Lieven Bertels​ calls it the Woodstock effect.

"Sometimes you have these seminal events that in 15 years' time there might be more people in Sydney saying 'I was there when that first came' than actually attended," he said.

Bertels, in his fourth and final year as Sydney Festival director, says there are hundreds of thousands of people who claim they were at the original Woodstock festival.

"It happens sometimes that things get their meaning in a historical context or over time," he said.

It may be too early to predict which shows in the 2016 Sydney Festival will be part of the Woodstock effect. But Bertels said it was a "personal moment of pride" to present the work of Belgian contemporary dance company Rosas at the Sydney Opera House.

Following the well-received Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich, the company will perform Vortex Temporum at Carriageworks until Monday.

This year's festival has made a slow and steady start, with hidden gems rather than spectacular gestures winning over audiences and critics.

Bertels said the festival is "firing on all cylinders" despite Sydney's unpredictable weather causing a few headaches. In contrast, The Flaming Lips, which headlined the first of three free outdoor concerts in The Domain, were impeccably behaved.

"From experience, we never make any predictions on what mood a band is in and how they behave backstage," he said.

The festival could not provide box office figures, but Lasttix was offering half-price tickets for the Mexrrissey concert, featuring Mexican musicians performing Morrissey and The Smith songs in Spanish, at the Enmore Theatre on January 23.

Bertels' political paymasters echoed his positive assessment of the festival as it approaches its halfway point.

City of Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore said she was impressed with the activities for families and children:

"The Lawn Library has been terrific, too. It's a haven in the middle of the festival, where you can read, relax, eat, listen to the entertainment, even make paper planes or do colouring in."

Parramatta lord mayor Paul Garrard​ said the festival's western Sydney program was attracting larger audiences.

"La Verita was a spectacular, very animated show that turned the theatre into a big top," he said. "The standing ovation they received really highlighted the audience's appreciation for the performance."

Another fan of La Verita was NSW Deputy Premier and Arts Minister Troy Grant, who said it was "an absolute honour" to open the Parramatta Festival Village.

"If I had it my way I would spend every night at the festival, however with Acting Premier duties and a regional tour I've not been able to attended everything I want."

But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy found time to attend the opening of art show El Anatsui: Five Decades at Carriageworks on Wednesday, and stayed on for the raw vegan dinner held in honour of the artist.

The 2016 Sydney Festival is on until January 26.

Coming up …

• Australian singer Sheridan Harbridge​ performs cabaret musical Songs for the Fallen. The Famous Spiegeltent, January 19 to 24.
• Sydney Chamber Opera sets the poetry of Friedrich Nietzsche to music in O Mensch! Carriageworks Track 8, January 22 to 24.
• Sex was not invented in 1994. Hear about the lusty love lives of a group of Sydney seniors in All the Sex I've Ever Had. Sydney Opera House, January 21 to 24.
• Deputy Premier and Arts Minister Troy Grant will emulate Hugh Jackman's entrance to Oprah's Sydney Opera House show (hopefully without the injury) when he tackles the flying fox through The Ephemeral City at The Cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve.