Giant rubber duck brings Sydney festival to life
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A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is prepared prior to being floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is prepared prior to being floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is floated under the Pyrmont Bridge into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A gigantic, yellow rubber duck sits in Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, after being floated in to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is prepared prior to being floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is prepared prior to being floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is floated under the Pyrmont Bridge into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
A gigantic, yellow rubber duck sits in Sydney's Darling Harbour on Jan 5, 2013, after being floated in to kick off Sydney's annual arts festival, a celebration which combines high-art with popular entertainment. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the 2013 Sydney Festival which will present more than 750 artists from about 17 countries around the world, with many of the events free and family-oriented to showcase the personality of Australia's biggest city. -- PHOTO: AFP
SYDNEY (AFP) - A gigantic, bright yellow rubber duck floated into Sydney's Darling Harbour on Saturday as part of the Australian city's annual arts festival, a celebration where high-art meets popular entertainment.
Each January, hundreds of thousands of people attend theatre, music, dance, film, talks and other events for three weeks, often braving sweltering summer temperatures and thunderstorms for their dose of culture.
The 2013 festival, which will present 92 events from some 750 artists from 17 countries, kicked off on Saturday under bright sunshine, with thousands lining Darling Harbour for the entry of artist Florentijn Hofman's inflatable duck.
"What makes Sydney Festival unique I think is this amazing blend of serious art and quirky and playful entertainment," festival director Lieven Bertels told AFP. "And what better to celebrate that than with a really, lovely public art work such as the rubber duck."
