A rainbow waterfall of fireworks will cascade from Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of this year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the dramatic technicolour fireworks would confirm Sydney as the New Year’s Eve capital of the world and celebrate Australians saying ‘Yes’ to marriage equality.

“This is a fabulous way to see out 2017 – the year that four out of five Sydneysiders said a resounding ‘Yes’ to marriage equality,” the Lord Mayor said.

“The rainbow waterfall is a well-earnt tribute to the Sydney 78ers who marched for gay rights 40 years ago – it’s a reminder of how far we have come and how far we have left to achieve true equality for our LGBTI community. It’s a wonderful way to ring in the New Year, and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Mardi Gras.

“With more fireworks than ever before, this year’s Sydney NYE celebration guarantees to be the biggest, brightest and best in the world.

“Sydney New Year’s Eve contributes an estimated $133 million to the local economy and puts Sydney on the map as a global city for tourism, business, events and creativity on every level.”

It takes Sydney fireworks director Fortunato Foti and the crew from Sydney family company Foti Fireworks International more than 5,000 hours to create the New Year’s Eve display.

“The challenge this year was to create never-before-seen displays. Out of this we’ve created some great effects that I’m looking forward to sharing with the people of Sydney and the world,” Mr Foti said.

“This waterfall effect is a first for the bridge and we’ve chosen the rainbow colours that work best for fireworks: red, yellow, green, blue, purple and silver.”

Mr Foti says there will be more than 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects on the night, setting a new record for the annual event’s 9pm and midnight displays, with:

Inner-Sydney street artist Nadia Hernández is the creative artist for this New Year’s Eve and a series of bright artwork designs have inspired vibrant colour palette for the fireworks.

This year the 9pm and midnight firework display and the dramatic lighting effects beamed from the Sydney Harbour Bridge will feature new pastel shades, including bright orange, pink, lime green and light blue.

Her artwork designs also feature inspirational words, including wonder, harmony, hope and together, which will feature in the animations projected onto the harbour bridge pylons on the night.

“I included these words in the New Year’s Eve artworks because they reflect my love of Sydney and send a positive message of hope for Australia and the world as we move into a new year,” Ms Hernández said.

“The words and colours are all about what a wonderful place Sydney is in summer – spending time outdoors with family and with friends – and that sums up New Year’s Eve in Sydney, too.

“It’s such an honour to have been chosen by the City to be the creative artist for New Year’s Eve. This project really has been a dream come true for me.”

The 2017 New Year’s program highlights include:

6pm                Pre-show entertainment
8.38pm           Welcome to Country ceremony
9pm                Family fireworks display
9.15pm           Harbour of Light Parade
Midnight        Spectacular 2017 Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks display

Getting in and out of the city centre is different on New Year’s Eve. There will be road closures, on-street fencing and diversions to help people get around safely and move crowds to transport. Visit sydneynewyearseve.com for detailed information.

Source: City of Sydney Press Release