Sleaze’s future in doubt
New Mardi Gras has flagged that this year’s Sleaze could be the last.
In a circular to members late yesterday NMG co-chairs Peter Urmson and Steph Sands announced plans for a forum to discuss the future of the organisation’s fundraising strategies, including the ailing dance party. At this year’s NMG annual general meeting former co-chair Nick Parker described the October long weekend dance party as “the fundraiser that didn’t”, saying attendance had been trending downwards for years.
Starting life as a 500-person party at the Paddington Town Hall in 1982, Sleaze now faces stiff competition from a range of parties across the October long weekend, including newcomer Suburban Sleaze, and others during the weekend including Extra Dirty, LaLeche!, Daywash, Love Child and Underwhere.
Urmson told Sydney Star Observer competition from other parties was not the issue.
“They’re not really a major factor,” he said. “Whenever we put on an event there will be peripheral events that come up around it.
“If it was on another weekend there would be other events that would come up to compete.”
Urmson said his board felt it important to make members aware of the party’s circumstances in advance.
“If this is the last Sleaze Ball, we have to make sure people are aware so they have a good enough opportunity to consider if they want to attend or not. We wouldn’t want to make that announcement after the fact, and we just think that it’s due courtesy to the community for us to do that.”
The consultation will review the effectiveness of Sleaze, the shifting needs and tastes of the GLBT community and NMG members, and the challenges that presents for the organisation’s future fundraising strategies.
In yesterday’s circular Urmson and Sands described Sleaze as one of NMG’s proudest achievements.
“We are prepared for the outcome that this may be the last Sleaze Ball we produce and we wanted to ensure that you, our members, were also prepared for this,” they wrote.
“We feel it is time to explore new ideas so we remain an exciting and relevant organisation that can provide the kind of events our communities want today.”
Sands and Urmson said the move to the Forum was part of New Mardi Gras’ commitment to remaining connected and engaged with the community and its membership.
“When these kinds of important discussions and decisions arise, we will seek some level of involvement from you. We look forward to hearing a range of opinions.
“We’re proud that we can provide a Sleaze Ball with an emphasis on youth and women, multiple venues and reduced ticket prices, while retaining the dark and edgy atmosphere that the event is famous for.”
The NMG special Membership and Community Forum will be in mid-October, with a date and venue yet to be announced.
It also announced yesterday that Zoe Badwi and Mary Kiani will perform at this year’s party.
last decent sleaze was Zirkus. i thought there was a chance. it had a real edge, i still remember nikki webster surrounded by those topless girls on stage and boys as horses – so dark and perverted ‘strawberry kisses’ took on a whole new emaning! then they screwed it the next year downsizing teh venue to just teh bloody hordern. of course it couldn’t recover after that.
i think that the future of mg is not good… it is mainstream now, so i think it shoudl just embrace that side of itself, do just teh parade and let queer culture exist in teh verious other contexts it can now. the festival is covetred in syd fest, other programming around sydney throughout teh year and teh fringe festival, the party is covered with soooo many opton (though a lnice big party post festival would still work), fair day – can the music, just let teh community gather in a park with a ghetto blster! if all nmg had to produce was a parade and party they would be fine… it’s all the other events. teh extra staff. jsut do those two things, do tehm well and let the fetsiavl and fair day go. sydney estival will program better international gay acts, teh comedy festival will have gay comediens etc etc the syd fringe will be a place for queer acts to perform, if there was no festival it woudl be ok for the community – there are places they can get their culture!
cut staff, cut the extra events, just do a damn good parade and your best effort at a party (the mardi gras name will still pull decent acts like george michael).
i wonder if they will be able to get the big names this year the last few mg parties have had some pretty massive names! if the names stop coming then i think we have to recognise teh brand maybe dead!
Sabrina
Its not just about dance party’s aka I really feel AlternaFringe has come in and addressed the needs of the community, unity of what it means to be Queer today, they get inclusiveness, Even when Sleaze was a successful fundraiser, it was being bled we all know that – the bad old days are over, well almost – they are drawing it out slowly and painful (i wouldn’t expect anything less from them) its like some old fat white sexist cop unit that was never able to get caught redhanded even though the public all knew they were corrupt – they finally drowned in their own corruption, lies and relevance…Started out with great intentions and passions and ended themselves at their own greedy corporate hands…
After the debacle of last years Mardi Gras Party – no thanks not interested. Cost was too high and the production was an embarrassment and that’s being kind…
Dome being the women space says it all – the MG Board are soooo out of touch and disconnected….they couldn’t run a bath if they tried….
I used to love sleaze ball. And I think major Parties are still a good thing for the community. But I guess we have become creatures of our own success.
With everything Gay more and more accepted in the wider Sydney Community, younger LGBTers think… “meh, I’ll do something else”
But like others have said….we do indeed have greater choices with other smaller parties. Gotta love “Day-Wash”
well thats my 2 c worth. Cheers xx
Ironic that the NMG board continue to talk about needing new methods of fundraising, without a single, qualified or experience fundraiser on the board, or in the organisation.
Fundraising is a science, the failure of NMG, and other organisations like ACON and BGF to recognise this is a massive disservice to our community.
THE SLEAZEBALL OS SO YETSERDAY!!!!!
This is silly – How about being a true event person for NMG and publish a change within this event so it doesn’t look dim to begin with; you might see a positive change?
