Sydney launches Lunar New Year festivities as prosperous Year of the Tiger awaits

By DANIEL LO SURDO

The City of Sydney has launched its Lunar New Year celebrations for the Year of the Tiger following a COVID-interrupted festival last year marred by fewer events and no curator or artistic director being appointed.

The 2022 festival will run from 29 January to 13 February and will feature an array of events to mark the start of a new lunar calendar year.

Celebrations will include the Haymarket Lunar Lanes street party, which will see Chinatown adorned with decorative lanterns, live entertainment, lion dancing and market stalls on the evening of 29 January. In Haymarket and the CBD, a Lunar Lanterns exhibition will be displayed for the duration of the festival, with the spectacle part of a self-guided tour available for patrons of the event.

The festival returns after the 2021 event was hampered by COVID-19 restrictions that forced a smaller event to take place.

While larger events will resume this year following a sustained push for vaccination in the city and NSW, online activities will also be conducted to provide a forum for celebration away from large crowds and gatherings.

Events online are free and will include a Chinese New Year concert including performances from the National Traditional Orchestra and the National Ballet of China, as well as a Spring Festival concert and an animated childrens’ show inspired by the Chinese Zodiac, the Winter Olympics (which are to be held in Beijing in February) and Chinese opera.

The coming new year will be the Year of the Water Tiger, as each of the 12 animal zodiac signs is paired with one of five elements so that a year is only repeated once every 60 years. The Year of the Water Tiger is expected to be prosperous, with the animal representing strength, adventure and courage.