Sydney Chinese New Year parade to feature 3,000 performers

Sydney's Chinese New Year Twilight Parade will feature more than 3,000 national and international performers, building projections and 35 floats, the Sydney City Council announced on Thursday.

Marking the Year of the Sheep, the parade on Feb. 22, will celebrate the sheep's characteristics and depict its life from children's nursery rhymes to the backbone of Australia's farming success.

A giant five-meter tall merino sheep, along with shepherds, shearers, and knitting grannies will feature as well as floats from Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai communities.

"The Twilight Parade is an excellent way we celebrate Sydney's cultural diversity, with local and international communities that observe the Lunar New Year taking part," Sydney mayor Clover Moore said in a statement.

"Always the most popular item on the Chinese New Year festival calendar, we expect huge crowds to line the city streets to welcome in the New Year."

More than 100 performers from China's Sichuan, Shaanxi and Beijing will also put on performances, including martial artists, acrobats, jugglers, puppeteers, dancers and musicians.

More than 80 family-friendly events make up the Sydney Chinese New Year 2015 program, the largest Lunar New Year celebration outside of Asia.