Nicholas Blechman, and filmmakers Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs.
A Feast of Flavor
Vivid Food returns with a feast of flavor, creativity and connection, uniting world‑leading chefs and producers to celebrate the extraordinary breadth of NSW dining and the stories behind every dish.
At the heart of the new Regional Dinner Series is A Shared Table with Yotam Ottolenghi, where the world‑renowned chef will bring together ingredients and flavors from across the state, placing regional identity and provenance at the heart of the menu.
Yotam Ottolenghi said, “More than anything, it’s a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the outstanding produce and beverages of New South Wales and to share the kind of food that I love and that also tells the story of the region’s creativity and generosity.”
His headline event sets the tone for the wider Regional Dinner Series, which brings regional excellence to Sydney through a series of chef collaborations. These dining experiences champion standout ingredients and artisans from across the state, including pairings such as Mindy Woods with Danielle Alvarez at the Sydney Opera House, Ben Devlin with Lennox Hastie at Firedoor, and LGBTQ highlight: Christine Manfield with Sander Nooij at Yellow.
Vivid Fire Kitchen brings global and local chefs together for open‑fire cooking, demonstrations, tastings, and conversations, creating a free nightly hub of bold flavors and shared stories. In 2026, the program features leading Australian chefs, including Mark Best, Luke Mangan, Sharon Salloum, and Annita Potter, and for the first time expands to showcase celebrated food innovators and culinary personalities such as Julie Goodwin, Adriano Zumbo, Declan Cleary, and Karima Hazim, with more to be announced.
Global Music on Show
Vivid Music has a specially curated program of artists from around the globe, alongside special events, interactive experiences, and performances. Tumbalong Nights returns with 23 nights of free live music and DJs, including a special closing night performance from Matt Corby. The program also features performances from Nigerian afrobeat royalty Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, KPop singer SHAUN, Jamaican reggae legends The Congos, Chinese rap sensations Billionhappy + SEBii with Korean producer Kimj, plus shows from Mallrat, Skeleten, Coterie, and Moonlight Opera, a special concert presented by Opera Australia’s Young Artists Program.
City Recital Hall will host transgender British poet, writer and musician Kae Tempest for two intimate nights, Palestinian-French heartthrob Saint Levant and electronic music producer Daniel Avery will perform live, alongside a special late-night party presented by Soft Centre. The Metro Theatre will host UK RnB singer Clara La San while at Oxford Art Factory, UK soul / hip-hop artist RUBII and indie darlings Chanel Beads perform headline shows.
Also, Vivid Sydney curates a program of events as part of Biennale of Sydney’s Art After Dark series at White Bay Power Station, including headline shows from UK soul singer anaiis and American ambient electronic trio Purelink, and a special free closing night party with a soon-to-be announced line up.
Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House will welcome more than 50 cutting-edge and legendary international and Australian artists in 2026, including awe-inspiring singer-songwriter Mitski (sold out), 30th anniversary performances from Scottish post-rock pioneers Mogwai and Detroit techno icon Jeff Mills revisiting his legendary Liquid Room set. The program also features Arnhem Land Yolŋu surf-rockers King Stingray, Danish-Portuguese pop-R&B sensation Erika de Casier, 1970’s cult California art-pop band Sparks, a powerful tribute to jazz poet and rap pioneer Gil Scott-Heron led by Brian Jackson featuring Yasiin Bey, plus a rare double bill from Welsh art-pop visionary Cate Le Bon and US indie troubadour Cass McCombs.
Vivid Sydney at Carriageworks
Festivalgoers at Carriageworks can expect an electrifying mix of music, performance and dining across three dynamic weekends. The industrial bays will host major takeovers led by hip hop icon Lil’ Kim, celebrating milestones for Hard Core and The Notorious K.I.M., a rare chance to see a defining force of rap live in Sydney. Ella Mai, the Grammy‑winning R&B star, returns after a sold‑out global tour for an intimate night of expressive, era‑shaping songwriting.
Electronic music steps into the spotlight as Skin on Skin presents his high‑voltage series FOR YOUR SAFE KEEPING, while Alison Wonderland revives her cult Wonderland Warehouse Project. Porter Robinson brings his acclaimed DJ show, joined by Golden Features, alongside hard‑hitting techno from TELETECH 09, and a free, all‑ages Awesome Black Block Party celebrating First Nations music and community.
Browse the top hotels right in the heart of the Vivid action here. Shop competitive airfares here.
