Every year, Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest festival of Light, Music, Ideas and Food, transforms the city into a vibrant hub of creativity, imagination and technology.

Over 23 nights, Sydney is reimagined through boundary-pushing installations, world-class performances, thought-provoking talks, and exclusive dining experiences. In 2025, the festival theme of ‘Dream’ invites you to step into a world of possibility, wonder and inspiration. 

Vivid Sydney is here to light up the city - and your Instagram feed. Vivid Sydney isn’t just impressive in person; it’s also one of the most snap-worthy events of the year. 

From a giant puppet to a forest of spiralling trees, we’ve rounded up the ten light installations that will set your Instagram feed on fire.

The 10th anniversary of Vivid Sydney is set to be the most ambitious yet, with a fantastic collection of light displays, events, musical performances, and tech talks to keep everyone entertained.

The lights will ignite at 6pm every night, but here’s what to do before you take off on your tour of light and colour.

Know your stuff

A bit of planning won’t go amiss if you want to make the most of your Vivid Sydney experience.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Vivid Sydney is continually setting the benchmark for world-class events.

Vivid Sydney isn’t only about bright lights and good music, it also includes an exclusive ideas program dedicated to exchanging fresh thinking across tech, design and culture.

In particular, the New Horizon series, will feature an exploration of mega-trends and micro-developments in technology, as well as shine a light on experts tackling the biggest issues with creativity.

Broaden up your mind’s horizon with these thought-provoking events below:

When the sun goes down, Vivid Sydney sparks up.

Fill your evenings with a series of thought-provoking discussions, daring debates, and interesting experiences.

Here are the best events to attend to make the most of your evenings.

Vivid Sydney meets the ocean. Welcome to Vivid Sydney at Darling Harbour, where you find yourself exploring the seafloor and all the creatures that accompany it.

This water-based installation with a technologically driven theme lights up the precinct with its breathtaking visuals and creative use of lasers and lights. The visceral experience will be both informative and entertaining, making it a Vivid Sydney precinct you really don’t want to miss.

Read on to discover more about the Vivid Sydney transformation of Darling Harbour.

The Sydney Opera House is one of the city’s most famous sites, and this year’s Sydney Opera House events are set to be equally iconic.

From sleepy sounds to blasting bass, a range of musical events will take place throughout Vivid Sydney 2018. Beyond music, visitors can look on as the sails of the Sydney Opera House transform into moving, living digital sculptures.

Inside and out, here are the Sydney Opera House highlights this year at Vivid Sydney.