‘Hurricane Hannah’s’ Wish To See The Lights At Vivid Sydney Finally Granted

After more than two years of delays due to COVID-19, Make-A-Wish recipient ‘Hurricane Hannah’ finally had her wish to attend Vivid Sydney granted and, in a surprise unveiled as she arrived, got the rare opportunity to turn on the festival lights at 6pm.
Melbourne-based Hannah, her parents, and her sister Willow were treated to a VIP experience at Vivid Sydney, where the entire family participated in an immersive two-hour personalised tour of the festival, including the extra special surprise for Hannah to switch on Darling Harbour’s Sydney Infinity – the largest liquid and light show ever seen in Australia.
Vivid Sydney transformed the Harbour City into an illuminating fusion of Light, Music and Ideas until Saturday 18 June, with the 2022 festival featuring more than 50 light installations and projections from 64 light collaborators and 114 artists from five countries.
Eight-year-old Hannah was diagnosed at birth with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which meant the left side of her heart didn’t form. This required three open heart surgeries in her first year and 155 days in hospital before she was able to go home. Aged five, she was diagnosed with the rare Ayme-Gripp syndrome, which means Hannah cannot hear or speak, is vision-impaired and has an intellectual disability.
“Hannah loves anything with lights,” says Hannah’s mum, Emma. “Hannah has always been drawn to sensory rooms at any place we’ve visited. It has been our long time wish to attend Vivid Sydney as we knew she’d love the visual experience and at last that wish has come true. We had the most magical evening, and we cannot thank enough Make-A-Wish Australia, Blooms The Chemist and Destination NSW for making it happen.”
In a heart-breaking turn of events, the trip was delayed once this year due to Hannah herself contracting COVID-19 the week the festival started. Thankfully, she recovered quickly.
“Following the disruption of COVID-19, we are thrilled to have our wish program back up and running and so pleased to see Hannah’s wish finally granted,” said Make-A-Wish CEO, Sally Bateman.
“We are incredibly grateful to have the support of amazing partners including Blooms The Chemist to bring unforgettable wishes like Hannah’s to life,” said Sally. “Our aim is for the Wish Journey to leave a profound and lasting impact on children like Hannah, and inspire to believe that anything is possible.”
Since the inception of its partnership, Blooms The Chemist has raised more than $1.2 million for Make-A-Wish Australia across its entire pharmacy network, ensuring wishes like Hannah’s are possible.
Andrew Leslie, pharmacist-owner at Blooms The Chemist Casey Central, the community pharmacy Hannah’s family use, heard her story he was desperate to support. “The focus of our local chemist is to not only offer exceptional healthcare services to our customers, but to support and connect with them the best we can. We’re delighted Hannah’s wish finally came true.”
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade and Tourism Stuart Ayres said, “Vivid Sydney is much more than an amazing light show. It is a celebration of Sydney and Australia.”
“For Hannah and her family to finally be able to enjoy the festival in person is testament to the important role Make-A-Wish Australia and its partners play in granting these important wishes for sick children across the country,” Mr Ayres said.
Unable to attend Vivid Sydney in 2021, Make-A-Wish, Blooms The Chemist and Resolution X brought a bit of Vivid to Hannah, when they surprised her with an immersive light display in her backyard.
“Hannah was so surprised by this experience, bringing her much joy and happiness,” said Hannah’s Dad, Richard. “Despite her health challenges, she’s a bright and bubbly child and loved the night when Make-A-Wish brought a light experience to our house last year, which was such a magical moment for her and our family and friends. To now add to that a trip to Sydney to experience the scale of Vivid, we cannot thank enough everyone involved for their support in making this wish come true for Hannah, and us as a family.”
For more information on the partnership between Blooms The Chemist and Make-A-Wish, visit https://www.bloomsthechemist.com.au/make-a-wish.
For more information on Vivid Sydney go to www.vividsydney.com. Get social using @vividsydney #vividsydney
Latest News

Study: 37% Of Aussies Admit To Reading Gossip Mags; With Adelaide Women Their Biggest Fans
A new survey conducted by magazine and newspaper subscription service Readly found that celebrity gossip mags are a popular guilty pleasure with more than a third of Australians (37 per cent) indulging in the habit. Perhaps unsurprisingly the biggest cohort of gossip and entertainment magazine readers were women (41 per cent) aged 30-39 followed by […]

