With spectacular light shows at the Royal Botanic Garden, immersive exhibitions, night markets and an underground party taking over Wynyard Station, we’re calling it now — this could be one of the very best Vivid Sydney editions yet. In case you’re still not convinced, this sparkly new event might change your mind. Written in the Stars is a first-of-its-kind drone show that will take place over Sydney Harbour. And it’s no ordinary drone show. Featuring more than 1,000 drones over six shows, this is set to be the biggest drone show in the Southern Hemisphere to date.
Written in the Stars, Vivid Sydney 2023
Conceptualised by Gill Minervini in collaboration with the Australian Traffic Network, Written in the Stars will take visitors on a celestial journey through the natural world as it explores the solar system, from the Sun to Neptune. Gaze at a blanket of stars and get lost in a sea of constellations in this magical display.
There’s still time to see the Vivid Sydney drone show if you’ve not caught a glimpse of it yet. The display will light up the sky above Circular Quay Monday, June 12 and Wednesday, June 14, with the display taking place from 9:10 – 9:20pm, weather permitting.
How can I travel to the Vivid Sydney drone show?
Unsurprisingly, the area around Circular Quay is going to be extremely busy on the nights of the drone show – and with road closures and parking restrictions in place, guests are strongly encouraged to use public transport to arrive.
However, there are changes to trains and light rail services that will affect the final part of your journey. On the trains, T2 & T3 services will not stop at Circular Quay station between 8:30-9:30pm on the nights of the drone shows, so visitors are encouraged to disembark at Wynyard station and make the final journey on foot. If you’re coming from Central Station, trains will be stopping at Circular Quay, but they’ll arrive at platform 1, which doesn’t have a view of the show (and therefore prevents anymore from stealing a prime viewing spot on the platform).
For light rail services, the recommendation is to catch the L2 or L3 to Town Hall and walk from there. Between 9:15-9:45pm on the drone show nights, there won’t be any light rail service between Town Hall and Circular Quay, to ensure that crowds from the show can disperse easily. Transport for NSW will be providing any additional updates to the service, whilst the Vivid website has a useful guide on how to get around.
What else is there to do at Vivid Sydney 2023?
Glad you asked! We’ve picked out a few ways to see the best sights of Vivid without constantly battling the crowds, including a spectacular bird’s eye view from the Sydney Tower Eye skywalk.
Alternatively, if you’ve been lucky enough to see Vivid plenty already, we’ve got even more suggestions for things to do in Sydney during the long weekend!