Vivid Sydney 2026 Unveiled

Made for a contemporary audience looking for a kick of escapism, The Streets of Barangaroo will house the 1000m2  interactive experience from August to September. Designed as a ‘choose-your-own-journey’, participants enter ETERNITYLAND in small groups, following their curiosity as they travel through each room, encountering wacky characters and activities based on the myths and legends of heroes and heroism. "I grew up in the local area, visiting places like the Powerhouse Museum," Medina said. "After working in production and travelling, I realised there was a gap for these types of immersive, tactile experiences locally. Opening this space in the area I grew up in feels like coming full circle." Contact our expert team to acquire a specific artist, organise a gift registry, get assistance with framing, or ask about any other advice you might require!
In doing so, the festival takes its first steps into a new era with a selection of installations, talks, and food experiences, while the city still transforms each night again into its signature night time glow. Vivid Music has a perfected program of artists from around the world, creating sounds alongside special events, interactive experiences and performances. In doing so, the festival takes its first steps into a new era with a selection of installations, talks, and food experiences, while the immersive art experience sydney city still transforms each night into its signature nighttime glow.

Horizon of Khufu will use state-of-the-art VR technology to transport you 4,500 years back in time and explore the Great Pyramid of Giza, forbidden corridors, and much more. Sydney is the ninth city worldwide to host Neighbourhood Earth, and the first outside of China and the USA. The immersive and educational experience was developed by Toto Creative, an Australian design agency behind such events as the DreamWorks How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular. In collaboration with M Live, NASA and the US Space & Rocket Centre, Neighbourhood Earth showcases rare space artefacts, provides family-friendly entertainment and lets you marvel at what exists beyond our atmosphere.
Space & Time Cube, a jaw-dropping holographic journey that has to be seen to be believed. Bangarra Dance Theatre is a cultural powerhouse, a historic dance company where every movement speaks to 65,000 years of Aboriginal storytelling. Bangarra blends contemporary dance with ancestral stories, original music, choreography and striking visual design. To witness a live performance in the great halls of the Sydney Opera House is an essential and unforgettable experience for both Sydney locals and visitors.
These venues don’t just serve food—they serveunforgettable experiences that echo the innovation, drama and joy of thefestival itself. From Parliament House grandeur to intimate teppanyaki roomsand cocktail bars with theatrical flair, Vivid dining in Sydney is as bold andbrilliant as the lights overhead. A stone’s throw from the action yet somehow removed from thechaos, Mode Kitchen & Bar offers a calm, elegant sanctuary in the midst ofVivid Sydney’s electric energy. Polished timber, velvet banquettes and low-litsophistication make it an ideal spot for those looking to elevate theirfestival experience.

At Laneway Festival, held in late summer, expect big names in the indie, pop and electronic scenes. On 26 January every year, Koori Radio transforms Victoria Park in Redfern into Yabun, where you’ll find a bustling marketplace and a mixed-genre lineup of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Hailed overseas as “the most joyful exhibition of the year”, Balloon Story is designed to delight. It’s hugely photogenic and clearly engineered by people who take balloons very, very seriously (we’re talking an international team of creative directors, balloon engineers and immersive design pros). Over 60 immersive installations by 16 artists that distort space, sound, and perception.
This Tony-nominated musical comedy brings the 1988 film to the Hayes Theatre stage. Elegant conman Lawrence Jamieson and unpredictable hustler Freddy Benson compete on the French Riviera in a high-stakes game targeting a seemingly innocent American heiress. As their schemes escalate, nothing and no one proves to be quite what they seem.

The Art Gallery has a range of tours and experiences available for tourism trade booking, including commissionable experiences. Email our tourism team with your details and we will be in touch shortly. Lozano-Hemmer was the subject of 75 solo exhibitions worldwide, including a major show at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC, the inaugural show at the AmorePacific Museum in Seoul and a mid-career retrospective co-produced by the MAC in Montréal and SFMOMA. Andy McCafferty – London artist exploring the intersection of digital creativity, art, and wellbeing through therapeutic design. Jeremy Morgan Worrall – Indigenous artist from NSW, guided by Elders in traditional painting.
Step into a world where Earth’s history unfolds before your eyes, from the first signs of life to the rise of humanity. A place where prehistoric creatures roam, ancient landscapes stretch endlessly, and you can witness evolution as it happens. Life Chronicles, a spectacular immersive expedition in virtual reality (VR), has officially opened at Sydney Olympic Park. Barangaroo Aboriginal Cultural Tours traverse the six-hectare headland of Barangaroo Reserve where more than 75,000 native trees and shrubs offer a living window into pre-colonial Sydney.
You can explore the winning works and discover the stories behind the artists, subjects and portraits here. Discover mysterious and unique Viking-age treasures at this fascinating exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum. This display offers a rare glimpse into the Galloway Hoard, a collection of Viking-age objects buried around AD 900. Containing over five kilograms of silver, gold and other materials, this exhibition explores who buried the hoard, their stories, the world of Viking-age Europe, and the cutting-edge conservation and research now revealing its secrets. Back for a strictly limited season, this iconic tribal rock musical brings the vibrant counterculture of New York’s hippie movement to life on stage.

Whether you’reupstairs soaking in the view or downstairs sipping a craft beer, the HarbourView is the quintessential Vivid pitstop, complete with hearty food and afront-row seat to the city’s nocturnal transformation. Visitors are encouraged to take their time, with experiences designed to last between an hour and two and a half. Tickets go on public sale from 23 October after an early waitlist period, and Medina hopes to attract more than 100,000 visitors in the first year.
There are ingenious, tailor-made gizmos like scratch-resistant lenses and ear thermometers, all developed with life on the International Space Station in mind. In fact, you can even walk through a replica cross-section of the International Space Station, see the myriad of dials and buttons, then gaze out of the porthole, imagining you're orbiting thousands of kilometres above the earth. A voyage through time that brings the legacy of the Titanic to life, supporting classroom learning through exploration, storytelling, and visual discovery. It seemed pretty realistic to take the stairs or climb the ladder in VR. A unique, family-friendly journey through history — immersive, educational, and full of charm.

Guided by cultural protocols and respectful of local knowledge and authority. Delivered by Aboriginal Elders, Traditional Owners, and cultural practitioners with lived knowledge. Invite connection, respect, and understanding, book an authentic Aboriginal cultural practice, shared with integrity, guided by tradition, and experienced at your event, school, or community gathering.
It’s a place where reality takes a detour and you remember how to wonder again. Over 60 optical illusions, holographic rooms, and sensory art installations have come to Chippendale—get your tickets here. What ties all these art forms together is they all take an original approach to art, challenging the norms of more traditional art practices. By buying contemporary art, you’re investing in an artwork that challenges societal norms. Vincent Ciccarello is an Adelaide-based arts leader and philanthropy director with more than three decades of experience across classical music, journalism, and philanthropy.