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The largest outdoor movie screen in the country has been launched as the centrepiece of the MOV’IN BED experience at Barangaroo’s new city beach in Sydney.

Opened last weekend with consecutive sell-out nights the attraction offers comfortable day beds on the sand, from where audiences can enjoy movies on the giant 15-metre 4K screen in brilliant colour.

Astounded by the reactions to what his team has achieved, Vincent Fernandez, founder and Director of MOV’IN BED, explained “we have created a city beach in the heart of Barangaroo, popped an amazing cinema experience on it and pushed the boundaries of sound and visual quality at an outdoor cinema.”

Operating for a three-month season, audiences can also enjoy cocktails, wine and champagne, along with gourmet pizzas delivered by personal waiters.

Plans to turn Cockatoo Island slipway into a swimming pool
Also on Sydney Harbour, plans have been revealed to develop a swimming pool on Cockatoo Island.

Part of the Sydney Harbour Trust’s scheme to transform the harbour’s largest island into an arts and tourist destination, the proposal is for the Island’s slipway to become a permanent harbourside swimming pool.

Commenting on the plan, the Harbour Trust’s Executive Director, Janet Carding stated “our aim is that by improving public access, and the range of experiences you can have, we can attract more people to this UNESCO World Heritage site.”

According to the Harbour Trust, which manages the island, current visitor numbers are relatively low compared to other tourism and heritage sites across Australia. Accommodation proposed in the draft plan would cater to a wider range of budgets, including those of families with children, and the campground would move to the western side of the island and the existing site would be turned into a park.

Artificial reefs would be created to boost the harbour's biodiversity and rehabilitate the waters around the island.

The island has a long indigenous, colonial and industrial history, including as a jail and as a shipbuilding and repair yard. It has long been part of Sydney’s working harbour.

Images: The newly opened MOV’IN BED experience at Barangaroo’s new city beach (top and middle) and an artist’s impression of how the slipway on Cockatoo Island will look when converted as a pool (below, credit: Tyrrell Studio and Doug & Wolf).

Article corrected: 22nd January 2024, to note that the Cockatoo Island swimming pool plan is for slipway and not the Fitzroy Dock.

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