Sydney New Year's Eve is an annual New Year's Eve fireworks event in Sydney, Australia. The event currently consists of two fireworks shows, with an evening display held at 9:00 p.m. AEDT (formerly and colloquially known as the family fireworks, and now known as the Calling Country Fireworks) involving Indigenous Australians, and the main midnight fireworks at 12:00 a.m. Fireworks are launched from barges in Port Jackson, as well as nearby landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which serves as the main focal point of the show via lighting and pyrotechnic effects.
As one of the first major cities to celebrate the New Year, it is also called the "New Year's Eve Capital Of The World". And the event is widely-viewed in Australia and worldwide. Organizers have estimated the annual in-person attendance of the event to be around 1.5 to 1.6 million, with tourists accounting for a large portion of its attendees. Some locations, such as the Royal Botanic Garden, host ticketed seating areas.
The event is usually organised by the City of Sydney. In 2020, the fireworks were scaled back and the state government of New South Wales was given "temporary custodianship" of the event for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions at the time.
History Origins In 1976, the Sydney Committee decided to reconstitute a failing Waratah Festival as the Festival of Sydney. At the first meeting of its programme committee, they agreed that New Year's Eve should launch the new festival, a 'big bang affair'. Focusing on the harbour and adjacent areas, it would include a sail-past of decorated craft, music, and a 'spectacular fireworks display at midnight'. With this, the Festival of Sydney made New Year's Eve official for the first time. Stephen Hall was its executive director from 1977 to 1994.The Sydney Committee, Minutes of the Programme Committee 19 March 1976, City of Sydney Archives, CSA014504/003 The 1979/80 brochure for the Festival featured an image of the fireworks over the Sydney Opera House and the slogan "Get into the '80s with a bang".
Inspiration to use the Sydney Harbour Bridge as a launchpad for fireworks came from the use of fireworks on the Brooklyn Bridge as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations in 1983.
Syd Howard, pyrotechnician, used his inspiration and the chances given to him to put fireworks displays on Sydney Harbour to use the bridge as a launchpad for fireworks. His first opportunity was in 1986 for the 75th Anniversary Review of the Royal Australian Navy. Here he introduced the "waterfall" effect as well as a pyrotechnic message on the bridge. The message read "NSW salutes Royal Australian Navy" and employed thousands of cigarette-style fireworks to create the lettering. It hung over the side of the pedestrian walkway.
From NYE 1996 to NYE 1999, management of the event was contracted out to Ric Birch's Spectak Productions. Birch, known for his work on numerous Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies brought with him former Jimmy and the Boys frontman Ignatius Jones as Creative Director and Catriona Brown as Senior Producer.
1996–1999 The original Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks display (NYE 1996) was designed by Syd Howard Fireworks. The event used the pylons, arch and catwalk of the bridge, city buildings and one barge located in front of the Sydney Opera House. There was a ten-second pyrotechnic countdown. Each second, one shooting comet shot off a different building starting from North Sydney and finishing at Sydney Tower to form an Olympic Torch to welcome in 1997.
For NYE 1997, the Midnight Fireworks included the Star City Casino. Sydney Tower turned into a ticking clock with shooting comets slowly rotating around the top of the tower. The soundtrack for the countdown was a ticking clock before a bell toll rang in 1999. This bell toll also turned Sydney Tower into an Olympic Torch. Also, from NYE 1997, the Midnight Fireworks were extended to include the Harbour Bridge, the 9 pm Family Fireworks were extended to include two barges (one on each side of the bridge) and the displays were co-designed by Foti International Fireworks and Syd Howard Fireworks.
On NYE 1999 the Apollo 11 countdown, as well as air raid sirens, provided the soundtrack for the countdown. A smiley face was visible on the bridge during the show, until the finale revealed the word "Eternity" in Copperplate writing, in honour of Arthur Stace. Fireworks were also launched from the Centrepoint Tower. An unusual feature of the 1999 display was a flotilla of tugboats that made their way through the harbour, each one carrying a colourful, brightly lit model of a sea creature (such as a tropical fish, an octopus, and a sea deragon). The Fireworks Soundtrack included a five-minute "History Of Pop" featuring hits from the 1890s to the 1990s.
2000–2004 Since 2000, the displays have been fully designed and created by Foti International Fireworks.Foti International Fireworks archive The 2000 celebrations (branded “Millennium Eve”) included a larger-than-life birthday cake on a pontoon barge in front of the Opera House, unveiled before midnight to celebrate 100 years of Australia’s federation. At midnight, the cake lit up with a cascading lighting effect running from the bottom of the cake to the top. A Federation Star representing 100 years since the federation of Australia appeared on the bridge during the finale.
On NYE 2001, A dove of peace slowly came into view to speak peace to the world after the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York.
On NYE 2002, the city buildings were removed from the fireworks displays. The 9 pm family fireworks had to be cancelled due to high winds of . Those fireworks were then rescheduled to Australia Day, but were cancelled again, this time due to a total fire ban. Organizers also halted the practice of launching fireworks from CBD skyscrapers after 2002, due to safety concerns in high winds. The bridge finale that year featured an animated dove along with the word “PEACE” as a unity message.
