A vendor at Sydney’s busy Vivid light festival is being lashed as “un-Australian” over the hefty price of a sausage sizzle.

An angry visitor to the three-week festival sparked the storm after posting a photo of Fire Kitchen’s billboard advertising sausages in bread (with onions) for $8.50.

“I don’t care what the reason is, but when you can buy sausages for about $6 a kilogram, onions for $3 a kilogram, and a loaf of bread for $3 (retail, so cheaper buying wholesale bulk for an event like Vivid), $8.50 is disgusting,” the attendee wrote on their Reddit post.

By contrast, the classic Aussie snack costs $3.50 at Bunnings (with or without onions).

Other social media users reacted furiously to the Vivid sizzle.

“That’s just un-Australian,” one said.

Another wrote: “You know it’s bad when the veg price is the same as the normal. I thought [the] sausage sizzle at Bunnings was insane inflation [until] this.”

And a third urged co-ordinated action: “We must all band together and collectively refuse to pay these prices. Send a message!”

While another said: “I’d maybe fork out $5 if I was hungry enough, but I would never be that hungry at $8.50 for a sausage on a roll.”

The Vivid sign that has caused the outrage. Photo: Reddit

Triple M radio host Mick Molloy added his fury to the sizzle fire on Thursday.

“That is bloody un-Australian – eight bucks fifty for a sausage sizzle,” he raged on his breakfast radio show.

“That’s twice a democracy sausage,” he added – a reference to the election day reward for voters.

But there was also support for the Vivid vendor, with some replies suggesting the cost of running a stall at the busy event was likely to cost thousands of dollars.

“If OP wants to get floored by a dollar amount, just ask the vendor his weekly rent the city is charging him to park his sausage shack there,” one said.

Another user said that it wasn’t just at Vivid – “it’s all food carts and stalls, the prices have gone stupid at every event”.

“It’s a captive audience. I don’t know what you expected. Also, the vendors get charged crazy fees by the event runners,” another said.

And then there was a third opinion – that the prices was not unreasonable, as long as the snag and bread were good quality.

“If it’s a crappy sausage and a slice of white bread like Bunnings, then I’m with you,” wrote the critic.

“But if it’s a decent sausage on a decent bun, then it’s worth it.

“Keeping in mind, Bunnings’ sausage sizzle labour and rent is free.”

Vivid Sydney is an annual celebration of innovation and technology that lights up Sydney for 23 winter nights. It offers 67 events across 121 sessions at 14 venues and locations.

The event is owned, managed and produced by the NSW government’s tourism and major events agency and is in its 14th year.

Vivid 2024 winds up on Saturday.