They say death and taxes are the two things that are guaranteed in life. Well we would like to add a third one: Sydneysiders complaining about crowds and pretty lights for about three weeks at the end of every May.
That’s right, we’re talking about Vivid Sydney and the inevitable deluge of complaints that come with it every year the festival rolls around.
We get it, crowds suck and you just want to enjoy your night out in Sydney without having to elbow your way from place to place.
But here’s the thing, having crowds everywhere during Vivid is exactly the whole point of the festival.
Before Vivid became a thing in 2009, winter tourist numbers and the nightlife in Sydney was crawling up and down struggle street. In fact, the city has been trying to fix this problem for years ever since the 2000 Summer Olympics ended.
In an attempt to inject some life (and much needed moolah) back into the city, Destination NSW (then Tourism NSW) decided to launch the lights/arts/musc/whatever goes festival that we all now know as Vivid Sydney. What initially seemed like a gamble ultimately paid off as tourists arrived in droves and money poured into the economy like water from a fire hydrant. In fact, Vivid Sydney 2017 brought in well over 2 million visitors and over $143 million to the state economy.
In short, Vivid exists to bring in tourists (and money) into Sydney every year, so it’s literally a life line for the city. So to all those Sydneysiders who whinge about Vivid’s crowds and lights every year, quit your complaining because that’s the whole point of the festival and it’s helping to stave off boredom in your city while simultaneously saving it.
Just stop it.
Given all the ridiculous lock out laws that have left Sydney’s nightlife resembling something of a barren wasteland from Mad Max, Vivid is something that Sydney needs and complaining about it is just being ungrateful.
So enough with the grievances about the people and lights, and use that energy to join in on the fun. Vivid Sydney ain’t going anywhere so you might as well enjoy yourself and become part of the experience rather than being an old man yelling at crowds.