Over 15 000 Sydney punters flocked to Hyde Park last night to fight for their right to party in NSW. The protest was against the NSW government's imminent new festival regulations which are set to be introduced on March 1.
In a joint statement yesterday, Music NSW, the Australian Festival's Association and more said that following a meeting with the NSW government yesterday, they were informed that the government will 'not change its position on the implementation of new licensing rules from next Friday'. This has come despite the industry's willingness to work both cooperatively and constructively with the government.
The rally yesterday heard guest speakers from all across the industry, including MC's Rhys Muldoon and Yumi Stynes, as well as Julian Hamilton of The Presets, Adelle Robinson of Fuzzy (Harbourlife, Field Day, Listen Out) and heaps more, as well as appearances from local acts Ocean Alley, The Rubens, Cloud Control and more.
At the event, there was a physical petition passed around to be officially submitted to the NSW government. At the time of writing this, the online petition has over 118 000 signatories.
Despite the light rain, spirits were high and the Sydney community was fired up. Check out our full gallery of the evening below.
[gallery columns="2" link="file" size="full" ids="83963,83962,83966,83964,83968,83969,83970,83975,83981,83979,83985,83983,83965,83973,83972,83967,83974,83971,83976,83984,83980,83977,83982,83978"]
All photos by Caitlin Medcalf for Purple Sneakers
