Festival-goers at the Vivid Sydney light show have been left terrified after they were caught in a ‘crowd crush’ at Circular Quay.
Hundreds of people were left trapped for up to 30 minutes near the overseas passenger terminal after a drone show ended at 9.10pm on Saturday.
NSW Police officers reportedly removed metal barriers to let the crowd leave the area from all directions as people pushed their way out of dead ends.
‘I felt like I was going to die,’ one attendee told Daily Mail .
‘It was terrifying. All it would have taken was just one person pushing too hard or for someone to fall over for the situation to have catastrophic consequences.
‘There was no form of crowd control. It was shocking and clearly poorly managed.
‘People were barging through the eating areas to try and find their way out of the crowd. One of the women sitting down to eat said people who came to the restaurant were leaving because so many people were in the alfresco area.
‘It’s sad that businesses were losing money when Vivid is designed to bring business to the CBD. We decided to keep pushing through the crowd until we were at a lane way and were able to bail out and then we went home.’
Another attendee, who posted photos of the chaos to X, expressed outrage at the ‘absolutely dangerous scenes at Vivid festival’ on Saturday.
‘After the 9.10pm drone show finished, there was a crowd crush starting to happen by the overseas passenger terminal,’ they wrote.
‘Police had to step in to remove barriers because of how serious it was.’
The poster said the ‘people management’ at the light show was ‘very poor’.
‘For example people flowing into dead ends like the food trucks near the passenger terminal entrance and had to turn back,’ they added.
Another woman said Vivid staff were failing to direct the crowd out of the chaos.
‘We waited one hour standing to see 10 mediocre drone formations and a bunch of ads. And took us 30 minutes to just leave the spot,’ she said.
‘We had to get on top of the grass bedding to avoid the crowded part. It’s half a meter high but we have kid and elderly.
‘In the crowd there are baby less than a year old crying. Even as an adult I felt pushed around. Very very badly organised. Don’t recommend.’
At 8:30pm, Vivid Sydney posted an update to X warning large crowds were being experienced at the drone show and that visitors should avoid Circular Quay.
‘The show will also be live-streamed at Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour on the big screen and on the Vivid Sydney Facebook page,’ the update said.
Another attendee attempting to catch public transport home after the rush said Sydney trains were at capacity by 11pm on Saturday.
‘It happens every year and yet no lessons are learnt. Why does this happen? Shall I send you a reminder in 2025?’ the man posted to X.
Daily Mail has contacted Vivid Sydney and NSW Police for comment.