Christmas Lights at St Marys Cathedral

One of the my favourite Sydney Christmas Events is the Christmas Lights at St Marys Cathedral. It is so special to see that beautiful cathedral lit up and lit up with purposes. It’s not just lights on the front of a beautiful building but a meaningful story that evokes some serious emotion.

Last year’s event was fantastic in that they had, in addition to the normal set up, a story aimed at the children. It was beautiful! Just beautiful.

I can’t wait to take the kids down this year to experience it all again! And this year the Christmas Lights at St Mary’s Cathedral is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. It’s going to be amazing.

Lights of Christmas presented by Paynter Dixon and created and produced by AGB Events, will return to St Mary’s Cathedral from Thursday 5 December until Christmas night.

Lights of Christmas is renowned as Sydney’s premier celebration of the festive season, sharing stories of peace, joy and goodwill. 

The event starts at 7.30pm with community choirs performing and then the lights start at 8:30pm.

If you’ve been before, you’ll know that the show is short and just runs on repeat so if you miss the start of one you can sit and watch it roll on over.

I’ve heard that opening night will include a special performance by an internationally acclaimed artists, supported by Australian talent.

This year’s light display 

Part 1 

To mark the 10th anniversary of Lights of Christmas, AGB’s talented design team have created Ascension.

The display draws on the principles of religious architecture.

The Cathedral will be transformed through spectacular visual effects, paying homage to the architecture. There will be never before seen in Sydney artistry on display.  This visual masterpiece will be matched by a commissioned soundtrack incorporating vocals from the St Mary’s Cathedral Choir and bold cinematic instrumentation.

Part 2

The second segment will depict the traditional Christmas story.

This is the part where all the early Renaissance artwork will re-tell the story upon which the customs and traditions of Christmas are based.  The story culminates in a series of Madonna and Child artworks, featuring influential pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The first time I saw these pieces reflected on the Cathedral I was just blown away!

Fund Raising for St Vincent’s

During the run of the Christmas Lights at St Mary’s Cathedral, donations will be sought for St Vincent’s Hospital’s mental health programs.

Food and Drink

We actually had a picnic on the steps in front of the lights last year. If you don’t want to have to cart food down to the city then there are some food and beverage options available.