From sunrise yoga to dancing in the early hours of the morning, extended trading hours mean the Sydney Festival can offer patrons an all-hours program. The planning conditions could be a test for the state government’s plans to designate Walsh Bay as a special entertainment precinct under late night revitalisation reforms.
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00:00The art is up and the signs are all there as the Sydney Festival prepares to party into
00:07the early hours.
00:08The festival bar in Walsh Bay has been given the green light by the City of Sydney to operate
00:13both indoors and outdoors until 2am, a much later last call than last year.
00:18On opening night as the Sydney Festival crowds gathered, the doors on a warm Sydney night
00:26swung closed at 10pm.
00:30Likening them to the west end of London but with harbour views, the Minister wants the
00:34piers to become a special entertainment precinct to resuscitate Sydney's nightlife.
00:39To have this incredible part of the city at this incredible time of year not used after
00:43the hundreds of millions of dollars that the public spent, to not have the public able
00:48to use it just doesn't make sense.
00:50The extended trading hours only apply to the festival and with no firm date set for the
00:55precinct to begin, other neighbouring waterholes will have to wait to open till late.
01:00Now offering sunrise yoga and post midnight boogies, the festival says the new planning
01:04conditions are set to help patrons really get into the swing of things.
01:08Local objections to the new hours were minimal, one resident complained that late night noise
01:12from another venue rendered their child's bedroom unusable, while others welcomed the
01:18change.
01:19You've got to do something around here, it's wasted.
01:21It's definitely needed, we don't have a lot of, it's ridiculous.
01:24The festival is set to welcome 100,000 visitors, transforming into an all-hours playground
01:29for both kids and adults.