30 Jun 2025
Vivid Sydney calls for creatives as 2026 dates confirmed
Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest multi-artform festival, is calling on visionary artists, performers and thinkers from across the globe to help shape its 2026 program.
Returning from Friday 22 May to Saturday 13 June 2026, Vivid Sydney will once again transform the Harbour City across the pillars of Light, Music, Ideas and Food—inviting audiences to immerse themselves in cutting-edge creativity and bold storytelling.
Preliminary estimates for Vivid Sydney 2025, suggest the event pushed total visitation since the festival’s inception in 2009 beyond 25 million people, with more than $1.3 billion generated in visitor expenditure over its lifetime.
This year’s festival delivered major attendance milestones, including record-breaking hotel occupancy in May.
2025 festival highlights:
- Four bumper Saturdays in 2025 each attracted crowds nearing 200,000
- Businesses participating in the Vivid Sydney Local Business Program doubled from 2024
- Vivid Fire Kitchen drew over 110,000 visitors
- The Vivid Ideas program welcomed close to 25,000 people
- #vividsydney content viewed over 830 million times globally.
The NSW Government, through Destination NSW, is now seeking ideas from creators, producers, thought leaders and innovators to help bring the 2026 festival to life.
EOIs are open for all program pillars:
- Vivid Light EOIs close: 28 July 2025
- Ideas, Music, Food and Cross-Art Form EOIs close: 26 September 2025
Submissions are welcome from artists, designers, musicians, engineers, architects, chefs, restaurateurs, curators, performers, academic institutions and creative organisations.
To learn more or submit an Expression of Interest, click here.
Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said: “The overwhelming response to Vivid Sydney 2025 sends a clear message that this festival remains a powerful driver of creativity, culture and economic impact.
“Vivid Sydney doesn’t just light up our streets – it solidifies Sydney’s standing as a leading global cultural capital and a must-experience destination in the Asia-Pacific.
“We’re now calling on the next wave of creatives to help shape Vivid Sydney 2026. Whether you’re an artist, designer, performer, producer or chef, this is your opportunity to be part of something extraordinary and share your vision.”
Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) CEO Margy Osmond said: “It’s fantastic to see the roaring success of yet another incredibly curated Vivid Sydney. This festival not only makes Sydney shine, it’s a tremendous boost for the visitor economy and plays a huge role in showing off the icons and hidden gems alike.”
Accommodation Australia NSW General Manager Stacey McBride said: “Each and every year Vivid Sydney continues to deliver for Sydney accommodation hotels. The event has turned what was traditionally a quiet few weeks in winter into a boom period for our hotels.
"During the peak weekend nights of the festival, occupancy in the city was just shy of 90 per cent. These are the type of figures we rarely see outside of peak summer holiday period and a credit to the hard work of the NSW Government and Destination NSW."
OzHarvest Founder and Visionary in Residence Ronni Kahn AO said: “The Refettorio is a special place where we see the transformative power a meal can make every day. We were thrilled to host the 2025 Vivid Sydney dinner series, Our Shared Dream, which connected so many new people with our little oasis and introduced them to the ‘Pay It Forward’ philosophy.
“A huge thank you to Vivid Sydney and our wonderful chef ambassadors for putting the spotlight on an important issue and creating a beautiful way for us all to celebrate together.”
Owner of Sydney Harbour Kayaks and participant in the Vivid Sydney Local Business Program Shannon O’Brien said: “Vivid Sydney 2025 was a great success for our business, with excellent customer feedback and increased trade – in fact, we achieved an 80 per cent sell-through rate.
“For the first time as part of Vivid Sydney, we had the opportunity to take visitors on the water to Balmain East, showcasing stunning views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Vivid Sydney’s social media channels played a key role in helping us tell our story and reach a wider audience.”
Co-director of An Act of Being by Bangarra Dance Theatre Company Cass Eiper said: “An Act of Being was such a special project to be part of and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this year’s Vivid Sydney. We’re thrilled to hear it resonated with audiences.”
Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Kate Ferguson said: “Partnering with Vivid Sydney as Charity Partner in 2025 was a powerful moment for Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation. It gave us a unique opportunity to bring the stories of sick kids and their families into the heart of the city, connecting with new audiences and inspiring generosity in unexpected ways.
“Together with our community of supporters, we were able to turn awareness into action, helping raise $8.1 million through the Sydney Sick Kids Appeal to fund life-changing care and treatment across the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.”
Lead vocalist and musician Winston Surfshirt, who performed at Tumbalong Nights said: “We’ve wanted to play at Vivid Sydney forever, it’s so iconic. It was amazing to be asked to play at Tumbalong Nights and honestly, it may have been one of the most fun shows we’ve played. It was the first time my kids had seen me play in a long time - my four-year-old woke up in the morning and the first thing she said was ‘I loved your singing last night, Daddy.’”