Vivid shines a light on Sydney's beauty

The lights and action of Vivid Festival provide a major boost to visitation to Sydney over the cooler months.

Running from Friday, May 22, to Saturday, June 13, the 23‑day program brings together creativity to Australia's largest city across Vivid Light, Vivid Music, Vivid Minds and Vivid Food.

More than 80% of the festival remains free, including the entire Vivid Light Walk, an unbroken 6.5‑kilometre journey featuring over 43 installations and projections created by local and international artists.

The Vivid Light Walk stretches along Circular Quay, The Rocks, Barangaroo and Darling Harbour, with additional venues in and around the CBD hosting Vivid Music, Vivid Food and Vivid Minds events. 

This year, Vivid Sydney will feature collaborations for a series of events with Biennale Sydney, as well as cultural institutions, venues and arts companies such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Australian National Maritime Museum, City Recital Hall, The Mint, Carriageworks, State Library of NSW, Sydney Opera House and more.

New South Wales Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said Vivid Sydney will be bigger and better than ever before. Well he would, wouldn't he? 

“No other city in the world can host Vivid, because no other city in the world has what Sydney has to offer," said the offensively cocky sounding Kamper. 

"Vivid Sydney 2026 will redefine how we experience our city, delivering a bigger and bolder event program that will come to life both day and night."

Festival director Brett Sheehy says: “For 2026 we are expanding our program into new artforms including aerial performance, daytime public art, theatre and dance. 

"These join our vast Vivid Minds, Light, Music and Food offerings to now make your Vivid Sydney one of the great comprehensive arts festivals of the world."

Stay tuned for a special announcement of a Vivid Sydney first, an outdoor performance on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt over the June long weekend.

At the heart of the new Regional Dinner Series is A Shared Table with Yotam Ottolenghi, where the world‑renowned chef will bring together ingredients and flavours from across the state. 

Tickets for Vivid Sydney are on sale now. For more information and for a full list of events, go to vividsydney.com 

Combining bikes and boats is growing in popularity

Tours that combine biking and barging are all the rage, tourism operator UTracks reports.

Bike and boat holidays aim to combine the comfort of river and canal cruising with the freedom to explore well beyond the riverbanks.

And Europe’s waterways, from the flats of the Netherlands to France, Germany and the along the Danube, enable small vessels to glide into lesser-known ports while cruisers spend days cycling through river towns, vineyards and picturesque landscapes.

The Mediterranean, particularly along the coasts of Greece and Croatia, offer similar experiences at sea.

Guests can cycle village lanes, and rural backroads before heading back to their ship for dinner.

A range of routes are available and for the less energetic (raises hand), electric bikes are available for a supplement.    

https://www.utracks.com/bike-boat-information

Crudo adds a new gourmet offering to Gippsland waterfront

Gippsland has a new gourmet destination with the opening of Crudo | Wine & Provisions in Lakes Entrance.

 

The new Mediterranean-inspired deli and wine store is part of popular waterfront restaurant Sodafish and has opened on the lower deck beneath the floating restaurant.

Following five successful years of Sodafish, executive chef and owner Nick Mahlook decided to  expanded his operation, creating a providore experience that brings together local seafood, European pantry staples and a wine selection in a relaxed coastal setting.

Crudo - Italian for ‘raw’ - aims to replaicte the Sodafish ethos with quality, simplicity and respect for produce, including gourmet offerings from Spain, Italy and France.



Guests can browse cheeses, anchovies, sardines and antipasto ingredients, plus pantry staples designed to elevate everyday cooking. 

Freshly baked breads and sourdough pizza slices are available daily, with toppings such as mortadella, stracciatella and pistachio, or capers, confit tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. 

Sounds good for picnics, or anyone in self-catering accommodation in the sun, sand and surf destination. 

Crudo also offers grazing platters for pre-orders, also ideal for picnics, boating days or entertaining. A new jetty allows guests to pull up by boat, collect a platter and wine, and head back onto the Gippsland Lakes.

Images: Nicky Cawood

City of Sydney aims to boost nightlife precincts

The City of Sydney has unveiled plans to boost nightlife, saying 5000 businesses across more than 20 special entertainment precincts are set to benefit.

Venues within the precincts will be able to trade later and gain access to NSW Government benefits, including liquor licence fee discounts and extended licensing hours.

“This will be the largest overhaul of late-night trading of its kind in Australia,” Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said.

“Our community has resoundingly voiced its support for our plans so far, highlighting the fact that we want to see a nightlife that reflects our status as a global city.

“The community has also asked us to allow some areas to trade even later and we’ve listened.”

