Light Up Sydney

How do you draw tourists to your city, and get locals out of their homes and onto the streets in the winter months?

By having a light festival, of course. Now in its ninth year, Vivid Sydney is the largest festival of light, music and ideas, and is also the inspiration for other light festivals around the world including Singapore. It runs for 23 days this year, ending on June 17.

Last year, 2.31 million locals and tourists attended the festival, leading to a massive A$110 million injection into New South Wales' visitor economy.

Ignatius Jones, creative director of Vivid Sydney says that more servings of gelato are sold during the Vivid Sydney festival than the three months of summer.

"Vivid Sydney boasts light installations, projections and lighting treatment, unlike other festivals which may only do one," says Mr Jones, who has been its creative director for eight…