Australia’s largest festival, Vivid Sydney, announced that it will add a first-ever activation of the Wynyard railway tunnels to the festival’s upcoming program with the world premiere of Dark Spectrum.

Three years in the making and tipped as an underground spectacular of what lies beneath, Dark Spectrum will fuse a dynamic musical soundtrack with the latest in laser, robotics, lighting and visual technology to transform the disused Wynyard Station train tunnels in a truly one-of-a-kind experience in a venue that has never been open to the public.

Creating an immersive multi-media environment, Dark Spectrum will deliver a heightened visual and audio experience for Vivid Sydney attendees set to penetrate the deep underground of Wynyard’s tunnels and take its audience into a new time and space.

Secret passageways will be lit, and pulses of electronic dance music will ring out across eight rooms, with each space representing a different human experience and associated colour. Guests move through rooms themed to separation, constriction, pressure, the unseen, reflection, the unfamiliar, connection and end with a revelation.

Highlights from Dark Spectrum include “Constriction,” 150 LED “pipes” hung from the roof to form an interactive landscape of animated pixels that can be touched; “Pressure,” a spectacular array of 50 archways covered in lights and mirrors that create the visual illusion of a never-ending tunnel; and “Interaction,” an Avatar-esque environment featuring hundreds of hanging strings of light interspersed with illuminated alien plants that respond to movement.

Presented by Vivid Sydney, Sony Music, Mandylights and Culture Creative, Dark Spectrum will premiere at Vivid Sydney on May 26, running until July 16 before touring the world. Dark Spectrum will be a ticketed experience with entry via Wynyard Park Rooftop between York and Carrington Streets, Sydney. Entry will be timed from 12:00 p.m. to 9.15 p.m. Ticket prices vary depending on the visit date/time; general admission from $35, children from $24, and families from $98.

“We’re thrilled to announce this world-first experience for Vivid Sydney 2023. Dark Spectrum perfectly fits this year’s festival theme, exploring the intersection between human emotions, our natural environment, and the urban landscape and relics of Sydney’s industrial past.

“Diving beneath the surface of what is now one of the city’s busiest railway lines, Dark Spectrum is a truly mesmerising and engaging experience for visitors to explore Sydney in a whole new way. I am excited we get to shine a light on unknown spaces across the city,” says, Gill Minervini, Vivid Sydney Festival Director.

This year, Vivid Sydney will deliver the biggest and most culturally relevant program in its event history when it returns from Friday, May 26 to Saturday, June 17. The spectacular Light Walk will host the works of 100+ light collaborators and 26 international light artists from 13 countries, with street installations, re-shaping old sights, surprising projection sites and large-scale immersive experiences that will paint the urban landscape.

Vivid Sydney will be staged across Sydney’s city centre, at locations including Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, Walsh Bay, Barangaroo, King Street Wharf, Darling Harbour, Darling Quarter, Darling Square, The Goods Line, Central Train Station, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Carriageworks, Taronga Zoo and more.