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| Photo by Reichlyn |
However, there were several weaknesses that people were
talking about.
More than 270,000 people turned out to Vivid on its first
weekend. Crowds of people kept on coming each night. This is good news, as it
means the popularity of Vivid is growing. The downside of this is overcrowding.
Overcrowding meant bumping into people, not being able to get close to the
light sculptures, congested public transport, and tripping over as you couldn’t
see where you were going. (I tripped over when I walked to the Opera
House from Circular Quay on the upper level concourse at the first of the
shallow steps I came across. The step edge was not marked, there was lack of
light to see it, and I was walking behind a crowd of people.) Organisers warned
people to avoid using ferries, and to come after 9pm when fewer people were
around. Not practical advice when you have a young family. To help ease the
congestion issue, perhaps Vivid could be extended by an extra week.
Another problem brought about by the overcrowding was the
prevalence of people smoking in the presence of other Vivid goers. The foul smell of cigarettes permeated the air,
and some people’s clothes had burn marks from cigarettes bumping into them. It would
have been hard for the smokers to get way from people to have a smoke in
isolation due to the large numbers of people everwhere. A radical solution might be to
ban smoking in the Vivid areas throughout the period of Vivid. Yes, it would be
unpleasant for the smokers, but so much more enjoyable for the non-smokers.
Actually getting to see the Vivid light sculpture walk had its
difficulties. This walk featured 56 amazing light sculptures that extended from
Walsh Bay, around The Rocks and Circular Quay to the Sydney Opera House.
However public transport was only available at Circular Quay (train station,
ferry wharf or bus stop). This meant that to walk the walk you had to walk it
twice by going to one of the ends of your walk and retracing your steps. You
walked to the Opera house and then back to Circular Quay, then walked to Walsh Bay
and back again to Circular Quay. To enable people to start the walk at Walsh
Bay, Circular Quay or The Opera House, perhaps shuttle buses could make continuous
loops between those three places. This would enable people to walk the entire
walk in one direction, not just the part around Circular Quay.
The lit-up Sydney Harbour Bridge was supposed to be a highlight.
However it was a disappointment viewing it from the Circular Quay side, with
only faint hints of color evident. It may have looked brighter from the other
side, which I did not see.
This year a new feature was more disappointing than
exciting. The harbour was supposed to be a patchwork of bright colors, with a flotilla
of ferries, cruise boats and water taxis turning red, yellow, pink, green, cyan,
magenta and blue. Each boat was supposed to be decorated with LED lights that changed
colour with the aid of satellite navigation tracking systems as the boats
travelled in the different zones of the harbour. The patchwork of colors did not eventuate, as
not all boats had the colored light system installed, and those that did just
had a single string of LED lights. There were not enough boats on the harbour at
any one time to create the intended kaleidoscope effect.
Martin Place was used this year for the first time for Vivid
Sydney. The Urban Tree projected on the MLC building was a highlight. However,
the light installations in Martin Place just seemed to be props for the many
food stalls and commercial exhibits.
The Aquatique Water Theatre was a feature of Vivid at Cockle
Bay. I did not see this, as I ran out of time when I saw Vivid at Martin Place
and Circular Quay. Again, public transport to Cockle Bay is a problem - the Monorail
is no longer in existence; there are no bus services and no ferry service. The
only way to get there is to walk from Town Hall or Wynyard Stations. Perhaps next
year free regular shuttle buses could operate between the stations, Cockle Bay,
Martin Place, Walsh Bay and The Opera House.
There were many good components of Vivid. It grows in
popularity each year with the addition of new features. However, for it to be a
truly amazing event on the world stage, all of central Sydney needs to join in. The
light projections on various buildings in the CBD looked good, but what stood
out like a sore thumb were the unlit buildings. Their blackness was bleakness
on the Vivid landscape. It even gets down to all the shops, both large and
small, incorporating some special light feature in their shop windows. This
would add to people’s enjoyment as they walked from one Vivid venue to another.
Even though Vivid is over for 2014, we can look forward to Vivid 2015. We can also reminisce about Vivid 2014 by having a look at the Vivid
2014 Facebook site -
https://www.facebook.com/vividsydney
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