Herds of people are furious after sudden cancellation of Vivid show

Crowds of Vivid spectators who flocked to Sydney were left furious when they received little notice of the cancellation of the much-anticipated drone light show.

Sydney light rail workers are on strike on Wednesday, causing disruption for commuters. The transport union is demanding a salary increase for the tram operator to take into account inflation. Services from Dulwich Hill to Central Station and from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kingsford will be affected. Conflicts are expected to cause problems for Vivid Festival attendees.

Spectators battled the cold to gather at Circular Quay on Saturday for the ‘Love is in the Air’ show, but were left confused when the announcement was made due to “forecast weather conditions”.

Although the social media announcement was time-stamped at 8:43 p.m., the announcement was not posted on X until 8:52 p.m. and on Facebook at 8:55 p.m.

The show was scheduled to comment at 9:10 p.m.

“Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, the Vivid Sydney drone show will not take place this evening,” the statement said.

“The show will not be postponed.”

As Saturday marked Vivid’s conclusion, the drone show was canceled with no possibility of rescheduling, turning enthusiasm into anger.

“Honestly, the worst Vivid ever. What a complete debacle. Needs a total overhaul next year – an absolute waste,” one X user wrote.

“It goes down like a lead balloon!” »wrote another.

“Waste of time, cancel it early and let people find other things to do,” wrote a third.

Although the social media announcement is time-stamped at 8:43 p.m., the announcement was not posted on X until 8:52 p.m. Photo: NewsWire / Destination NSW

Many disputed the circumstances of the cancellation as the weather was supposed to be “nice”, with one disappointed spectator claiming they were on a boat in the harbor where the weather was “perfect”, despite being “a bit cold”.

Expected party-goers also took to Facebook to express their displeasure, with many saying the cancellation was unnecessary.

“The sky was clear from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., then 20 minutes of rain and the weather became clear again at 9:15 a.m. The crowds had already gathered, it took a little common sense and flexibility and we could have flown the drones earlier or ten minutes later,” one wrote.

Sydney shined on the first night of the annual Vivid festival. Organizers expect more than 3 million people to enjoy the light installations and musical performances around Harbor City. The festival – centered on the theme of humanity – will light up the horizon until June 15.

“It wasn’t even raining at 9:10 a.m. and there was a light shower before that! Ridiculous,” wrote another.

“Too early to declare. 9:20am now, the rain has stopped and the sky is clear. You should have delayed it until 9:30. Boo!” wrote a third.

Meanwhile, another pointed out that it was the adults who were making more of a fuss about the situation than the children present.

“Just here for the ‘oh, the kids aren’t going to be happy’ dribble…the kids will get over it. You are the adult,” they wrote.