Aussies lose it over the prices at Vivid

Vivid festival-goers are outraged over the ‘ridiculous’ prices of food and drink, saying the once free event would now set families back hundreds of dollars.  

The annual outdoor lighting festival returned to Sydney on May 24, but many have been left in disbelief at the exorbitant prices at the food stalls. 

Social media influencer Lily Huynh showed everything she ate at the festival in a TikTok video with the prices leaving her 882,000 followers stunned. 

One particular item drew condemnation for the exorbitant cost after Ms Huynh revealed a lemonade cost $12. 

‘I started my night at the Fire Kitchen in Central, which has some really great food options,’ she said. 

‘This store smelt amazing so I got their $35 Brazilian meat box with beef, chicken and chorizo… next up, I grabbed these $23 Birria tacos and added cheese for another two dollars.’ 

She also purchased a $20 butter chicken jaffle and a $7 masala chai from an Indian inspired food truck before grabbing a $13 crème brûlée churro cone for dessert. 

‘After this I went to Circular Quay. A lot of stores here are similar to the ones at the Easter Show,’ Ms Huynh said. 

‘I got a huge $14 watermelon with ice-cream. The ice-cream was just okay, but the watermelon itself was fresh, crisp and juicy.

‘I skipped the fairy floss this year, it’s $18… I ended my night with a $12 lemonade.’  

Social media users slammed the sky-high prices as ‘insane’ and ‘expensive’. 

‘Vivid is just a scam nowadays,’ one said. 

‘I’m gonna go get a bank loan and go to Vivid,’ another joked. 

‘That’s my whole weekly shopping budget you spent in one day,’ at third person commented. 

‘We’re over the hundy ($100) mark for street food in a single night at Vivid,’ wrote another. 

‘Crazy how these would have been no more than $15 a few years ago,’ one more said.  

This comes after a recent outcry over the obscene fee to one of its attractions.

Sydneysider Nariman Dien, 22, was keen to go to Dark Spectrum: A New Journey at the Wynyard Tunnels over the weekend until she was put off by the price tag.   

‘You’re telling me in this economy if I had a child or two children I would have to pay that much money to only look at lights and then also pay for food and all of that stuff,’ she said. 

‘Are you serious? Really?’ 

Adult ticket prices range from $42 to $51, kids ticket prices for ages 6 to 12 are between $24 to $35, while family tickets are $98 to $154.  

Ticket prices vary depending on whether visitors attend during peak or off-peak hours, and spectators also incur a $5 surcharge per person if they purchase same-day tickets.

‘There’s going to be a lot of people in the city… charge people $10,’ Ms Dien said. 

‘Are you really going to spend $51 per person for a 20 minute thing?’

Ms Dien questioned why festival-goers are being charged so much for people to viist the city. 

‘You might not agree with me, but I just feel like with the cost-of-living people aren’t going out as much,’ she said. 

‘Now that there’s Vivid and people are looking forward to it you’re going to make people pay that much? You could have made it cheaper.’ 

A Destination NSW spokesman said Vivid Sydney strived to offer a range of experiences, including free and ticketed events across the festival.

‘From the 8km Vivid Light Walk featuring over 30 light installations and 3D projections, Vivid Music every night at Tumbalong Park to the ‘After the Fact’ panel event at Barangaroo House – these are all examples of free events that will take place across the festival,’ he told Yahoo.

‘For the foodies out there, there’s also the Vivid Sydney Fire Kitchen which is free entry for barbeque demonstrations and masterclasses ensuring accessibility for everyone across all four pillars of Vivid Sydney.’

It is understood that Vivid partners with artists and organisations for some events and ticket sales go to recouping.

But this is not the first time the festival has been scrutinised over its prices.  

Sydneysiders unleashed on event organisers for charging patrons an exorbitant amount for tickets to Lightscape at the Royal Botanic Gardens, which set families back $128. 

‘It’s almost an hour long walk with a quite a few displays and WAY better than the displays they had last time,’ one said on Reddit.

‘Most of them were nice, I’d say one or two were really nice to see. The $40 ticket is definitely a stretch in my opinion.’

‘Not worth paying $40 to be herded like cattle through an overcrowded pathway to look at LEDS just plopped on the ground,’ said another.

Lightscape has returned again this year, with adult tickets costing up to $38 and family tickets up to $128. A $4 per person surcharge applies to same day tickets.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Vivid for comment.