Expression of interest: Calling Country Creative Services 2023 and 2024 Sydney New Year’s Eve

We invite an experienced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation to provide creative production services for the Calling Country segment for Sydney New Year’s Eve 2023 and 2024. (with the option to extend to 2025)

Fireworks over Sydney Harbour

Applications now open

Stage 1 applications close 11am Sydney time on Wednesday 3 May.

Lina Rouzios

Procurement Specialist

email address
[email protected]

Calling Country

Produced by the City of Sydney, Sydney New Year’s Eve is a local and global celebration that reaches an audience of more than 425 million people worldwide and is attended by more than 1 million people around the harbour foreshore.

Research conducted found that Sydney New Year’s Eve has a direct economic impact of more than $280 million to Sydney.

Calling Country respectfully acknowledges the custodians of the land on which Sydney New Year’s Eve is held and showcases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and culture on a global stage. Calling Country is a harbour-wide ceremony embracing and honouring the Dreaming of this place and our relationship to it.

The applicant must work with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists to present Calling Country and collaborate with the City of Sydney’s creative team on ceremony, projections, pyrotechnics, music, and live performance.

The Calling Country component of the event consists of the following:

  • 8:57pm – 9pm Welcome to Country created by a third-party supplier working with the City of Sydney
  • 9:00pm  9:08pm Calling Country fireworks includes soundtrack, Sydney Harbour Bridge lighting and projections.
  • 9:08pm  9:11pm Calling Country live performance on TV broadcast partners stage includes Sydney Harbour Bridge lighting and projections.

This will be a 2 staged procurement. Following this expression of interest, shortlisted applicants will be invited to tender for services. Participation in stage 2 – select tender will be at the City of Sydney’s discretion.

The service provider is responsible for the following elements:

  • Pylon projections – you must supply an overarching creative concept including sample imagery and/or curated original artworks. The City of Sydney’s projection content supplier will work with you to turn the concept and imagery or artwork into projection animations. 
  • Live performance – including performers, instruments, props, costumes, hair, and makeup. The TV broadcast partner will supply the stage, stage management and production elements.
  • Fireworks soundtrack – the soundtrack must be an original commissioned work with rights assigned to the City of Sydney in perpetuity including any musical compositions used in the Calling Country performance comprising music and lyrics, sound recordings and live performance. The right to reproduce, publish, communicate to the public or engage a third party to reproduce, publish, or communicate to the public. The right to use the material in City of Sydney reports, print media, social media or other promotional publications.
  • Artist management – hiring and paying performers or artists. 

Selection process

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprise

As part of the City’s intention to stimulate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business development by providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with more opportunities to participate in the local economy, it is a mandatory condition for participation in this EOI (and subsequent RFT) that Respondents are an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business (as defined in the Contract).

The City will exclude any response from further consideration if it considers that the Respondent does not meet the evaluation criteria of being an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business.  

The Respondent acknowledges and agrees that if it is successful, it will be a condition of the resulting Contract that the Respondent declares that it is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business).

The City retains the right to exclude a Respondent from further consideration if, at any time prior to entering into the Contract, the City becomes aware that the respondent is not an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business).

Expression of interestPDF · 434.88 KB · Last modified
Event services agreementPDF · 528.64 KB · Last modified

Applications now open

Stage 1 applications close 11am Sydney time on Wednesday 3 May.