The proposals seek to expand some of the City of Sydney’s existing late-night precincts and add new ones.

Special entertainment precincts would now include:

*a new area along Harris Street in Ultimo, including the Powerhouse Museum
* expanded precincts along Meagher Street and Shepherd Street in Chippendale
* an expanded Oxford Street precinct, covering The National Art School and Qtopia.

“In response to community feedback we have expanded special entertainment precinct status to some new areas," Moore said. "We have heard the concerns of residents in some of those areas and we will continue to work with them as well as businesses, workers and visitors through this next phase to ensure we get the balance right.” 

The following areas would be upgraded to a later ‘tier’, unlocking later hours for businesses:

* Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, Wharves 3 and 4
* several streets around the Mercantile Hotel in The Rocks
* part of Oxford Street to the east of Taylor Square
* Regent Street, Botany Road and parts of Redfern Street
* The Hollywood Quarter around Campbell, Foster and Commonwealth streets in Surry Hills.

“It’s clear our communities are invested in these proposals but it’s a very technical process, so by consulting them every step of the way we’re ensuring they understand and support us at each stage of this journey,” Moore said.

The changes are part of a broader suite of proposals to recognise established and understood late-night trading areas with special entertainment precinct status.

“We all want a nightlife we can be proud of, and that our global city deserves,” Moore added.

Image: City of Sydney, Ed Hurst

Sunshine Coast now linked to two major Asian destinations

The Sunshine Coast now has air links to two major Asian destinations: Bali and Singapore.

Sunshine Coast Airport today welcomed its first international service to Singapore via Bali.

The new Jetstar service will operate three times per week. 

Sunshine Coast Airport CEO, Chris Mills said more than 200 passengers boarded the inaugural flight heading off to Bali.

“Today is a proud moment for our airport and our community," Mills said.

“Direct services to Bali and through to Singapore strengthens our region’s accessibility and helps unlock new opportunities for tourism, trade and investment.

“The new service represents significant planning and investment in our airport to make sure it continues to grow alongside our region.

“We’re delighted to partner with Jetstar to deliver this service and look forward to welcoming more visitors to experience everything our region has to offer.” Mr Mills said.

Jetstar’s head of network fleet strategy and planning, Ted Knight, said the airline was proud to be leading the way in opening new international connections for the Sunshine Coast.

“Asia is closer than ever for Sunshine Coast residents and visitors with today’s inaugural service from Maroochydore to Bali and Singapore," Knight said.

“We’ll be offering more than 70,000 low-cost seats a year on this route so our customers can afford to take off more for less to Bali or continue to Singapore and beyond."

Jetstar currently operates direct services from Sunshine Coast Airport to Auckland, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns, making it the airport’s largest carrier.

Jetstar is offering one-way sale fares from the Sunshine Coast to Bali from $209 and from Sunshine Coast to Singapore from $249. See jetstar.com.

Singapore Airlines goes large on new Western Sydney International Airport

 

Singapore Airlines will launch daily non-stop flights between Singapore and the new Western Sydney International Airport from November 23.

The airline will operate its Airbus A350-900 medium-haul aircraft, which features 303 seats in two cabin classes: 40 in business class and 263 in economy class, subject to regulatory approval..

The inaugural flight, SQ201, is scheduled to depart Singapore at 11:30am on November 23 and arrive at 22:20pm. The return flight, SQ202, is scheduled to depart Western Sydney International Airport on the same day at 23:55pm and arrive in Singapore at 05:05am the next morning.

Combined with SIA’s four-times-daily services to Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport, the airline will operate five daily flights to Sydney: Australia’s financial hub.

With the addition of Western Sydney International, SIA will serve eight destinations in Australia. Scoot, SIA’s low-cost subsidiary, serves three destinations in Australia.

“Singapore Airlines’ services to Australia’s newest gateway at Western Sydney will deliver more choice and strengthen connectivity to this popular destination for our customers," says Dai Haoyu, senior vice president for marketing and planning.

"Western Sydney’s late-night departure capacity will enable a seamless travel journey and connections through Singapore Changi Airport, to more than 130 global destinations served by the SIA Group.”

Simon Hickey, CEO of WSI, said: “Western Sydney International Airport is thrilled to be partnering with Singapore Airlines, bringing more of its Skytrax certified 5-Star service to the people of Greater Sydney.

"Our 24-hour capacity, coupled with Singapore Airlines’ extensive global connectivity, will open our city to the world in new and exciting ways. From Sydney to Singapore and beyond, we are pleased to help herald this new era of aviation that will ultimately give Australian travellers more choice and flexibility on when, where, and how they choose to fly.”

Tickets are on sale from today.