Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the festival, now in its 10th year, is expected to break the record results achieved every year since it started.
“The city’s hotels and major attractions are already reporting strong bookings as NSW begins welcoming visitors from across Australia and the world,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Vivid Sydney will look to outshine last year’s festival, which attracted a record 2.33 million attendees and injected over $143 million into NSW’s visitor economy, by delivering another innovative program which celebrates a decade as Australia’s most loved major event.
“Tonight, the festival returns bolder and brighter than ever before and we light up a new precinct, Luna Park, for the very first time.”
Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said Vivid Sydney was an opportunity to showcase not only Sydney, but the entire State.
“Vivid Sydney is more than just a captivating light, music and ideas festival – it drives our economy, attracting hundreds of thousands of overnight visitors to our State,” Mr Marshall said.
“Nearly 38,000 visitors to Vivid Sydney last year chose to extend their stay in NSW and travel beyond the fringes of Sydney, staying more than 94,000 nights and injecting over $16 million into the State’s regional economy.
“The NSW Government has worked hard to ensure NSW is the tourism and events capital of Australia and Vivid Sydney showcases our global city to the world, reinforcing Sydney’s position as the home of creativity, culture and innovation.”
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