The Sky is the Limit as Samsung Unveils its 2026 Vivid Sydney Activation

Samsung Sky Portal Studio at Vivid Sydney, located at First Fleet Park in The Rocks

Samsung Electronics Australia returns as a Major Partner of Vivid Sydney, this year bringing to life its interactive Sky Portal Studio activation. Located in First Fleet Park in The Rocks, this unmissable, three-portal installation offers visitors a glimpse into a version of the world that is more vivid, more connected, and more alive than the one you see with your eyes alone.

The experiential activation is designed for high impact, and invites festivalgoers to step inside a moment unlike any other. Guests will discover a series of curated Sky Portal frames that encourages them to capture moments of creativity, movement, joy, connection and curiosity with the extraordinary camera capabilities of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Vivid Sydney Festival Director Brett Sheehy AO, said of this year’s installation: “Samsung is an important partner of Vivid Sydney, and we value their ongoing commitment to innovation and evolving how audiences engage with the festival. What excites me most about Sky Portal Studio is how it invites festivalgoers to move from spectators into creators – capturing and expressing their own unique perspective of the world around them.”

Eric Chou, Vice President of Mobile eXperience at Samsung Australia said: “We’re excited to be back at Vivid Sydney. It’s the intersection of art and technology where Samsung truly comes alive, and this year’s actiavation exemplifies that. The Sky Portal Studio is an unmissable installation that invites every visitor to view the world differently, and to capture their vision through the lens of Galaxy S26 Ultra.”

Starting Friday 22 May at 6pm, Sky Portal Studio visitors will be guided through an interactive, multi-portal experience.

• Defy Gravity Portal: Attendees will be able to capture steady, gravity defying content against a customisable colourful LED background, and spin the wheel for a unique visual effect. Horizontal lock[1] helps keeps the footage super steady, thanks to Galaxy S26 Ultra’s gyroscope and accelerometer, allowing users to capture level, stabilised content.
• Unleash your Creativity Portal: The second portal offers people the chance to curate their own dream image. With Photo Assist[2], a blank canvas becomes whatever you can imagine, whether it’s changing outfits or locations, or adding, removing or resizing objects.
• Infinite Possibilities Portal: Guests can effortlessly take photos of themselves with a wave of their hand using Galaxy’s hands-free Palm Selfie feature.

The final stop in this immersive experience is the Creative Studio, where participants will be able to further edit the content they have captured in the portals to create or edit their ideal images.

Until 10 June, Sydneysiders (and visitors) will also have the opportunity to enter[3] to be part of a collaborative film capturing 24 hours in Sydney through the eyes of its people, turning everyday moments into a city-scale spectacle. Each moment is a small perspective, but together, they real something bigger – a city full of possibility and the extraordinary in the everyday.

Cinematic or still content must be shot on a Galaxy device, and visitors to the Sky Portal Studio will be encouraged to submit their content. Each entry submitted comes with the chance to win 1 of 3 Samsung gift packs valued at over $3,200, which includes a 32” The Frame Art TV, Galaxy S26 Ultra, and Galaxy Buds4. Visit https://sydneywithgalaxy.com/ for more information including full T&Cs.

Samsung’s Sky Portal Studio is free to experience during Vivid Sydney from 22 May to 13 June at First Fleet Park. Lights will be on from 6pm to 11pm each night.

About Vivid Sydney

Vivid Sydney, one of the world’s leading multi-artform festivals, transforms Sydney into a vibrant hub of creativity, innovation and community connection. In 2026, the festival will bring the city to life, both night and day for the first time, inspiring global audiences and driving cultural exchange. From 22 May to 13 June, the festival’s pillars of Light, Music, Minds and Food will create shared experiences, attract domestic and international visitors, and support the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy’s target of a $91 billion visitor economy by 2035. Proudly owned and managed by Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney showcases NSW’s cultural vibrancy and positions it as a global leader in artistic innovation.

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[1] Super Steady results may vary depending on editing method and/or shooting conditions.

[2] Samsung Account may be required to use certain AI Photo Assist features. Edit Suggestion is compatible with JPG, PNG. GIF and MP4 formats. Edit results may vary depending on the photography or filming condition. Images generated by the Live Effect feature will be saved in MP4 format. Editing with Generative Edit results in a resized photo up to 12MP. Editing with Portrait Studio results in a resized photo up to 9MP. A visible watermark is overlaid on the image output upon saving in order to indicate that the image is generated by AI. Accuracy of results is not guaranteed.

[3] Competition T&Cs and apply. Visit https://sydneywithgalaxy.com/ for more information.