Went to check out the public free fireworks event "Crackers!" which was part of the annual Sydney Festival and took place in the Sydney Olympic Park. This strange structure is a normal part of the olympic park.
Many gathered for the event. We were herded to an enclosed area in the middle of the park...
... with access to coffee and food tents -- hurray !
...and strange signs here and there. There was a big "How comfortable are you with risk?" theme to the entire event.
The coordinators were bold, fearless and playful... I was therefore pretty impressed with it all.
As the show started, there was a strange cylindric structure in the center which was used as a backdrop for all sorts of fireworks photos and psychedelic graphics.
This was no ordinary fireworks show. And these items were one of my favourite parts of the show... fireworks that were launched inside these transparent tubes and got stuck at the closed tops (and wiggled around a little before fizzing out). Brilliant!
Huge flames were flared randomly right at the edges of the circle encapsulating the audience.
A woman at the top of the big cylinder gave a little speech on fear and then stood in a bathing suit in the middle of a series of fireworks set off right next to her.
I forget if it engulfed in flames while she was up there or whether she was able to escape before hand... but either way, it makes for an exciting show.
These fireworks were attached to a rope tied to a pole and shot around and around in a mezmerising way.
Then there were circles. All sorts of shapes seemed to have been explored. We even had comet like fireworks that flew horizontally just a meter or two over people's heads.
More strange fireworks play. It's a good thing this guy wore shades. There were about 7 of these guys and they were all swaying for a handful of minutes too music. I'm surprised that the YMCA song didn't break out there.
There were also about 5 or so human structures made of "glowing red amber" fireworks that created a very haunting display.
Strange how the glow seemed to go right into the sky.
The remains of the human structure... still clinging on.
And the final, which was true to more traditional fireworks shows, was still very impressive.
Fireworks are actually banned altogether in Australia -- You can only purchase and use them if you are a pyrotechnic professional.
