The City Shines Brighter Than Ever As Vivid Sydney 2026 Commences

The Sydney harbour and CBD has once again been reimagined as a vibrant city in colour as Vivid Sydney kicks off its 16th year. In a festival-first, there is no theme for artists and creators to work within, so visitors can expect to see unparalleled creativity across curated Light, Minds, Music, and Food events and experiences this year.

From today (22 May 2026), festival-goers can experience more than 200 events over 23 nights that will ignite the senses, stimulate their minds, and tap into unexplored wonder, giving both locals and visitors a unique opportunity to experience Sydney in a whole new light.

This year’s program is home to more than 80% free events across both daytime and evening, a condensed 6.5km light walk with 43 installations, projections and large-scale public artworks, as well as the eagerly-awaited return of the drone show – this year, shining bright over Cockle Bay across 22 performances.

Additionally, the well-loved Vivid Fire Kitchen has a new home in Barangaroo reserve and boasts a significant lineup of culinary heavyweights, while Vivid Minds (formally Ideas) delivers world-class conversations and performances from some of the leading creative minds globally.

Headlining the exceptional list of talent this year are some of Australia’s most-beloved homegrown talent from Matt Corby and Mallrat, through to Mark Best, and Julie Goodwin. Joining them, we have global creative trailblazers Chloé Zhao, Sean Baker, and Zane Lowe, to renowned Light artists Chris Levine, Yann Nguema, and David Moraton.

Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said:

“Tonight, Sydney becomes the canvas for one of the world’s greatest arts festivals, as Vivid Sydney once again transforms our city through Light, Music, Minds and Food.

“The Minns Labor Government is proud to deliver a bold new creative direction in 2026 — an immersive, accessible program spanning 23 unforgettable nights, with more than 80 per cent of events free to attend.

“From the iconic Light Walk and the festival’s biggest-ever drone show to world-class music, food and cultural conversations, this year’s program gives locals and visitors more reasons than ever to experience Sydney in completely new ways.”

Vivid Sydney Festival Director Brett Sheehy AO said, “This year marks the start of an exciting evolution of Vivid Sydney. We’ve expanded the program across all pillars and have opened up the brief for artists and removed the creative limitations of needing to centre around one key theme.

“Visitors can expect a more immersive and interactive experience that will encourage them to explore new locations, unexpected installations, and spend more time enjoying the festival – both after dark and during the day.

“We’ve gone back to the core of what Vivid Sydney is all about which is tapping into creativity, and through this, there’s this incredible platform to showcase leading Australian talent as well as a chance to bring legendary international talent to the Sydney landscape too.”

Vivid Sydney 2026 highlights include:

Vivid Light – Features a stellar combination of local talent and international artists bringing their acclaimed projections and installations to Sydney for the first time.

Vivid Minds – Expands its program this year with daytime programming, as well as the inclusion of performances, building on its existing credentials of thought-provoking sessions.

Vivid Music – Amplifies our collective dreams through sound and song, with a specially curated program of artists from around the globe.

Vivid Food – In its fourth year as part of the festival and is bigger than ever before.

Vivid Sydney runs from Friday, 22 May to Saturday 13 June (2026). For more information visit www.vividsydney.com.