An Aperol activation at The Bars of Barangaroo district in Sydney has delivered a major boost to food and beverage sales in the precinct.

The Bars of Barangaroo recently partnered with Aperol to bring to life ‘Golden Hours’, a three-week activation of spritz specials, curated aperitivo menus, live music and performances, held across the precinct to see off summer.

From 20 March to 5 April, more than 20 of Barangaroo’s venues glowed Aperol orange between 3-7pm, giving locals and visitors a chance to see the waterfront district in a new light.

The district welcomed more than 30,000 visitors during the activation period, with March seeing a 9% increase (+$705,000) in food and beverage sales over the same period in the previous year, followed by an 11% increase (+$980,000) in April.

“Barangaroo is such an extraordinary new District and still quite new to many Sydneysiders but it’s been traditionally really thought of as dining only,” said The Bars of Barangaroo District Coordinator Jacqui Stanton.

“What this activation is bringing to life is that it’s a casual District and a drinking District and it’s here for everyone.”

As a district, The Bars of Barangaroo’s most distinctive feature – a stunning west-facing aspect which allows you to watch the sunset over the water from the city – was what attracted Aperol to the partnership.

“Very few locations in Sydney get that full sunset experience and in a relatively new and contemporary precinct like Barangaroo, matching it with a brand like Aperol, it’s a match made in heaven,” said Aperol Customer Marketing Director Anthony Wagstaff.

Wagstaff said the advantage of working with a district like The Bars of Barangaroo rather than coordinating with multiple individual venues was another major drawcard.

“I think the fact you can coordinate up to 25 venues in the one activation is such a gamechanger for suppliers,” he said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with our investment here. The execution has been amazing, you couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

‘Golden Hours’ in Barangaroo marks one of the biggest activations Aperol has done at a precinct level, having already tapped into the model in its European and South American markets.

“I’m so pleased we’ve been able to embrace that and adopt that from Sydney’s point of view because delivering an activation on this scale makes all the difference in terms of driving traffic to the venues … it’s fabulous,” said Wagstaff.

The activation, a collaboration between Aperol and a number of key players in Barangaroo, including The Bars of Barangaroo District, retail collective Streets of Barangaroo, Crown Sydney and some venues in One Sydney Harbour, was enabled by the NSW Government’s Neon Marketplace.

The entertainment lineup during ‘Golden Hours’ saw 30 different DJs playing across the three weeks, including 20 female artists, and closing with an ‘Aperidisco’.

“We’re also supporting emerging artists and giving them that experience on a big stage that they need in order to progress their craft,” said Stanton.

Roving performers also handed out compliments to get guests glowing, while a beauty station offered ‘glow ups’ including free blow-dries and glittery makeup touch ups.

A collective of 25 bars, The Bars of Barangaroo is a District supported by the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner’s Uptown District Acceleration Program. The program, introduced in 2022, promotes the ‘District model’, encouraging neighbouring businesses to join forces under a shared identity to build stronger connections with audiences and brands.

Taking place over three weeks, Stanton said the Golden Hours activation had really been years in the making.

“It’s absolutely epic that so many really powerful partners have come together to light up an entire block of the city and give Sydneysiders the opportunity to use their city in a different way.”