After six years as creative director, Ignatius Jones stepped down in 2002 to be replaced by former Melbourne and Sydney Festival artistic director Leo Schofield. Ken Wilby moved on the following year with the event's production manager Ed Wilkinson elevated to the producer role from 2003 to 2005.
On NYE 2003, a fifteen-second countdown was accompanied with the striking of a gong at midnight. For the first time, fireworks were launched off the vertical hangers of the bridge in a one-off display that wouldn't be repeated until NYE 2015. From NYE 2004, the first 3D bridge effect was used. Also in that year, the fireworks display was viewed as a disco with pop music and a disco ball suspended from the bridge. The show concluded with a remix of the national anthem "Advance Australia Fair" combined with folk song "Waltzing Matilda". The remix was criticised by politicians; in an interview with 6PR, Prime Minister John Howard stated that he had a "very strong view that the national anthem should be sung and played in a way that facilitates maximum audience participation in its singing", while Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales John Brogden called it '"simply a bad piece of music".
2005–2009 On NYE 2005, a beating heart was the icon on the bridge that appeared after the 9 pm fireworks display. The fireworks themselves during the show exploded in Heart shapes. Former Sydney Theatre Company head Wayne Harrison joined Katrina Marton in taking over leadership of the event as Creative Director and Producer respectively for the events from 2005 to 2007.
NYE 2006 saw the four barges feature for the 9 pm Family Fireworks while six barges feature with the city buildings return for the midnight show and in addition, it had a ten-second countdown projected on the pylons starting with the logo for Network 10. A question mark was shown in the nights leading up to the celebrations, which also doubled up as the curved end of the coat hanger.
In NYE 2007, the bridge acted as a seventh barge for the first time shooting fireworks throughout the show instead of just during the beginning and finale.
In NYE 2008, the bridge, seven city buildings and six barges staged in the biggest fireworks display yet, increasing from $4 million worth of fireworks to $5 million. Brenton Kewley, who had worked on the event since 1996 in various roles, including Art Director and Associate Producer took over as Producer for the 2008 and 2009 events while journalist and broadcaster Rhoda Roberts took over from Wayne Harrison in 2008.
During NYE 2009, the countdown started with messages projected on the pylons. The pyrotechnic countdown was started by launching an exploding mine on a barge in front of the bridge. For the first time, microchip fireworks were used in the show which lasted longer in the sky and were more accurate when synchronised with music. The show consisted of $5 million worth of fireworks running for twelve minutes. A Yin Yang symbol appeared on the bridge during the finale. Once again, more fireworks exploded on the bridge throughout the entire show when compared with previous NYE displays.
2010–2014 The 2010–11 theme was "Make Your Mark", reflecting upon the legacies of the past while entering a new decade. Its bridge effect featured symbols such as a peace sign and X mark, part of which was teased (as simply an "O") in honour of tapings in Australia by American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. The show featured over 7,000 kg of pyrotechnics, including new bow tie, "double heart", and lightning bolt effects, and a red and white "checkerboard" waterfall effect on the bridge during the Family Fireworks.
In 2011, Aneurin Coffey took over as Producer having been Production Manager since 2006. 2011 also saw a change from individual creative directors to a creative agency, Imagination Australia, which promoted Marc Newson as creative spokesperson. The theme was "Time to Dream". The display, for the very first time, was choreographed to an all-Australian soundtrack created by music production house s:amplify which included original composition. This marks the first year, a ninety-second countdown was featured on the bridge effect.
In March 2012, Imagination appointed Australian singer Kylie Minogue as creative ambassador for the 2012–13 event, overseeing the soundtrack and visual direction for the event and its official parties. Minogue's involvement was part of her year-long commemoration of 25 years in the music industry. The official theme was "Embrace"; the show's budget increased from $6.3 million to $6.5 million, and the city announced plans for the event to be carbon neutral through the use of biodegradable cases for the firework shells, among other aspects. Foti stated that the event would feature new firework shapes such as bees, butterflies, koalas, and a semiquaver designed for Minogue.
The 2013–14 theme was "Shine"; artist Reg Mombassa served as creative ambassador, and oversaw that year's bridge effect—a giant blinking eye. In addition, the event featured a special minute-long firework display at 10:30 p.m. that was inspired by Mombassa's painting "Cranium Universe".
The theme for the 2014–15 edition was "Inspire"; the budget was reported to have increased from $6.8 million to $7.2 million, and Australian actor Jack Thompson was named the creative ambassador for the show. As part of the theme, viewers were encouraged to post messages on Twitter using the hashtag "#SydNYE" for a chance to have them projected on the bridge pylons. A special display known as the "Inspire moment" was held at 10:40 p.m. The bridge effect was a stylised lightbulb, in honour of the United Nations' declaration of 2015 as the International Year of Light. Out of respect for the Lindt Cafe siege on 15 December, the message "Sydney remembers" was occasionally projected on the pylons.
2015–2019