Sydney’s Chinese New Year Festival began tonight with 12 zodiac animal lanterns in some of Sydney’s most iconic locations illuminated for the first time.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Bernadette Inglis, Group General Manager Westpac, switched on the lights of the most spectacular exhibition in the festival’s history at the opening ceremony at Dawes Point.
The City of Sydney and its Principal Partner, Westpac, also lit some of the city’s most famous landmarks red, marking the start of the festival’s 20th year.
World-famous structures including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House sails, Circular Quay Station, Sydney Town Hall and the Capitol Theatre turned red in an historic first to welcome the Lunar New Year.
“Whether it’s the brilliant colour of our glowing lanterns and stunning contemporary art, or sizzling dishes from across Asia and cultural performances, the City of Sydney celebrates Chinese New Year in spectacular style,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
“From tonight to 21 February Sydneysiders and visitors will be enchanted by our stunning Lunar Lanterns and community performances that will bring the summer nights to life in a uniquely Australian celebration of the Lunar New Year.”
The lanterns are designed by Chinese-Australian artists, including Laurens Tan, Fan Dongwang, Tianli Zu, Hu Ming, Claudia Chan Shaw and Jiahua (Justin) Qian. They include 8-metre-high wise monkeys outside the Sydney Opera House, a shimmering horse chariot and majestic ox made of 700 mah-jong tiles in Martin Place, and a giant, happy tiger at the QVB forecourt. Fourteen rabbits performing tai chi can be seen at Customs House, while a spectacular goat lantern lights up the heart of Chinatown, gifted by the City of Guangzhou.
Festival Curator, Claudia Chan Shaw, said the scale of each lantern and their renowned locations, made this one of the biggest exhibitions the City has ever undertaken.
“The Lunar Lanterns will ensure this year’s festival is the biggest to date, making the 20th anniversary celebration a truly unforgettable experience,” said Ms Shaw.
“Working with Westpac to ‘paint the town red’ for three nights is the perfect way to start the celebrations and set the scene for a uniquely Sydney-style Chinese New Year.
“Australia has so many talented Australian artists, performers and creative people and this festival showcases them together in one magnificent 16-day celebration.”
The whole city will come alive from 6–21 February with events and activities hosted everywhere from The Rocks to Chippendale, Surry Hills to Glebe, Chinatown to Darling Harbour.
Experiences and activities on offer include martial arts demonstrations, Tai Chi classes, fortune reading, calligraphy lessons, monkey movies, mah-jong games, lion and dragon dances, contemporary dance and art performances.
Sydneysiders can also swing into some of the city’s best Asian restaurants, with more than 40 offering an array of set-price menus and specials as part of Lunar Feasts.
Visitors to the city are invited to step into another world beneath a swaying ceiling of glowing lanterns in Martin Place where they can meet up with friends, grab a drink and a bite to eat at the Westpac Lunar Lantern Hub.
Bernadette Inglis, Westpac’s General Manager for Retail and Premium Bank, said Westpac is excited to partner with the City of Sydney to celebrate Lunar New Year across the country with the Asian community.
“Westpac is delighted to get behind one of the largest Lunar New Year celebrations outside China and recognise the remarkable contribution the Chinese community brings to Australia. Westpac’s support of this vibrant collection of festivities is testament to our longstanding relationship with our multicultural customers, and our world-class service that helps our customers to build a successful life in Australia.”
Visitors can download the Sydney Cultural Walks app for a fun, easy way to navigate their way to each Lunar Lantern.
More than 80 family-friendly events make up the Sydney Chinese New Year Festival 2016 program, the largest Lunar New Year celebration outside of mainland China.
The complete Sydney Chinese New Year Festival program is at sydneychinesenewyear.com
Post and follow the conversation using #CNYSYD
Cure Brain Cancer Foundation is the official charity partner of the 2016 Chinese New Year Festival.
The City’s partners include Principal Partner Westpac and Leadership Partner The Star, Sydney.
Festival highlights include:
Lunar Lanterns, various locations, 6–14 February
- Giant lanterns representing animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac will grace some of Sydney’s most popular locations for nine days and nine nights.
- Lunar Lanterns is a contemporary take on a centuries-old tradition, with some lanterns standing several stories high and located throughout the city from Circular Quay to Chinatown.
- Led by a team of professional choreographers and dance captains, 1,000 performers will take part in the Lunar Lanterns community program at various lantern locations
- Community is the heart of the festival and, with the spectacular Lunar Lanterns as backdrops, the program showcases local talents and community organisations with more than 20 hours of performances.
- Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay station – Saturday 6 to Monday 8 February
- Sydney Town Hall – Saturday 6 to Sunday 21 February
- Capitol Theatre, courtesy of The Sound of Music – Saturday 6 to Sunday 21 February.
- Martin Place will light up under the glow of a 50-metre-long canopy of red lanterns.
- Try your luck in a game of Mahjong at The Star’s Fortune Garden or have a drink at the Monkey Shoulder Whisky Bar before continuing on your journey around the Lunar Lanterns.
- Around 40 of Sydney’s best Asian restaurants offer set-price meals and Lunar New Year inspired menus – everything from a vegan banquet to yum cha.
- More than 3,000 paddlers will churn up the water in 12-metre-long boats, featuring an ornately carved dragon head and tail. Thousands of spectators will line the banks of Cockle Bay to watch the boats battle it out in the southern hemisphere’s largest dragon boat racing festival.
- Celebrity Dragon Boat Race – The official charity partner for the Chinese New Year Festival, Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, is proud to have celebrities including Prof Charlie Teo, Jim Wilson (Channel 7), Johnny Ruffo (Channel 7), Richard Wilkins (Ch 9) and Ben Fordham (2GB) paddling in their boat. To sponsor the boat, visit curebraincancer.org.au
- Sydney’s Chinese New Year Festival started 20 years ago as a small community event in Chinatown attended by only a few hundred people.
- The festival today attracts more than 600,000 visitors to more than 80 events across the city over 16 days and nights, making it one of the most popular events in Sydney’s calendar and the largest celebration of Lunar New Year outside mainland China.
- 1,000 performers take part in this year’s Community Performance Program with five nights of entertainment at various lantern locations.
- Since it began in Sydney, the City has produced 108 events for the Chinese New Year Festival, supported more than 600 associated events, and hosted 10 delegations from China to be part of the celebrations.
For interviews with Lord Mayor Clover Moore, contact Paul Mackay on 0432 182 647 or email pmackay@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au