Small crowd at Harbour 09
An enthusiastic crowd partied into the evening at Harbour Party on Sunday, despite a strong police presence.
More than 2500 people attended the party on the edge of Sydney Harbour joined diva Shauna Jensen to sing Happy Birthday to surprise guest, Olympic gold medallist Matthew Mitcham. Mitcham turned 21 on Monday.
DJs Stephen Allkins, Kate Monroe, Alex Taylor and Shigeki entertained the crowds. Taylor was later joined on stage by Hed Kandi singer and DJ Peyton, whose vocal abilities stunned the crowd.
Later, Sam Sparro worked the dancefloor, singing his hits Black and Gold, Pocket and 21st Century Life.
NSW Police made their presence felt, with a number of unconfirmed reports of drug arrests at the party.
New Mardi Gras chair David Imrie said he was pleased with the party.
The turnout was well up on last year with a particularly large international component, he said.
We are committed to growing the party and making it another iconic Mardi Gras event.
It was the first year of a three-year deal New Mardi Gras struck with the Botanic Gardens Trust to hold the party at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.
More photos: check out our scene page.
This party is too important to fail. Here are some suggestions that Mardi Gras may consider:
1. Harbour and Azure, identified what it called “founders” about 20-40 folk who loved the party and each year bought about upto 150 tickets each before they launched tickets. This ensured the party was sold out BEFORE it launched ticket sales and pushed up demands;
2. Take responsibility for the poor production values over the last 2 years and improve them (and stop embarrassing the founders by denying a stunning tradition);
3. Acknowledge that the police action is having a major impact on one of our communities’ leading fundraisers. Negotiate a new approach. Protest if you have to. Rocks LAC is universally regarded with contempt within the NSW Police and local licensees. Many will quietly join this action. Unfortunately, the only way to manage the actions of the bully that is Rocks LAC is to stand up to it.
4. Acknowledge the philanthropic nature of Harbour and Azure and donate all proceeds of the event to our community. It does sell tickets!
Good luck!