The Sydney Opera House during the Vivid festival (Image: Australia.com)

Sydney’s Vivid light festival kicks off tonight with scores of expressions of light and sound to illuminate the city after sunset.

This year’s Vivid festival is set to be the biggest so far, with North Sydney, Walsh Bay, The Rocks, Circular Quay and Darling Habour all forming part of the 16 day extravaganza. As in past years, the Sydney Opera House will form a centrepiece in the display, with changing vibrant hues projected on to the white tile canvas of its sails.

Customs House, Sydney, during the Vivid Festival (Image: Timeout)

The lights will be on from 6pm until midnight throughout the festival, which also features a number of street art works and performances. The Electric Canvas at Cadman’s House near Circular Quay will allow visitors to interact by ‘painting’ their own artwork, while one laneway in the rocks will host ‘Human Effect’, which sees a garden of light develop before one’s eyes.

The boardwalk near Luna Park on the north shore of the harbour will feature a do-it-yourself lighting paint job for Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge. With a couple of keystrokes, visitors will be able to ‘paint’ part of the bridge in the colours they prefer. Customs House, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Walsh Bay Arts precinct will all be lit up in their own way, while dinner with a view on Fort Denison is restricted to those lucky enough to book ahead.

Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art during the Vivid festival (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

This year’s Vivid Sydney music lineup features dance duo Empire of the Sun, along with Bobby Womack, Sounds of the South, Vangelis’ Bladerunner score and ARIA-award winning artist Gurrumul.

2013 marks Sydney’s fifth Vivd festival, with the annual event drawing increasing numbers of local visitors and tourists each year.

For more information about Vivid Sydney 2013, go to the Vivid Sydney website.