Vivid acknowledges more crowd control needed after thousands fill Circular Quay

CRYING adults, distressed children and crushing crowds — these are the scenes Vivid organisers hope to avoid this weekend as the city braces for a final influx before the annual light festival ends.

Up to 4000 people flooded into Circular Quay on Sunday to see Vivid festival’s lights. Pic courtesy of Twitter user KellieKelly23.

• Wayne Shorter Quartet sets the seal on Vivid
• Canon shows off EOS 80D camera at light festival
• The perfect way to experience Vivid Sydney

BACK-UP police may be employed to control the crush of crowds this weekend as Sydney’s Vivid festival comes to a close following reports of severe bottlenecks and distressed visitors last weekend.

Crying adults, distressed children and crushing crowds forced road closures on Macquarie St between the Opera House and Hunter St and thousands of festivalgoers were turned away from accessing the Botanic Gardens.

As many as 4000 people flooded in to the festival of lights and, while Vivid organisers and transport services tried to update people through social media about crowds, heavy traffic, alternative transport and access points, festivalgoers chimed in to vent their frustration and dismay at the amount of people attending the festival and the resulting crush.

Anyone planning to catch a ferry to #VividSydney tonight needs a back up plan. Services on all routes are full. https://t.co/vhjL6n1l7L

— Ferries Info (@FerriesInfo) June 12, 2016

Huge crowds are expected at Vivid again this weekend and extra police will be on call after people were left distressed last weekend. Picture: gd_167/Twitter

Other visitors reported bottlenecks forming due to the masses of revellers in the city along the quay, beginning just past the Museum of Contemporary Art and peaking at Moore Steps, leading up to Macquarie St.

“Vivid. Where the crowds are too big and I don’t understand what’s happening,” tweeted one visitor.

Another Twitter user asked to be reminded “not to go out to Vivid again #crowds #crush #anxiety”.

Social media users claimed that police had been “rude and helpless” and that hundreds of people had been left stranded at Circular Quay after delays with ferries.

Closure of the ferry terminals was also a cause for complaint, forcing more foot traffic into smaller spaces around the quay.

@LiveTrafficSyd @VividSydney was so bad lastnight you couldnt see nothing or get anywhere

— Jasmina (@JasminaA83) June 12, 2016

Both security and police officers, acting under the Vivid-specific “Operation Skyline”, were on the scene to direct traffic — but were unable to sufficiently stem the tide of tourists, visitors said.

One woman said she had to hold onto others for stability in the crowd, and was worried about the elderly who were packed into the shifting mass.

Some areas of the foreshore were closed off, causing bottlenecks, she said. Another visitor reported crowds of thousands, some of whom were distressed or crying.

Social media users took to Twitter and Facebook to express their distress and frustration, warning others of the crowds.

Crowds at Vivid festival this year are expected to exceed figures from last year.

A spokeswoman for Destination NSW, the state tourism body responsible for Vivid, said the festival had a “scaled operation combining security and crowd control in place.”

Organisers liaise in real time with a number of state and local authorities every evening as “public safety as the highest priority,” the spokeswoman said.

Despite social media messaging and announcements at train stations encouraging visitors to start their trip in other precincts but large crowds still came to the area, at the same time, during the busiest part of the night, she said.

The popular Cathedral of Lights installation proved such an attraction that a “planned managed access” system had to be introduced.

Crowds have increased as a result of massive storms two weekends ago that closed the light festival. Picture: Getty

People were held at entry gates until other visitors had moved on — blocking the crowd coming in from Circular Quay behind them.

“The NSW police and rangers on site endeavoured to move crowds into other zones and the large number of people eventually were moved safely through the Gardens,” the Destination NSW spokeswoman said.

Concern is building that there will be a repeat of the distressing scenes of last weekend tonight and tomorrow - the final night of the festival.

Additional back up from police may be required to deal with the influx of people.

The Destination NSW spokeswoman said the organisation is liaising with NSW Police, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, Sydney Opera House, City of Sydney, Transport for NSW and other agencies regularly.

“We are liaising with the NSW Police and site managers regularly regarding any additional crowd management measures that may be required and we anticipate additional resources being deployed to address access issues on east Circular Quay,” the spokeswoman said.

Organisers “are continuing to encourage visitors to come earlier in the week and earlier in the evening and try to spread visits over more than one night and use public transport to avoid any bottlenecks,” she said.

Vivid From The Sky

VIEW GALLERY

Police Commander for Operation Skyline at the weekend, Superintendent David Donohue said the operation was “a high-visibility and mobile policing response, (which) has been in place to ensure public safety since the beginning of Vivid Sydney 2016.”

“Significant crowds attended Vivid Sydney at the weekend, during which General Duties police — with assistance from specialist units including the Operational Support Group (OSG) and Mounted Unit — continuously patrolled the event footprint focusing on crowd and pedestrian safety.”

Circular Quay has proved a tourist hot spot with light displays on the exterior of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Customs House, the Sydney Opera House and down to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Traffic and Highway Patrol officers also worked with Traffic Controllers to facilitate road closures and safe passage of motorists and pedestrians.

Superintendent Donohue said police were pleased with the behaviour of crowds — there were no incidents of anti-social behaviour or violence reported during the event.

Police appreciated everyone’s patience in navigating areas with large crowd numbers, which enabled people to safely make their way around all of the displays, he said.