Vivid by Numbers: Vivid Sydney smashes records, picks up Guinness World Record

Last month saw Vivid Sydney come and go for another year of spectacular lights, music, and ideas, bringing in eyes from around the world as the Harbour city turned into a palate for more than 150 artists from 23 different countries, 658 speakers, and an impressive lineup of live music acts. Of course, attendance seems to be no problem for the major event, now one of the most celebrated cultural happenings on the city’s calendar, which has once again broken records and attracted 2.31 million visitors from across Australia and around the globe.

Up 35 per cent on last year’s attendance records, the staggering statistic is on par with the entire popular of Brisbane, an incredible feat that demonstrates the momentous growth that continues to be achieved with Vivid Sydney.

Growth has also been discerned in other aspects of the festival this year, with one particular highlight being the amount of specific Vivid Sydney travel packages sold to visitors travelling to NSW, totaling a remarkable 88,300 packages which is up 104% on the 2015 figures. This can be broken down into 44,100 international travel packages and 44,200 domestic travel packages. It’s also interesting to note that China made up a big chunk of the international packages sold, with 17,827 visitors recorded.

“New precincts at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Taronga Zoo were firm visitor favourites as well as the spectacular Songlines projection onto the Sydney Opera House sails that celebrated Indigenous Australian culture,” said Destination NSW CEO and Vivid Sydney Executive Producer Sandra Chipchase.

As Vivid Sydney’s Facebook swells to 404,500 fans (with a reach of 42 million), and the amount of people who viewed their official website sits at 2.2 million, it’s clear that the festivals social presence has never been better as well. Anyone following the Facebook page would have noticed that Vivid Sydney were busy posting beautiful 360° Facebook videos throughout the festival, something which is said to have generated 1.9 million views in just two days. To further the festival’s engagement in the digital space, the official festival smartphone app marked in at more than 88,000 downloads.

Perhaps one of the most substantial stats coming out of the festival is a nod for a Guinness World Record title, naming Circular Quay’s popular Dress Circle display the “Largest Interactive Lighting Display”. Dress Circle was an imaginative experience near the Sydney Opera House where visitors were able to colour and pattern an experimental skyline, transforming the backdrop of the whole Light Walk using a unique 3D, touch-sensitive interactive model of the building as well as the Cahill Expressway and the Bridge.

Vivid Sydney lasted for 23 nights throughout May and June this year. For more information on Vivid Sydney click HERE.

Headline image by Nathan Atkins for the AU review

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Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.