Bucket List / Experience Goals
Spend New Year At Sydney Harbour
Ticked off in December 2013
Watch the Harbour Bridge explode into light over the Opera House as one of the world's first big cities hits midnight.
The adventure
The day starts early, with a picnic blanket staked out on the grass at a harbour headland while the sun is still climbing. Hours pass in warm summer air, with boats crowding the water and the Opera House sails glowing white. At 9 pm the family fireworks give everyone a taste, and as night falls, the Harbour of Light parade sends illuminated vessels gliding past.
Then, at midnight, the Harbour Bridge erupts. Fireworks pour from the span, shoot from barges across the water and burst over the Opera House, while the crowd of more than a million people lining the foreshore roars. For twelve minutes the sky over Sydney never goes dark, and when it ends, you know much of the world is still hours away from its own countdown.
Why it’s epic
- A 9 pm family show and the midnight main event, both launched from the Harbour Bridge and barges around the harbour.
- More than a million people lining the foreshore, one of the largest New Year crowds anywhere.
- The Harbour of Light parade of illuminated boats in the evening.
- New Year in the middle of the Australian summer, with warm nights and the beach the next day.
What it is
Sydney's New Year fireworks over the Harbour Bridge are among the world's first.
How to do it
Find a spot early at a harbour vantage point, or book a ticketed area.
Top tip
Bring food and water; vantage points fill up by afternoon.
Need to know
- Popular free vantage points such as Mrs Macquaries Point and the Opera House forecourt reach capacity early, sometimes by mid-morning.
- Many headlands are alcohol-free or ticketed, so check the City of Sydney's vantage point guide before you go.
- Harbour cruises and ticketed areas sell out months ahead, as do hotels with harbour views.
- UK visitors need an Australian eVisitor visa or ETA before travelling.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £2,000 to £5,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 1 night
- Best time to go
- 31 December
- Fly into
- SYD airport
Long-haul flights at Christmas and peak-season Sydney hotels are the main costs; harbour cruises add more.
Do it yourself
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My experience
Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.
Over to you
Is “Spend New Year At Sydney Harbour” on your bucket list, or have you already done it? Tell me in the comments, and if you've got a question about it, ask away and I'll answer.