Fabulate Names Marie Galinsky As National Sales Director
Market leading Australian content marketing platform Fabulate has named Marie Galinsky (pictured) to oversee its rapidly expanding national sales operation in the role of national sales director. Galinsky’s promotion will see her lead Fabulate’s growing sales team and comes just six months after she joined the content marketing startup to lead its Melbourne sales operation. […]

adidas And Indigenous Football Australia Team Up To Give Opportunities To Indigenous Children
A new partnership between adidas and Indigenous Football Australia, which oversees the strategy and expansion of Australia’s most successful and longest-running Indigenous football initiative, John Moriarty Football, will ensure more Indigenous children in remote and regional communities benefit from the power of football. The partnership will see adidas and Indigenous Football Australia (IFA) work together […]

The Advertising Council Releases Statement On Industry Bullying & Harassment
The Advertising Council releases some tough talk on bullying & harassment. Nothing on whether the beard's had its day.

Clementine Ford On Joining Nova And Finding A Woman Friendly Space In Media
The one & only Clementine Ford drops by B&T for an insightful chat. Office beer bong competition rescheduled to Friday.

Australian Studio Start Beyond Appoints Angus Stevens As Chief Executive Officer
Start Beyond, Australia’s leading producer and distributor of VR and AR immersive learning solutions, today announces the internal promotion of Angus Stevens (pictured) to CEO. Stevens, who joined the business in 2016 as one of the founding members, is moving on from his current position of managing director effective immediately. In his new role, Stevens […]

Nine Apologies After Journo Shares Contentious Abortion Post
Another day & it's yet another apology coming out of Nine's head office. Karl just thankful it wasn't him for a change.

FORWARD Agency Announced As PR Agency For Social Enterprise World Forum 2022
PR agency Forward announces exciting new win. Local BWS soon wiped out of Stoli and Moët piccolos.

Indie Agency Hardhat Boosts Its Senior Team With Hires & Promotions
Hardhat riddled with first day nerves & possible loose bowel or two as agency announces a string of new recruits.

Tuesday TV Wrap: MasterChef Sizzles But Nine Brings Home The Bacon
It has to be said that Ninja Warrior is off to a slow start. And who can ever tire of watching perfect specimens fail?

Sir Patrick ‘Star Trek’ Stewart Skewers The Staff Farewell In Witty Work For Yorkshire Tea
Yorkshire Tea's the tea of choice at B&T. Although it's often overshadowed by alcohol, which is the drink of choice.

Men With Large Penises Sought For New TV Doco ‘Too Large To Love’
Ever encountered a todger so extraordinarily large your eyes have watered? Get set to pat the pupils again on this news.

IAB Report Shows Brands Are Using Game Advertising To Extend Ad Reach
In exciting news for the sale of Red Bull & marijuana, new report shows gaming set to be adland's next big opportunity.

Triple M Comes Out On Top Amongst Footy Shows In Survey 4 Results
Triple M has recorded the largest commercial AFL and NRL metro footy audience, delivering almost double the listeners of any other commercial competitor, according to today’s Survey 4 radio ratings results. Triple M’s AFL coverage across Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth reported a cumulative audience of 679,000, while Triple M’s NRL coverage has an audience of […]

VMG Appoints Brendan Harper As Frontier Media Queensland GM
Independent Australian-owned media company VMG has announced the appointment of Brendan Harper (pictured) as general manager and group business director to lead media planning & buying agency, Frontier Media in Queensland. His appointment follows the departure of Queensland director Alexandra Paton, who has been with Frontier Media for more than 15 years. Harper holds extensive […]

Havas Australia Appoints OIS As Third-Party Verification Partner
Havas Australia has appointed OIS, leaders in out-of-home (OOH) verification, as its independent, third-party verification partner across digital, programmatic, and classic out-of-home client campaigns following a competitive review. Australia is among the top 10 global out-of-home markets by size and one of the most advanced, highlighted by leading adoption rates of digital and more recently, […]

Virtue APAC Appoints Fiona Knight As Head Of Account Management
Vice's Virtue appoints Fiona Knight as head of account management. A role, you'd say, would need a proficiency in Excel.

