NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said the festival’s crowd numbers for opening weekend were up on last year despite wet weather early on.
‘Just six years ago, Vivid Sydney welcomed 225,000 people throughout the festival’s entire duration, while this year, almost 280,000 spectators came to experience opening weekend alone,’ Mr Ayres said.
‘Vivid Sydney is fantastic for local businesses such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars and food vendors, with opening weekend survey results showing 73% of visitors purchased food or drinks whilst enjoying the festival.
‘With another two weeks of Vivid Sydney to go and mild weather forecast for much of next week, we expect to welcome many more visitors to one of Australia’s favourite events,’ Mr Ayres concluded.
In addition to Vivid Sydney, over the next week NSW will play host to several major events including:
- State of Origin Game 1 at ANZ Stadium
- AFL Indigenous Round match featuring Sydney Swans v Carlton at Sydney Cricket Ground
- Sydney FC taking on Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur at ANZ Stadium
- 2014-15 English Premier League champions Chelsea v Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium
Those attending Vivid Sydney are encouraged to take advantage of the extra trains, buses and ferries which will run throughout the festival.
Owned and managed by Destination NSW, more than 1.43 million attendees visited Vivid Sydney in 2014, 30,000 of which were visiting from overseas.
Vivid Sydney continues each night from 6 pm until midnight until Monday 8 June.
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