Van Gogh Alive to wrap up in Foreshore Park Newcastle after 82,000 visits

Promoter Andrew Kay hailed it as a success, saying the ticket sales had defied his expectations and outstripped the Canberra leg of the multi-sensory art experience.

"I said at the start I would have been happy with 65,000," he said. "It was much bigger than Canberra (which sold 72,000).

"It was a stellar result. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

"We sell tickets because people go home and say 'I've seen something amazing'. We advertise until we open, then the show looks after itself."

It was the first time the event, which has been visited by more than 8.5 million people around the world, had been staged in a non-capital city in Australia.

Mr Kay said he would be keen to return the event to Newcastle in the future, "if Newcastle wants us back". He said the site in Foreshore Park was "fantastic" despite the ongoing rain.

The event was staged for four and a half weeks, which included the September/October school holidays.

Mr Kay said there were numerous school groups who attended, as well as a lot of families during the holidays.

The final day of the experience will be Sunday, with tickets still available for most time slots over the weekend.

Crews will then begin the pack down process, which takes about two weeks.

"We have to take out all of the interior," he said. "There's a lot of trucks. We are the visual arts version of Cirque du Soleil."

The event then moves to Sydney Entertainment Quarter from December 8.