Friday 27 May 2016 to Saturday 18 June 2016 br br About Vivid Sydney br br In 2016 you can enjoy Vivid Sydney for more nights, and in more locations, including Taronga Zoo, The Royal Botanic Garden and The Galeries on George Street. And the ever-popular Light Walk is back with more than 60 projections and installations, winding its way around Circular Quay from the Sydney Opera House to Walsh Bay, revealing a hidden world of fantasy and magic. br br The Lighting of the Sydney Opera House Sails on 27 May is the moment when the spectacular Vivid Light kicks off for 23 nights. The Sails will be illuminated with the work of six Indigenous artists, celebrating the celestial Songlines of Australian Aboriginal astronomy. br br Flora and fauna are also a major theme, with The Royal Botanic Garden becoming the site of 3D-mapped projections that add a touch of fantasy to its natural world for the first time. Taronga Zoo also joins the festival for the first time, with 10 exquisite large-scale lanterns depicting precious, endangered species. br br In Darling Harbour, a sleeping dragon is brought to life by the spectacular Laser-Dragon Water-Theatre. This year’s innovative Vivid Music program features an impressive line-up of international and Australian talent. Carriageworks leads an inner-city push with a contemporary program that features international avant-garde artist Björk. br br The same venue will also be transformed for the inaugural Curve Ball, a large-scale live music and art event created by Fuzzy Music and featuring musical performances across two stages. Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House also unleashes a series of headline acts including indie synth-pop legends New Order and the Australian premiere of Anohni’s astonishing multimedia show. br br Smaller art house music venues, located throughout the inner city, will also join in a celebration of bands and performers. br br Added to the mix is Vivid Ideas, a stimulating program of public talks with 150 events examining issues and topics that range from the design of our cities to practical tools for creative practitioners. A key focus in 2016 will be the ‘Game Changer’ talks series at Sydney Town Hall, which features legendary filmmaker Spike Jonze, House of Cards screenwriter Beau Willimon, Orange is the New Black writer and creator Jenji Kohan, and one of Australia’s most influential new creatives Margaret Zhang. br br Vivid Ideas also features great innovative events such as the popular Robowars, where robots made by participants battle it out, the new CLIPPED Music Video Festival, the MCA Zine Fair which showcases our top zine-making talent and the ETSY Sydney Made Market which celebrates all things handmade by modern artisans and designers. br br Highlights br br Sydney shines during winter each year when Vivid Sydney warms up the city with a celebration of light, music and ideas. The creative heart of Sydney finds expression through a dynamic program featuring amazing light art, cutting-edge music, and plenty of opportunities to turn your inspiration into action. And due to popular demand the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas will run for an additional five nights in 2016, making 23 spectacular nights from 27 May to 18 June. br br Vivid Sydney is a unique annual event of light, music and ideas, featuring an outdoor 'gallery' of extraordinary lighting sculptures, a cutting-edge contemporary music program, some of the world's most important creative industry forums and, of course, the spectacular illumination of the Sydney Opera House sails. br br The multi-award-winning winter festival of light, music and ideas returns to illuminate Sydney with exciting new precincts to explore, mesmerising new light art to inspire and plenty of entertainment for everyone. This spectacular festival has grown into the largest of its kind in the world, attracting more than 1.7 million visitors last year. In 2016, Vivid will be bigger and better than ever, offering an expanded program of multi-genre music, more stimulating ideas from global thinkers and creators, plus dazzling light art across the city.