It isn’t the public’s fault for not attending this event or the down-sizing of numbers over the years or be blamed on other events at the same time, if you change the ingredients and bring to the public a more exciting- no repeat party as the one previous; you might not have to waste time broadcasting such a doomed message for the event.
You have pretty much doomed it now by saying it’s the last, yes you might have number’s now because ‘it might be the last’, but you won’t know at all because you have totally put it down all together now; as the last sleaze as you believe, why don’t you just say ‘it’s the last’?
If NMG is going to survive at all after this little outburst with sleaze; it would be finding a better event manager from today! Because you suck at knowing what to do or say for our community and for NMG Events.
For a bit of history.
Sleaze’s original purpose was to raise funds to help put on a parade. It was a great idea that allowed Mardi Gras to grow and the parade got bigger, the festival was introduced, events expanding over three weeks were introduced. Mardi Gras grew from a grass roots moment to a celebration of self. Than the bubble that seemed endless, ended. And the community pulled together and formed a NMG.
Their path seems to be travelling the same as the old Mardi Gras and I am sure everyone is working just as triedless and thanklessly as the old board did. But that won’t change the results, as reflected in last years financials.
So as a community memeber I have to ask… if our community does not support the fundraisers, what are we going to be willing to give up?
Unless a new funding source is secured someone is going to have to make the hard decision, does the festival go? does Fairday, Does the parade? at what point do we as a community admit change, and are we going to support that change.
Because clearly it’s no longer in the parties to be that revenue source to support what we want to have the parade & celebrations.
Personally I think its sad sleaze is going, not because it was a great party, but because it use to support something great, and we as a community have lost that.
A great shame.
The parties seemed to be picking up in the last few years and then came the Mardi Gras debacle and now this.
Years ago NMG should have either taken on the competition head to head or worked with them like NMG having the Halls on the Sat night then on the Sunday Toybox or similar taking over Hordern. Sharing the bump in costs.
Instead they let the competition beat them and its come to this.
Sleaze could still be sexy/dirty etc without breaking any laws. Inquisition parties proved that. Instead it just felt like a mini me Mardi Gras Party.
NMG should look at NYE and June long weekend and things like Halloween party.
But remember for a true Dance Party you have to have at least one big Hall otherwise it feels like any other night club. Not saying need that on June long weekend/Halloween
type parties but certainly for Mardi Gras and Sleaze.
NYE could be a party in Hordern then on 01 Jan a day party.
Same for June long weekend.
Its a great shame the Board just hasnt had the balls to tackle the competition head on. Might be too late but you never know. Seems like there may be a replacement required for Toybox ?
But for Sleaze this year with no Hordern and no darker styles in Dome am totally giving it a miss.
The gay community no longer wants to be pin down by just going to gay parties. It seems that a lot of gay people (especially the young gays and lesbians who didn’t have the same societal hardships with sexuality like older generations) no longer wants to be stereotype by the gay community and within the gay community itself. People see that there is more to being gay then calling yourself (overly used words I must say) a bear, twink, leather daddy, otter, bull dyke, showboy, muscle Mary, lip-stick lesbian.
Many young GLBT members are now calling themselves mainstreamers. They want to been seen as normal. While they respect the community, they are partaking in festivals and parties that aren’t exclusively gay like Stereosonic, Good Vibes, Parklife. It seems that the nature and interests of the GLBT community are changing as it’s become less and less segregated.
Well there is your answer. A Sleaze about youth. It should be for all over 18. If it was more of a Dore Alley thing barring the public sex, it might work. Things like this and Pride Fair in Brisbane and a few events in Melbourne have had their day time to move on.
Attendance at Sleaze has been trending downwards because Mardi Gras are not delivering on their promises and are not catering to the desires of attendees; instead focusing on providing an expensive yet sanitised, bland dance party that is easily outperformed by its competition.
Mardi Gras have rested on their laurels and failed to adapt, failed to heed the feedback from their members, and failed to deliver the parties that people want.
Mardi Gras have tried to be all things to all people, but instead have become nothing to anyone.
That’s really sad…
They didn’t move with the time, unfortunately.
I will miss it!
I’m not going to Sleaze this year…I’m heading north for CoastOut in Coffs late October! Will wait to see how Mardi Gras 2011 turns out!
The issue is more than a dance party, its about having spaces to explore ourselves, our creativity and showcase our work, party, enjoy with other likeminded. NMG holds none of that for me – They have screwed over the community and gotten away with it for too many years, too little to late baby.
Suburban Sleaze looks like everything MardiGras cannot be, original, half price, creative, ethical and intouch. NMG thinks it can tap into the underground when it needs bodies for its poster once a year, and thats its contact with the creative queers of Australia. I’ve been told first hand from one of the Suburban Sleaze performers that every single one of them is getting paid! They have put together a awesome line up and personally this year I am voting with my wallet, because I have a real choice.
It has not lived up to its name for many years. Perhaps for many reasons: people taking nasty drugs, tastes evolve, people are getting tired of the same old thing, and I’m getting too old and tired, and who cares…there is more to life than dance parties.
“…attendance had been trending downwards for years.”
About ten in fact. But this isn’t an NMG thing, everything in Sydney has been going downhill since the Olympics finished.
i loved sleaze for years, decades actually, because it was a great party. it’s increasingly become a shadow of it’s former self & i’d rather remember the glory days than in to what looks to be a half-assed version just because it might be the last. If there is competition compete!
I agree…. it is looking grim
Giving Dome over as a womens space says it all….the board who have planned this and the previous Mardi gras are inept and totally out of touch.