Digital outdoor media company QMS has revealed a significant surge in visitor numbers to the City of Sydney during February, driven by major cultural events such as the Sydney Lunar New Year Festival and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.
According to QMS data, audience numbers in February were up 15% compared to January, as people flocked to the 26 square kilometres and 33 suburbs that make up the City of Sydney. Additionally, audience figures saw a 9% increase compared to the total 2024 City of Sydney network average.
The Sydney Lunar Festival, held from 29 January to 16 February, drew large crowds to key precincts in the Sydney CBD and Chinatown. QMS’ City of Sydney street furniture network recorded a 13% increase in audience numbers compared to the previous week. Similarly, the Mardi Gras Festival, running from 14 February to 2 March, delivered a 14% rise in audience numbers, with weekend and weekday audiences up by 8% and 11% respectively.
The highlight of the Mardi Gras Festival, the iconic Mardi Gras Parade, saw a remarkable 25% rise in audiences within the Oxford Street precinct in Taylor Square. Evening audiences surged by 54%, with interstate visitors increasing by 28%.
City of Sydney, Pitt St, Range Rover.
QMS’ strategic partnerships and expanding presence
Throughout these events, QMS partnered with some of Australia’s top brands. Crown Sydney, Johnnie Walker, and Range Rover featured prominently in the Sydney Lunar New Year Festival, while the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival showcased campaigns from Absolut, American Express, Uber, Specsavers, NIB, Universal Pictures, and AAMI.
QMS general manager, City of Sydney, Olivia Gotch, said, “Sydney really came alive during February, and we were thrilled our City of Sydney digital street furniture network was able to place brands at the heart of all the action where it matters most – the streets.”
City of Sydney, Taylor Square, Absolut.
Gotch also noted Sydney’s status as a global cultural events hub, “The City of Sydney’s reputation for hosting major global cultural events is unrivalled and demonstrates its power in uniting large-scale community audiences across all cultures and backgrounds, where we live, work, and play. For brands, this resulted in some of the strongest and most contextually relevant campaigns to date across our City of Sydney network, with our advertising partners taking full advantage of the creative platform these events offer and the incremental audience opportunity.”
Beyond its City of Sydney network, QMS has further expanded its presence with several major digital large format tender wins. These include Transport for NSW, the Australian Turf Club’s Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, Hills Shire Council, and exclusivity on the M2 Motorway. These strategic wins have increased QMS’ digital large format network in NSW by more than 40%.