At the media launch for the 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve, the theme of which is “Inspire”, Thompson said Sydney is “the city I love and there’s a lot to be inspired by.”

Thompson said he could think of nothing more wonderful to be a part of than gathering around the Sydney Harbour on New Year’s Eve celebrating life. He told reporters, “we are incredibly privileged people living in an incredibly privileged place and we need to celebrate what we have – and believe me, New Year’s Eve we will!”

The Inspiring Jack Thompson

As the designated storyteller of this year’s NYE celebration, the iconic Australian actor read out a poem he had written as his response to how Sydney has inspired him. In it he revealed:

I am Sydney. I am the city of Sydney.
Glistening in the sun, shining on in harbour lights when the day is done.
A city rich with achievements and stories that inspire,
A city who is vital here and now the whole world has come to admire.
And we, the people of Sydney, have Summer in our souls,
It is our dreaming and our lore, our heritage of old.

Upon reflecting on this section of Thompson’s evocative poem I considered what is was about the city of Sydney that truly inspired me. I moment of inspiration arose a few days ago when I was aboard a boat on the Sydney Harbour, cruising underneath the iconic Harbour Bridge, sailing past the incredible Opera House and admiring the stunning sights and wildlife of the Sydney Harbour National Park.

In a moment of appreciation, my friend uttered to me: “it’s moments like this that make me wonder why you would live anywhere else.” That is when I realised the true inspiration of Sydney for me – it’s unique history, iconic structures, magnificent sites, endless opportunity for adventure and exploration, and its ability to answer the call of ‘Summer in our souls’. Far from being simply a season, Summer in Sydney – as Thompson so eloquently expressed – is our dreaming, our lore and our heritage. Summer is embodied by the feeling of floating on the stunning waterscape of Sydney Harbour and feeling connected to its rich past, its magnificent present and its exciting future.

New Year’s Eve represents a time of hope and excitement at what lies ahead in the New Year; a time for gathering with loved ones to appreciate all that we have; and most of all a time for celebration. For this reason, I can think of no other place to celebrate New Year’s Eve than upon Sydney Harbour.

A Sydney Harbour cruise is the ideal way to appreciate Sydney’s beauty and celebrate this exciting event in style. A harbour cruise enables you to feel connected to the city and the Summer in a manner that those behind screens or even on the land would be unable to achieve.

The MV EPICURE I New Year’s Eve cruise is a perfect example of a sumptuous harbour cruise that coalesces history, celebration and opportunity. Sitting atop a luxurious vessel with unsurpassed views of the fireworks and enjoying gourmet food and beverages embraces what Jack Thompson referred to as ‘incredibly privileged people living in an incredibly privileged place’. New Year’s Eve is one of the most unique celebrations of the year and Sydney is one of the best places in the world to celebrate it.

So make the most of this incredible city and ensure you are inspired this New Year’s Eve by booking yourself on a resplendent harbour cruise this 31st December.

Sparkling wine can only truly be recognised as champagne if it has originated from the Champagne region in the Northeast of France. Champagne is a historic province famous for its sparkling wine, and unparalleled in its fame for a local product. According to legend, champagne was not actually invented in the region, but rather brought up from the Languedoc, in the south of France. The fantastic soil and climatic conditions of the Champagne region is the major reason for the success of the region’s bright bubbly wine.

In the late fifth century, the monarch or northern France, King Clovis, promised his wife that if he won a battle to defend his territory that he would convert to Christianity. After winning, he was baptised in a church in the city of Reims in the heart of the Champagne region. This triggered a tradition for centuries after in which Kings of France were crowned in Reims at a grand cathedral built there. Because of Reim’s isolation and difficulty to travel to, the royal court would stay in the Champagne region afterwards, taking advantage of its fruity local wines. At this time, the wines were actually still as the grapes were harvested and fermented in just a few weeks. However, as the wine in the region became more popular and was exported further away, new barrels were not opened until Spring – thus appearing effervescent.

Champagne garnered a reputation of being a fun and beneficial beverage and was commonly favoured amongst nobility, particularly King Louis XV. With the industrialisation of the 19th Century, champagne became an aspirational beverage among the newly rich merchant class. It was around this time that the alcoholic beverage also became a popular drink of choice to ring in the New Year. The complexity involved in producing champagne, on top of its larger price tag meant that it was enjoyed on special occasions to add celebratory extravagance. The exciting fizz and renewing bubbles also add an extra element of opulence, and the fizz prevents from it being a beverage to consume quickly.

Drinking at New Year’s Eve celebrations dates back to solstice rituals, at which pagans made offerings to their gods with a special mead or wine. As New Year’s Eve evolved to become more secular, consuming alcohol on New Year’s Eve transitioned from a religious festivity to being intertwined with champagne’s reputation as a celebratory indulgence. Marketers ensured that this reputation of enjoying a glass of bubbly on the significant occasion of New Year’s Eve has been well maintained, and perhaps become even more of a staple of the annual celebration.

One of the major downfalls of ringing in the New Year at one of the public vantage points around Sydney Harbour’s foreshore is that most of the locations prohibit alcohol. While some of these areas provide alcoholic vendors, most of the spots have complete bans on alcohol and glass – not to mention the enormous lines celebrants will have to endure at the few alcohol-friendly sites.

To avoid these restrictions and guarantee the ability to partake in the age-old ritual of enjoying a champagne as the clock strikes midnight this 31st December, attend an exclusive harbour cruise this New Year’s Eve. MV EPICURE I has limited tickets to guarantee luxury and comfort for those lucky attendees. The luxury cruise includes an array of sophisticated G.H. Mumm Champagne, which is one of the largest Champagne producers in Reims in the hills of this historic French province. G.H. Mumm is included in the ticket, thereby allowing you to connect to the history of ringing in the New Year with an authentic glass of champagne in hand.

Anyone wishing to celebrate New Year’s Eve with the true extravagance it deserves cannot look past the luxurious MV EPICURE I New Year’s Eve harbour cruise. Don’t pass up your opportunity to celebrate this New Year’s Eve with a bang – plus a huge array of delectable cuisine, plenty of other alcoholic options, stunning front-row views of Sydney’s world renowned fireworks, world-class musical entertainment and three levels of decadent space for celebration.