Vivid Sydney returns to Chatswood in 2017 with steam-punk theme

It wowed audiences last year, but Vivid Sydney will return to Chatswood bigger and better in 2017.

A sneak peek of what will greet Vivid visitors at Chatswood Interchange in 2017.

Vivid Sydney will merge the old and the new in Chatswood this year with the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas combining 19th-century steam powered machines.

The 2017 theme of “steam-punk” refers to a science fiction genre that features historical machinery like steam engines, and puts them into a futuristic setting.

Light shows and interactive displays, which are a hallmark of Vivid, start at the Chatswood Interchange and wind back to The Concourse.

Displays include the 9000 LED Voxelscape at the interchange, as well as the people powered and interactive steam engine, Gear Shift.

Other displays include Crossword in the Mall, which allows revellers to send hidden messages into the air and onto friends or stranger and the Octopoda above Hawker Lane, which invites revellers into its percussion band.

A preview of Future City Smart City at The Concourse in Chatswood by artist The Electric Canvas.

Feature projection Future City Smart City at the Concourse sees people take to the air and form an airborne, sustainable community while Steampunk Waterworld takes people underwater into a world inspired by 19th century French author and science-fiction trendsetter Jules Verne.

A special daytime display, Light Bounce at Chatswood Chase, allows visitors to wander through a sparkling forest of refractive light rounds out the intriguing line up.

Willoughby Mayor Gail Giles-Gidney said she was excited to see the latest instalment of the event.

“It’s a wonderful event that our local community loves, that has remarkable cultural and economic development opportunities for the area,” she said.

“Each year the success of the event continues to grow, as is evidenced by our extended event dates, and it has really helped cement Chatswood’s position as a vital part of the greater Sydney cultural landscape.”

Vivid Sydney in Chatswood will begin on May 26 and run until June 17.