Laneway Festival Secures Its 12,500 Capacity Sydney Venue

The Sydney leg of the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival has secured three-year approval to take place on their current site in the inner west.

Last year the festival, which takes place at Callan Park, faced stiff opposition from lobby group Friends Of Callan Park when they attempted to expand the capacity from 8,000 to 12,500. Eventually securing the expanded capacity, former Leichhardt Mayor and current councillor Darcy Byrne has today confirmed that Council gave three-year approval for the event last night.

“Laneway is fast becoming Sydney's best festival and will is now a permanent part of the Inner West music scene, giving our local economy and cultural life a desperately needed boost,” Byrne said.

Last year Byrne, a member of the Labor party, had accused Friends Of Callan Park’s Hall Greenland, also the NSW Convenor of the Greens party, of trying to restrict “Sydney’s best emerging festival”.

“Council has finally realised that more people want to listen to the likes of Lorde in Callan Park than care about the unreasonable noise complaints of a tiny minority of anti-music activists,” Byrne said today.

“Inner West locals overwhelmingly support the Laneway Festival taking place in Callan Park and this decision is a big win for the fun loving majority.”

For most of last century Callan Park was the site of a psychiatric hospital known as Callan Park Hospital For The Insane. The buildings now house Sydney College Of The Arts.

This year’s Laneway features FKA Twigs, Jungle, St Vincent, Future Islands and others.