Moore said it was a similar situation with Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations,which the NSW government had “also monetised” byrequiring ticketed access to vantage points along the foreshore.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich,whose seat of Sydney covers the Botanic Garden,said charging money undermined Vivid as both a community event and a tourist drawcard,and he opposed the increasing commercialisation of Sydney’s parklands.
“I’m increasingly concerned about events that used to be free on public land suddenly becoming ticketed,” Greenwich said.
“We’ve got to really watch that as we continue to deal with the cost of living crisis,that we don’t become an ‘us and them’ city with public events that only people who can afford to pay for can attend.”
Vivid started in 2009 and the light installations in the city are traditionally free. The Botanic Garden was part of Vivid from 2016 to 2019 and access was free at the time.
A Vivid Sydney spokesperson said the programmers decided to host Lightscape as a paid ticketed event in the Botanic Garden because it provided a “unique experience” and it had run as a paid event in the United States,Britain,Perth and Melbourne and always sold out.
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Some of the previous Vivid installations in the Botanic Garden appear similar to what is planned this year. Vivid Sydney promotions on social media depict an arched walkway of golden light known as the “winter cathedral” Lightscape installation,which many social media users have mistaken for the free “cathedral of light” installation previously held in the garden.
A Vivid Sydney spokesperson said the Vivid Sydney Light Walk from Circular Quay to Central Station via Barangaroo and Darling Harbour,and many other events remained free. The other paid light exhibits are the light walk at Taronga Zoo,which has run since 2016,and a new installation in the tunnels below Wynyard Station.
Pooja Antil from Stanhope Gardens plans to visit Vivid with her two daughters,aged 12 years and 18 months,and is considering the paid walk in the Botanic Garden.
Antil said she did not mind paying for the experience because her children got so excited by it,but she thought many people would think twice,especially tourists.
“I’m fine with it but it would be a bummer if somebody wants to see it and they can’t afford it,” Antil said. “I don’t know why they’re charging this time.”
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