BetterBriefs Unveils New Best Practice Guide Addressing Industry Shortcomings
BetterBriefs will today unveil a new best practice guide, The best way for a client to brief an agency, co-authored by Mark Ritson and in partnership with the IPA, at the IPA Business Growth Conference. After shocking the world of advertising last October with the painful and alarming truths about the enormous misalignment between marketers […]

Dentsu’s Merkle Names Simon Doukas As Inaugural Chief Experience Officer
Adland continuing to see rise of the chief experience officer. Yet no correlation in the rise of anyone wearing linen.

No Better Time To Eat Macca’s Than Winter Proposes New Work From DDB Sydney
Macca's says it's the winter food of choice in new work from DDB. Arguably also the destroyer of the summer bikini body.

Report: Out Of Home Spends Up Almost 15% For Q2
Australia's outdoor industry continues its post-COVID purple patch. Camping, however, remains as shitful as ever.

oOh!media Strikes Deals With 10 Queensland Shopping Centres
oOh!media likes what it sees in Queensland shopping centres. Still can't find a decent park, however.

KPMG Launches End-To End Customer Business, KPMG Customer
KPMG unveils new customer-centric offering, KPMG Customer. Confirms shoplifters and wonky trolleys not its remit.

TABOO Launches Innovation & Design Division, TABOO Labs
TABOO announces the launch of TABOO Labs. Which kinda sounds like tabouli just without the bulgur wheat.

Uber ANZ Announces In-House Ad Division Headed By LinkedIn’s Michael Levine
Uber announces creation of its in-house ad division. No news of its drivers overdoing it with the air freshener.

Red Havas Boosts Health Team With Three New Hires
Red Havas unveils new health team recruits. All of which achieved 90% or above in Operation during interview process.

Big Red Group Nabs Naked Wines’ Paul Connell For CMO Role
Naked Wines' Paul Connell quits for new role. Also thankful he no longer has to explain what herbaceous means at BBQs.

Bank Of Queensland Drops OMD, Hands Media To Initiative & Performics
If there was ever a bank that could pull off the muumuu or the Hawaiian shirt it has to be the Bank Of Queensland.

Why A Federal Election Is A Treasure Trove Of Data For Strategists & Marketers
This columnist argues that elections shine a light on the zeitgeist of a nation. And insane billionaire candidates.

“Don’t Read The Comments, Darling!” Richard Wilkins On Helping Son Christian Navigate Logies Dress Backlash
Proof the red carpet's about the only interesting part of the Logies comes this story from B&T's Christian obsessive.

Why Trust, Not Crypto, Is Today’s Most Valuable Online Currency
In uncertain times, trusted sources become even more significant in the world of media. Elise Bennett (pictured), head of account management (APAC) at Outbrain, reveals what advertisers need to know about the new trust exchange. Instability breeds uncertainty. From bushfires to the pandemic and war, there’s been plenty of both to go around in recent […]

Monday TV Wrap: MasterChef Cooks Up Solid Numbers For 10
MasterChef continues to prove it's like a proverbial Thai red curry left in the fridge overnight - it just gets tastier.

Radio Ratings: Kyle & Jackie O Are Hot On Ben Fordham’s Winning Trail
Sure, B&T's radio ratings aren't always first or aren't particularly thorough, but we guarantee a Media Watch-free read.

Nine’s Radio Stations Bag Best Ever Survey 4 Results
GfK Survey 4 of 2022 reveals that Nine’s talk stations achieved a cumulative audience of 1.873 million – up 9.1 per cent on Survey 4 of 2021. It’s the highest ever Survey 4 audience for the network, and comes off the back of record audiences in Surveys 1, 2 and 3. Sydney’s 2GB is a […]

“Absolutely Disgusting & Racist!” Adlander Slammed For Age/SMH Column Calling For Nick Kyrgios To Be Deported
There is nothing more divisive than tennis ace Nick Kyrgios. Save for hot or cold custard or Nicole in 'Eyes Wide Shut'.

British Drag Queen Busted Sniffing Amyl Nitrate During Live Pride TV Show
B&T never condones the use of drugs in any manner. Except for crappy dance music, where they're almost a necessity.