Vivid Sydney Shines Global Spotlight on the Harbour City

SYDNEY, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- New South Wales Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner has declared Vivid Sydney 2011 a record success with sell-out music concerts, buzzing crowds interacting with over 40 light installations and packed creative ideas sessions.

"In just three years, Vivid Sydney has cemented its popularity with over 400,000 attendees from around Sydney, Australia and the world experiencing events in and around Sydney Opera House, The Rocks and Circular Quay.

"The festival offered something for everyone: from the spectacular illumination of the Sydney Opera House sails by French design collective SUPERBIEN to jets of flame shooting out on Sydney Harbour at FireDance to world exclusive concerts by artists including The Cure to events for creative industry professionals.

"Vivid Sydney is a ground breaking event model - as well as providing entertainment for the public and attracting visitors, it has been specifically developed as a platform for creative industry events.

"There is no doubt the international spotlight was shining on Sydney over the 18 nights of the festival, showcasing our creative industries credentials to the world," he said.

Vivid Sydney Executive Producer Ignatius Jones, known worldwide for his ambitious major event productions said the success of the 2011 festival was a credit to the passion and talent of the creative teams involved in the event.

"It's been a fantastic journey this year, and an absolute pleasure to work with Events NSW who has a strong vision to create a festival that puts Sydney on the map globally as the creative hub of the Asia Pacific.

"We knew this year's festival would be popular, but we were blown away at seeing such huge crowds down at the festival, night after night enjoying a playground of interactive and low-energy light art displays by artists from countries including Germany, Singapore, New Zealand, The Netherlands, France, Thailand and Australia.

"In a world where the vast majority of festivals are held at the height of summer, Sydney's mild winter nights make our city the perfect stage to play with light.

"And what a stage we have for an outdoor festival with Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay and The Rocks providing a platform for the best and brightest local and international creative minds to showcase their talent through light, music and ideas," he said.

Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House, the Vivid Sydney music program curated by Stephen Pavlovic of Modular, featured over 30 ticketed events including a number of Sydney and world exclusive performances from artists such as The Cure performing their first three albums live in their entirety, Bat for Lashes doing a special acoustic set with a string quartet and Spiritualized performing their modern masterpiece Ladies and Gentlemen we are Floating in Space with orchestra, gospel choir and band.

Over 35,000 tickets were sold including 4,500 tickets to interstate and overseas visitors generating a US$2.34 million gross box office, making it the most successful Vivid LIVE yet for the Sydney Opera House. Around 59 per cent of the tickets were sold to a new audience.

Sydney Opera House CEO Richard Evans said on every level, Vivid LIVE has been an exceptional success, meeting and exceeding our expectations.

"This year's Vivid LIVE, curated by Stephen Pavlovic, gave the festival a unique Sydney twist with a compelling mix of local and international artists. From SUPERBIEN'S La Macula which saw our sails bathed nightly in cutting edge imagery to the world-first concerts by The Cure, to explosive DJ nights and the long-awaited return of several iconic Australian bands, this year's Vivid Sydney will resonate locally and internationally for months to come," he said.

Vivid Creative Sydney was another festival highlight, with thousands attending sessions exploring the role of creativity in today's world and the potential offered by creative industries.

Vivid Sydney is an annual festival of light, music and ideas held in Sydney, Australia. Vivid is the largest festival of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and a major celebration of the creative industries, positioning Sydney as the creative hub of the Asia-Pacific region. The festival is one of five signature events on the NSW Events Calendar.

The full Vivid Sydney program is available at http://vividsydney.com

Vivid Sydney images, video footage and information is available at http://www.multivu.com/players/English/50345-Vivid-Sydney-2011/

SOURCE Events NSW