Sleaze awaits future

Despite assurances from Mardi Gras administrators Sims Lockwood at last Friday’s creditors meeting that an announcement on the fate of this year’s Sleaze Ball would be released by Monday, the event remains shrouded in mystery.

As Sydney Star Observer was going to press, Mardi Gras was still awaiting news of Sleaze Ball’s future, with administrators in a meeting with Mardi Gras last night discussing the party’s fate.

Despite the delayed announcement, it is anticipated that Sleaze will go ahead in October -“ it’s just a matter of who will be producing the event.

Administrators are understood to be considering separate proposals from a number of community organisations as well as a proposal from a four-part bidding consortium of party producers.

A source close to the consortium revealed that the proposal would see a Sleaze Ball with Frisky organisers running a party in the RHI, Ice organisers producing a party in the Hordern and promoters of the Ruby parties hosting music in intermediate areas between the two venues.

The source said the consortium would use their extensive international contacts in party production to obtain the best possible price for running the party, while also providing a lean and visually spectacular Sleaze Ball with a focus on providing excellent sound.

It is based on the very strong grassroots support, not necessarily to the board or management [of Mardi Gras], but to the principle of -˜our’ Mardi Gras and -˜our’ parade, managed by the community for the community, the source said.

The proposal aims to bank on a Sleaze Ball with a crowd capacity of upwards of 8,000 and will grant automatic entry to the 1,300 people who have already purchased Sleaze tickets from Mardi Gras.