TRAVEL CORRESPONDENCE
Get ready to leap into the Year of the Rabbit in Sydney
The City of Sydney will energize business and culture in Haymarket with a vibrant and diverse 16-day Festival marking the Lunar New Year.
In its 27th year, the 2023 Sydney Lunar Festival will be full of fun events and outdoor art installations running from Saturday 21 January to Sunday 5 February.
The festival will kick start with Sydney Lunar Streets on Lunar New Year’s Eve with Haymarket transforming into a buzzing carnival, attracting thousands of people to the area. The heart of this event will be Haymarket with Dixon, Hay, Sussex and Harbour streets hosting something for everyone including live stage and roving performances, lion dancers, delicious street food and markets selling lunar goodies.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said this year’s program was captivating as the City of Sydney continues working to revitalize the Haymarket precinct.
“Every year the Sydney Lunar Festival brings brilliant sights, sounds and scents to Haymarket attracting tens of thousands of people to this amazing corner of our city,” the Lord Mayor said.
“After a challenging few years, businesses are making the most of pent up demand and are ready to activate and make the most of crowds who’ll be able to enjoy this year’s Festival.
“Haymarket was hit earlier and harder by the pandemic than other areas of the city, so we are working hard to breathe new life into this historic and important area, through the Lunar Festival, other precinct activations and soon, an extensive public domain upgrade.
“We’ve just seen Neon Playground bring some flash and vibrancy to Chinatown with block parties, food fairs and strong visitor numbers. We plan to carry that great vibe over into the City of Sydney’s lunar celebrations.”
Crowds in Haymarket will enjoy roving performances by artists every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival. They’ll also be treated to lion dancing every day of the festival at different locations across the Haymarket area.
As part of the activation of city streets, commissioned artists have designed banner galleries and Lunar Gateways will be installed in key areas of the precinct.
The Dragon Boats will take over Darling Harbour on 28 and 29 January with thousands of paddlers and tens of thousands of people enjoying what is often a highlight of the festival.
The festival will culminate with the Lunar Spectacular Show at Town Hall on 4 February which will see Chinese, Korean, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Mongolian and Indonesian community groups sharing their cultures through traditional and contemporary dance, music, performances and stories.
