Neon Playground Returns To Sydney’s Chinatown
Image: Image Credit City of Sydney Katherine Griffiths
A dynamic festival celebrating light, music, art, and entertainment is set to return to Haymarket following a generous $200,000 precinct activation grant from the City of Sydney.
Neon Playground 2.0, a vibrant celebration of Asian cultures, is expected to draw an impressive 350,000 visitors when it launches in March 2025.
Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore AO, emphasised that the grant aligns with the City’s ongoing efforts to revitalise the Haymarket and Chinatown areas.
“We’ve allocated $44 million in our long-term financial plan to fund Chinatown’s success into the future.
“We’re delighted to be working with the Haymarket Alliance and community to bring Neon Playground 2.0 to life,” the Lord Mayor said.
Neon Playground by Chinatown
Neon Playground 2.0 is a marked return from its first debut in 2022.
In October 2022, Neon Playground took over Dixon Street (Chinatown) with a series of new street-art installations by Asian-Australian artists like Chris Yee, Jason Wing, Joy Li and Steffie Yee.
Described as an “explosion of art, lights, music, food and community”, the festival kicked off with a block party with a lineup of artists including DJ Arisse, Nightjarr, Destructive Steps Dance, Chuey and Ira Kwai.
The inaugural edition of the festival took place from October 15 to November 20, 2022.
Neon Playground 2.0 will be organised by the Haymarket Alliance, the same team behind the Neon Playground By Chinatown 2022 run.
Haymarket Alliance Manager Kevin Cheng expressed gratitude for the grant and confidence in recreating the success of the first Neon Playground event that emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s a really exciting time for Chinatown and the wider Haymarket precinct and we believe Neon Playground 2.0 will be another memorable milestone in the Chinatown and Haymarket story,” Cheng said.
“It gives opportunities to organisations such as the Haymarket Alliance to fund a large-scale activation that will benefit the entire district, increasing foot traffic and vibrancy to the area. It’s our aim to make Neon Playground 2.0 the largest Asian-Australian creative festival in Sydney”, Cheng said.
Restoration Efforts for Chinatown’s Shopfronts
The special activation grant is a key component to Haymarket and Chinatown’s redevelopment strategy, a multimillion-dollar initiative aimed at enhancing streets, public spaces, shopfronts, parks, and lighting in the area.
Restoration efforts for the iconic Chinatown Ceremonial Gates on Dixon Street will also begin soon.
The gates, known for their traditional Chinese design with pagoda-style roofs, decorative inscribed panels, and lion sculptures, will undergo extensive restoration.
This will include installing new lighting for nighttime illumination, repainting concrete and timber structures, and replacing roof tiles, marble panels, and lion sculptures.
Additionally, a grant for Dixon Street improvements is now available, offering matched funding to support the Chinatown’s historic centre with upgrades to shop and building frontages.
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