Sydney New Year’s Eve will feature fireworks launched from 80 new positions on the western side of the Harbour Bridge, ensuring a better show than ever before on both sides of the famous landmark.
This morning Lord Mayor Clover Moore revealed plans for the famous event, which will include more than 20 minutes of fireworks at 9pm and midnight.
“Sydney New Year’s Eve is a wonderful celebration of our multicultural, harmonious, safe and inclusive community, and it helps us promote Sydney and our stunning harbour setting to the world,” Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said.
“As one of the first cities in the world to ring in the new year, we set the benchmark with a spectacle that reflects what our beautiful city is all about.
“With 26,500 lights and 9 tonnes of fireworks to be fired off 8 floating platforms and from 80 new positions on the western side of the Bridge, we’ll be lighting up 7km of Sydney Harbour, from Cockatoo Island to Point Piper and beyond.
“Planning starts 15 months in advance, with many thousands of hours going into every aspect from programming and creative to safety, transport and logistics. More than 1,000 accredited personnel work together to ensure Sydney shines in all its splendour on New Year’s Eve.”
The Lord Mayor said more women than ever were involved in the production of this year’s event.
“From ages 6 to 79, women have been the force behind Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations this year,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Composers, singers, producers, creatives, technicians and directors have spent more than a year preparing for Sydney’s night of nights that will encompass an incomparable showcase of fireworks, pyrotechnics, lights and music.
“As a nod to one of the most powerful female figures in Australia’s history, the 9pm and midnight fireworks shows will honour the spirit of Barangaroo, the Cammeraygal woman who led her people and who embodies the deep connection of Eora women to the waterways of Sydney Harbour.
“Our New Year’s Eve celebrations are the best in the world, and whether you’re joining us along the foreshore or watching at home, I hope everyone enjoys the show.”
Smoking ceremony
From 7.30pm, 3 Tribal Warrior vessels set sail west of the headland named after Barangaroo and travel around Circular Quay, finishing at the Sydney Opera House. The traditional smoking ceremony will entail a ritual of purification by smouldering native plants on board each of the vessels to ensure the harbour is cleansed of negative spirits in preparation for the new year.
Calling Country
At 8.30pm, a Welcome to Country will be presented by Yvonne Weldon AM on behalf of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. The welcome to Gadigal land will be part of the ABC live broadcast and beamed onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons.
The Calling Country kicks off at 8.57pm on the ABC stage at the Sydney Opera House, with an original song titled Country’s Calling led by producer, rapper and ARIA Award winner, Nooky.
For 8 minutes from 9pm, fireworks will light up Sydney Harbour in a celebration of sky, land and sea. Created by Indigenous social enterprise We Are Warriors, projections on the bridge pylons will illustrate Barangaroo and her female warriors’ connection to water and fishing in the harbour.
Barangaroo’s story culminates with the message that by putting aside differences and working together, we can create a future that works for us all.
Accompanying the display will be an exclusive soundtrack produced by Nooky and featuring the voices of his daughters Olivia (7) and Calula Webster (6).
Lighting and creative
Throughout the night, more than 26,500 lights will dazzle the harbour, including dozens of sky beams along the bridge, spotlights on barges and thousands of LEDs on boats across the water.
As part of the midnight display, pylon projections will reflect Barangaroo as a woman of the water. The immersive visuals portray Barangaroo as a shape-shifting being, morphing from coral to kelp, fish to octopus and finally to water, all the while moving to the rhythms of the ocean and performing a choreographed dance to the soundtrack. Produced by creative studio VANDAL, the motion-art sequence combines human artistic performance and cutting-edge generative AI.
Sydney Harbour lights
A procession of tall ships, commercials vessels and ferries will glide through the harbour from 9.15pm. Adorned with thousands of lights, the boats will create a visual spectacle as they join hundreds of other craft on the water before settling in to designated viewing areas in preparation for the midnight fireworks.
Midnight fireworks and soundtrack
For 28 years, the expert pyrotechnicians at Foti International Fireworks have presented the world’s best displays for Sydney New Year’s Eve – and this year they will do it again.
The 12-minute midnight display will feature 23,000 individual pyrotechnic shots, more than 13,000 aerial shells, 40,000 ground-based shooting effects and 264 firing locations across the bridge.
Fireworks will also be fired from the 4 sails of the Sydney Opera House and 5 city centre skyscrapers.
For the first time, fireworks will be launched from 80 new positions on the western side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ensuring the best-ever visuals on both sides of the landmark.
Vantage points at Pirrama Park and Observatory Hill will offer food stalls and live DJs performing from 7pm to midnight.
The display will be choreographed to a soundtrack created by award-winning screen composer, Luna Pan. Combining various music genres to sustain the high energy and excitement, the soundtrack incorporates orchestral music, techno house, reggae, lofi hiphop, liquid drum and bass, and rock, and took 8 weeks to produce.
Luna’s goal in creating the 3-part track was to showcase strong, feminine energy as well as the fluidity and freedom of the underwater world to complement the pylon projections.
Charity partner
Supporting the 58 Australians diagnosed with breast cancer every day, the City of Sydney’s chosen charity partner for New Year’s Eve is the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
The not-for-profit charity, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, is dedicated to raising funds for research focused on how to prevent, detect, treat and stop the progression and recurrence of breast cancer.
In support of the charity’s vision of zero deaths from breast cancer, the event will include a special National Breast Cancer Foundation pink moment. From 10pm, the charity will showcase projections on the pylons as lights on the bridge, around the foreshore and boats on the harbour will turn pink.
Plan ahead
To ensure the safest possible celebrations, the City of Sydney works with numerous agencies including NSW Police and Transport for NSW. The City of Sydney also acknowledges the support of the NSW Government and its event partners including Placemaking NSW, Sydney Opera House, Port Authority of NSW and the Royal Australian Navy.
The City of Sydney strongly encourages anyone planning to attend the New Year’s Eve celebrations to plan their night. Details about vantage points, managed entry points, accessibility, transport, programming and more are all available at sydneynewyearseve.com
ABC will broadcast live from the Sydney Opera House and feature both the 9pm and midnight fireworks shows. The City of Sydney’s media partner, KIIS FM, will also broadcast the synchronized fireworks soundtracks live.
For media inquiries, contact Elaine Kelly.
Phone mobile 0477 362 550 or email ekelly@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
For interviews with Lord Mayor, contact Paul Mackay.
Phone 0436 816 604 or email lordmayormedia@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
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