Preventative measures have been taken at Sydney’s Vivid light festival in order to avoid a repeat of the bottlenecks that left thousands of people trapped and fearing a stampede or crush.
Police reinforcements were brought in after thousands of people crowded the harbour precinct to see a highly-anticipated drone show around Circular Quay on Saturday night.
The “stampede” on the night came about after long weekend crowds flocked to the event.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said authorities did not anticipate the size of the crowd on that night.
Festival organisers and NSW Police worked quickly to learn from the mistakes and undertook a major walk-through to ensure spectators felt safe for the remainder of the free community event.
“I’m grateful that we learned from the mistakes of the night before, but I want to see families out enjoying Sydney,” Mr. Minns told reporters on June 10.
“I know people are doing it tough at the moment and this is an opportunity for families to spend time together ... enjoy something that doesn’t cost any money.
“We want to make sure it’s a safe night out.”
Certain streets have now been closed off and some crowd barricades rearranged around the different attractions.
Trains, buses, and ferries were diverted on Sunday night, June 9, as organisers made arrangements to prevent the same crowd-building to continue around transport hubs.
The crush prompted organisers to post on X, formerly known as Twitter, around 8:30pm on June 9, asking people to avoid Circular Quay and The Rocks.
Following the drone show on Saturday, one user on X said there was a dangerous crowd crush near the Overseas Passenger Terminal.
AAP reporter Scott Bailey said people were squeezed in like cattle with no security or event staff to be seen.
“Felt as if a stampede was likely for about 20 minutes at bottom of the Rocks and again at Wynyard. So many kids present,” Mr Bailey said on X.
Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by the NSW government’s tourism and major events agency.
It is an annual celebration of innovation and technology, which lights up Sydney for 23 winter nights.
The event is in its 14th year.
