Vivid Sydney has triumphed at the 2024 Australian Event Awards, winning Best Cultural, Arts or Music Event.
The Australian Event Awards is the national awards program for the Australian events industry, celebrating excellence and innovation.
Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest multi-artform festival, is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW.
In 2024, Vivid Sydney injected more than $180 million in expenditure into the NSW visitor economy and welcomed an estimated 142,000 people on the festival’s opening night – the largest attendance on record, while Sunday 9 June shattered all records for most attendees in a single night.
The event also provided a welcome boost to the hospitality industry, with more than half a million people eating meals across the festival, while there were more than 80,000 attendees at Vivid Music events.
Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox said:
“This prestigious award reinforces Sydney’s reputation as the premier visitor destination in the Asia Pacific and cements its position as the cultural, arts and music powerhouse of the nation.
“Vivid Sydney is a major celebration of our creative industries and a fantastic visitor drawcard during the winter months, showcasing a different side to our great city.
“Australia’s largest festival not only turbocharges Sydney’s visitor and night-time economies it also encourages visitation across NSW, with Vivid Sydney visitors spending an estimated $19 million in regional areas in 2024.”
Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini said:
“Taking home the award for Best Cultural, Arts or Music Event speaks volumes to the impact Vivid Sydney continues to have in its 15th year.
“The festival shines a spotlight on the beauty of our city, its environment and its creativity. It highlights that our city’s icons are not just to be viewed, they can be embraced as integral parts of a vibrant living cultural narrative.
“I am so proud to see the festival evolve and grow each year across its four pillars of Vivid Light, Vivid Music, Vivid Ideas and Vivid Food.”
Vivid Sydney 2024 also recently won 18 medals at the Academy Awards of the festivals and events industry. The International Festival & Events Association (IFEA) Pinnacle Awards celebrate the best in festival and event innovation, creativity and excellence.
