Drone show to bring the buzz to New Year’s celebrations
The Melbourne skyline will light up with drones on New Year’s Eve in a stunning spectacle. Here’s how it will work, plus other unmissable events in the city.
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Melbourne will ring in the New Year in style with the return of fireworks, street feasts and
one of the largest drone shows the southern hemisphere has ever seen.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal that a spectacular drone light show is set to be the highlight of the celebrations, with 350 individual drones swarming above Victoria Harbour to form festive images for Melburnians to enjoy.
The Docklands drone display, developed by renowned drone art company Celestial, will take place twice on New Year’s Eve, once before the 9.30pm fireworks and again before midnight.
It will also run twice nightly from January 3 to January 30.
Delivered by the City of Melbourne and Victorian Government through the $100 million Melbourne City Recovery Fund, New Year’s Eve celebrations will reignite the Docklands precinct and support local business.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the Docklands drone swarm will “celebrate our love for Melbourne” and help reignite the city.
“Fireworks, street feasts and live music will add to the buzz, and we’re thrilled to entice people in to celebrate with us in a safe way,” Ms Capp said.
Melbourne’s annual New Year’s Eve fireworks will return with a bang after being cancelled last year because of Covid restrictions.
Revellers will be able to enjoy the fireworks spectacular from four ticketed celebration zones across the city, which include Docklands, Flagstaff Gardens, Alexandra Gardens and Treasury Gardens.
Patrons must book a free ticket and be fully vaccinated to enter one of the dedicated zones.
Roaming entertainment will bring the city to life, with performances by comedy and circus acts, dance workshops, bands, local DJs and a disco light installation taking over city streets.
Scrumptious street feasts will be also available to indulge in thanks to the City of Melbourne partnering with Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
Eight precincts across the city, including Little Bourke St, Flinders lane and Federation Square, will burst to life with food trucks, live music and an array of delicious dining options available from Melbourne’s favourite restaurants.
“We can’t wait to see people lining Melbourne’s streets eating and drinking, and being cared for by our world-class operators as we ring in the New Year,” Melbourne Food and Wine Festival CEO Anthea Loucas Bosha said.
The full New Year’s Eve program launches on 25 November.
Tickets to the celebration zones will be awarded through a Ticketek ballot, while tickets to New Year Street Feasts will be on sale via the Melbourne Food & Wine website.
MARKET PARK POPS UP
Visitors to Melbourne’s iconic Queen Victoria Market will find there’s even more to enjoy this festive season, with the opening of a new pop-up park used to host live music and community events.
The Market Square pop-up park is the first step in transforming the market’s open-air carpark into 1.75ha of green space for the community to enjoy.
The market’s renowned shopping and dining will take place alongside a creative hub, when experimental arts space Testing Grounds moves to the park over the coming months.
The $2m project is part of the landmark $100m Melbourne City Recovery Fund – a joint investment by the City of Melbourne and the state government to stimulate the economy.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said they were doing everything they could to entice people back into the CBD, as Melbourne continues to emerge from the pandemic.
“The park will be a drawcard destination, giving locals, workers and visitors even more reasons to visit the market, dwell and enjoy the market experience,” she said.
“We’re encouraging people to come down to Queen Victoria Market, explore the open-air merchandise stalls, fill their picnic baskets with gourmet produce and enjoy an afternoon on the grass with family and friends.”
Queen Victoria Market chief executive Stan Liacos said traders had been hit hard by lockdowns and ongoing restrictions on retail trade.
The new park would give the market’s 600 small businesses a much-needed boost, he said.
DISNEY GIVEAWAY
Dozens of families can watch their favourite Disney animated characters come to life without putting their hands in their pockets this summer.
The Herald Sun’s Comeback Melbourne Great Giveaway competition is shouting 50 family passes to ACMI Disney: The Magic of Animation Exhibition, as part a bid to draw people back to the CBD after enduring the world’s longest lockdown.
ACMI chief executive Katrina Sedgwick said the exhibition at the country’s national museum of screen culture — which has recently undergone a $40 million transformation — was a celebration of Disney’s creativity over generations.
“Everyone has grown up knowing these characters. It’s celebrating the craft and ingenuity of the artists who have been working in the Disney studio for nearly 100 years,” Ms Sedgwick said.
“It’s what Melbourne needs right now. We are slowly coming back into our city,” she said.
The $50,000 Comeback Melbourne Great Giveaway gives Victorians the chance to score more than 1000 tickets and passes to theatre, exhibitions, activities, sports and entertainment events and dining venues, with new prizes dropping every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Disney: The Magic of Animation is at ACMI in Federation Square until January 23.
Enter at heraldsun.com.au/competitions.
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