Key Points
- This year's Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks will be firmly based around First Nations traditions and themes.
- It will involve 8.5 tonnes of fireworks launched across two displays, at 9pm and midnight, as well as AI images.
- The man behind the fireworks, Fortunato Foti, says he's aiming to make this year's event the best one yet.
It takes a 60-person crew, 18 shipping containers worth of equipment, 11km of cable, six barges, five rooftops, four pontoons and two iconic landmarks to pull off Sydney’s 12-minute New Year's Eve fireworks show.
And with a million spectators expected along Sydney Harbour foreshore and a global audience of millions more, organisers are hoping this year’s event will be the most spectacular to date.
"It's our 27th New Year, but each year's special for us because it's a new year," Fortunato Foti, the creative director behind the annual event, told SBS
"So, you know, hopefully, everyone will walk away saying that was the best one and everyone's had a great time."
First Nations focus
With 8.5 tonnes of fireworks set to be launched across two displays, at 9pm and midnight, the focus this year will be firmly anchored around First Nations traditions.
To kick things off, the Tribal Warrior Association will conduct a smoking ceremony across three boats to "cleanse the harbour of negative spirits" in preparation for the new year, using eucalyptus leaves to purify the space and pay respect to the traditional custodians of the land, past and present.
Then, at 9pm, a pylon projection created by First Nations social enterprise We Are Warriors, alongside illustrator Janelle Burger, will focus on stories handed down from generation to generation to keep Indigenous culture and identity alive.
We Are Warriors founder Nooky said the central theme is that in Australia, people are never off Country, and everywhere you go is Aboriginal land.
"It's a full-on display of Black excellence and greatness. We're putting the spotlight on our people and the achievements of our people, while following the steps of our traditional ceremony of calling country, which is activating the space before you do what you've got to do.”
"We just really tried to go all out and make something that everyone will remember."
The Sydney Harbour fireworks are an iconic New Year's Eve celebration. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
The man behind the spectacle
Seventh-generation pyrotechnician Foti, whose family has been making fireworks since 1793, is the mastermind behind the fireworks spectacle.
Alongside 15 family members who helped create the fireworks for this year’s displays – including his three children, nieces, nephews, brothers and cousins – as well as dozens of staff, the Foti team are motivated by a desire to continually one-up their previous efforts and improve on what they've done before.
"We started working on Sydney New Year's Eve back in 1997, and we quickly learnt what works best for a show of this size and scale," Foti said.
"We've reached a point where each year we walk away thinking, 'That was the best show we've ever done' – and really, that just spurs us on to do even better the following year."
Foti said music is also a critical component in the creation of fireworks displays of this scale.
"We design the show to flow with the mood of the music, in essence aiming to make the fireworks appear like they’re dancing to the music," he said.
"We've meticulously planned the 9pm and midnight fireworks to perfectly synchronise with each show's specially created soundtrack."
What it will actually look (and sound) like
The displays this year will feature bright white, peach, lime, silver, gold, violet, yellow, burnt orange, pink and blue fireworks, said Foti – as well as the crowd favourite colour-changing fireworks.
The 12-minute midnight show will include aerial shells in the shape of serpents, Saturn rings and horse tail willow shells, and for the first time in the event's history, visual animations created by artificial intelligence will also be projected throughout the evening on the pylons of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
In terms of music, the 9pm Calling Country display will be set to an original soundtrack produced by Nooky and Aria Award winner and Grammy nominee 18YOMAN. Organisers promise an anthemic hip-hop sound with elements of traditional First Nations audio weaved throughout.
The midnight display, meanwhile, will be timed to a bespoke three-part soundtrack created by Brisbane DJ, composer and producer The Sweats. This soundtrack will move through a diverse range of musical textures, from driving beats and contemporary electronica through to lush choral moments.
Both the visual and musical elements will reflect the theme of orbiting the sun, to mark the end of one year and the beginning of another.
"With a soundtrack centred around revolving around the sun, it's like we're all revolving into a new year and the fireworks will reflect that, as well as some of the designs on the Sydney Harbour Bridge revolving around," said Fortunato Foti.
"So you can just imagine what we'll be doing, and we're looking forward to it."
