‘Plan B’ needed for Vivid after drop in patrons, business figures say

New areas to explore and a back-up plan for when bad weather hits - these are the key things business figures say must happen to save the faltering Vivid festival.

Charting a ferry to open up new parts of Sydney for the Vivid light show and having a ‘plan B’ ready to roll out if the popular drone display goes belly up are some of the avenues which should be explored to rescue the flagship winter city event after patronage faltered this year.

Business figures in the city are urging a rethink on the festival of lights, following revelations by The Daily Telegraph on Monday that initial estimates had patronage down by about one million visitors compared to last year’s event, with stall holders reporting difficulty in making a profit.

Crowds varied wildly as well, with quiet nights counterbalanced by hemmed-in crowds which threatened to turn into a crush.

City of Sydney Liberal Councillor Lyndon Gannon said the event had to expand.

The Vivid Food Trail looking quiet during the 2024 event. Patronage is down by a million people, early estimates show.

He said he’d heard complaints from businesses saying this year was tough to make a profit, and he said something new – like a ferry travelling from the CBD to the new White Bay Power Station function space – could add new spark to the event.

Such a trip would be similar to the ferry ride required to get to the world-class Mona Museum in Hobart, with Clr Gannon saying it’d better use White Bay, which opened in March as an exhibition centre after being closed to the public for 40 years.

“I’d like to see it expanded to other areas as well, like White Bay … You could increase public transport by getting a ferry to go (there),” he said.

“Vivid was designed to bring people in to spend money in the CBD in the winter months but that’s not happening … I’m hearing businesses aren’t making a profit.”

The 2024 Vivid, following up on a bumper 2023 event, was cursed by bouts of bad weather throughout, which forced the grounding of the flagship drone show on Saturday night.

The lactlustre 2024 event followed a bumper 2023. Picture: NewsWire / Destination NSW

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said reports food stalls had lost money were concerning, but urged caution in subsidising them at the expense of permanent restaurants and cafes.

“These outlets need to prosper from Vivid but we also need to be aware of the economic wellbeing of existing restaurants and cafes in the area that are still in recovery mode from the pandemic,” he said.

He added there needs to be a backup light display if something grounds the popular drone fleet, as happened Saturday.

“This year’s experience underlines the need for a Plan B when it comes to the drone show, which by its nature is subject to weather and atmospheric conditions,” he said.

Paul Nicolaou from Business Sydney. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

“It needs to be well communicated ahead of the festival that the drone show is weather dependent and never a certainty and that there is an additional backup electronic light display in the wings when this happens.”

Arts and night-time economy Minister John Graham defended the 2024 turn out, saying preliminary figures indicated the second biggest attendance since the event began, including the biggest single night crowd ever.

“Importantly, Vivid Sydney continues to light up retail sales in the CBD in what used to be a winter dead zone for trade,” he said.

“The festival needs to keep reinventing itself and we are open to new ideas. The addition of Fire Kitchen at the Goods Line, Ultimo, was a good innovation this year which I predict will only get bigger and more popular.”

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