2004

In Brett Sheehy's final year as Festival Director, the 2005 Sydney Festival opened with The Lazy The Kings by Transe Express at Sydney Olympic Park. The Festival expanded its Parramatta program to include Jazz in Parramatta Park, a free concert open to people of all ages.

The 2003 Sydney Festival opened with Improbable Theatre in collaboration with The World Famous and their installation Sticky. Hundreds of sparklers, thousands of feet of sticky tape, a crane, fire, machinery, smoke and a full musical score took over the Sydney Opera House forecourt.