Vivid Sydney 2013 Lights Up Australia's Harbour City

SYDNEY, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's creative industries are set to flock to Sydney with the announcement of the annual Vivid Sydney program that will transform the city into a colourful canvas of light, music and ideas from 24 May to 10 June.

Now in its fifth year, Vivid Sydney is an established international event and will showcase its largest program to date, featuring more than 60 vibrant lighting installations around Sydney Harbour, over 100 creative industry workshops and seminars, and live music performances at Sydney Opera House.

Owned and managed by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, Vivid Sydney is the largest light and music festival in the Southern Hemisphere, with over 500,000 people attending in 2012.

Australian creative innovators, The Spinifex Group, will design the centrepiece of Vivid Sydney, the lighting of the iconic Sydney Opera House sails, showcasing a playfully projected journey that celebrates the event in an immersive new way.

Announced today by NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner, Vivid Sydney returns with the longest ever Light Walk featuring interactive light installations, illuminated skyscrapers and large-scale 3D mapped projections around Sydney Harbour's iconic foreshore. Light installations from Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, USA, South Korea, Malaysia and New Zealand will feature alongside Australian works.

Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House will feature local and international artists, including German electronic music legends Kraftwerk and the the world premiere album show of Australia's Empire of the Sun.

Vivid Ideas will explore new creative ideas and collaborations with over 100 industry and business events. Keynote speakers include renowned comedic visual artist David Shrigley (UK), digital artist and storyteller Jonathan Harris (USA), award-winning streetwear entrepreneur Johnny Cupcakes (USA) and urban design guru David Sim (UK).

Destination NSW CEO, Sandra Chipchase, said year-on-year increase in festival attendance was testament to Vivid Sydney's success and popularity with local and international audiences.

"With more than 45,000 people from interstate and overseas at last year's event, Vivid Sydney has proven itself as a major drawcard for creative industry practitioners, visitors and families who immerse themselves in light, music and ideas," said Ms Chipchase.

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

For full media kit and high res imagery, visit http://vividsydney.com/media-centre

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Olivia Deskoski
Destination NSW
+61-2-8114-2407
olivia.deskoski@dnsw.com.au

Emily Walkerden
Avviso PR
+61-2-9368-7277
emilyw@avviso.com.au