Pink circles on the map = audio trigger zones. Walk inside any pink area and the audio for that installation plays automatically. Larger circles cover wider views (e.g. Opera House sails, Cockle Bay lasers).
✅ Before you start
Allow GPS access in your browser. When you press Start Audio Tour, the browser will ask for location permission — tap Allow. Without GPS the tour cannot trigger audio.
Set your screen to never sleep.iPhone: Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock → Never. Android: Settings → Display → Screen timeout → longest option. Not needed in the app.
Bring a power bank — GPS + audio drains battery fast over a 2–3 hour walk.
Use headphones — wired or Bluetooth buds. You’ll hear the commentary clearly over festival crowds.
📍 During the tour
GUIDE is ON by default (lit button) — audio plays automatically as you arrive at each installation. You can switch to manual mode any time:
Press Start Audio Tour, then walk (or cycle) towards the first installation — the Opera House sails. All 32 installations are shown as numbered pins on the map.
With GUIDE ON, commentary plays automatically when you enter the pink trigger zone (within ~30 m). Visited cards move to the bottom when audio finishes.
Tap GUIDE — the button fades. Nothing plays automatically — tap ▶ Listen on any card to play that installation manually.
SORT BY DISTANCE / SORT BY NUMBER (under the map) is the order of the list of places: the nearest first, re-sorted as you move, or the order of the tour. Tap to switch.
⚪ Grey places on the map you have already heard, even yesterday or in another language, and the guide does not repeat them. The red R (top left) starts again: every place once more, in every language on this phone.
🗺️ Map: the compass switches North up / Heading up; two fingers rotate, tilt and zoom; on a computer hold Ctrl and drag, zoom with + / −. A pin or a card brings that place up; ☽ is day / night.
🎧 Player buttons
13%How much of the story has played.
Previous place. A story that was cut goes on from where it stopped; one heard to the end starts again from the beginning. The story that was playing waits and goes on afterwards. Each further tap goes one more place back.
Paragraph back / forward: hear the last paragraph again or skip this one. In the podcast they move between parts the same way.
Play / pause.
Lock. Open — as usual, a new place can cut in. Tap it — the lock closes and lights up: the story plays to its end and new places wait. With the next story it opens again.
🔊Volume.
✕Close the story: the place will not start by itself again, only with ▶ Listen on its card — from where you closed it. On the podcast, ✕ switches the podcast off.
ℹ️ Good to know
📶 Mobile data is required: without a connection the guide does not work. Sydney CBD has solid 4G/5G coverage along the entire route.
📱 With the screen off, in your pocket, the guide works only in the app. In the browser, keep the page open.
🔑 Your link works on one device at a time: open it on another phone and the guide moves there.
For walkers: allow 2–3 hours including photo stops. Route is flat, stroller-friendly, lit throughout the festival.
For cyclists: about 90 minutes if you don’t stop. Dismount in dense crowds at Circular Quay and Cockle Bay.
⚠ Independent product — not affiliated with Destination NSW or the Vivid Sydney® festival.
By using this tour you agree to our Terms & Conditions. Cyclists — keep your eyes on the path and the audio low enough to hear traffic and pedestrians.
