It’s rare for a government-run event to become cool. But the City of Sydney’s biannual block party on Stanley Street in Darlinghurst is now so popular authorities are moving to turn down the fun.
The event is part of the council’s “Sydney Streets” program, which began as a COVID-era initiative to activate the city’s streets and help businesses get back on their feet.
Outdoor dining during a Stanley Street event in March 2022. Since then, it has become well known for DJs in the evening.Credit: Steven Siewert
While similar events in Glebe, Pyrmont or Potts Point remain relatively staid affairs, the Stanley Street edition “goes off”. About 10,000 people attended the most recent instalment on a Saturday in October, with more turned away from long queues after sunset.
Local councillor Lyndon Gannon said it was a fantastic party: “I never thought I’d say this, but I reckon City staff could give [Merivale hospitality boss] Justin Hemmes a run for his money.”
However, the event may have become too big for its own good; large crowds and a minor incident with police have prompted NSW Police and the City of Sydney council to rein in the party. Police have asked for additional crowd mitigation measures, while business owners have been told that the party’s major drawcard – outdoor DJs – will no longer be permitted.
Anthony MacFarlane, who owns Mrs Palmer Sandwich, La Farmacia and Wings and Tins on Stanley Street, said there was “a bit of argy-bargy” at the October event, but that the issues could be solved with more toilets and better planning. “Just when you think we’ve come so far … they turn around and say, ‘Nah nah nah, way too many people now’,” he said.
The Stanley Street festival at night in October 2023.
Multiple business owners said the council voiced concerns that the party atmosphere attracted people from areas such as Bondi when the event was supposed to be for the local community.
“We think that’s ridiculous,” MacFarlane said. “It’s bringing new people to our precinct who didn’t know it was here. We don’t want just the locals – they come every week.”
Claudio Tropea, co-owner of iconic Stanley Street restaurant Bill and Toni’s, credits the success of Stanley Street to the variety of bars and restaurants clustered on one block. “It seems to cater for everybody,” he said, with the crowd getting younger as the evening goes on.
The precinct – one of 21 to receive a $200,000 grant from the state government to encourage local businesses to collaborate and promote their district – also markets itself on TiKTok and Instagram with short videos aimed at a younger audience.
“It was ‘too successful’, if that can be said”: Claudio Tropea outside his Bill and Toni’s restaurant on Stanley Street.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Entry to the festival is also free; a significant factor for young people in a time of $15 beers and the skyrocketing cost of living.
“It was ‘too successful’, if that can be said,” Tropea said of the last event. “The council’s looking at a few different things at the moment [regarding] what restrictions we’ll have next year.”
The council was due to meet with stakeholders on Wednesday. In a statement, the City of Sydney said the Stanley Street precinct had the smallest footprint of all street closures, and so reached capacity quickly.
It said NSW Police had advised “given the size and behaviour of the crowd” at the last event, the council must increase crowd-management measures. “User pays police and measures to ensure compliance with licensing could see the event cost increase significantly,” the council said.
Stanley Street festival in October 2023.
Increasing the footprint of the event was not as simple as closing adjacent streets, due to traffic management plans and the impact on nearby residents, it said.
At a council meeting on Monday night, Gannon proposed to seize on the popularity of the Stanley Street event by holding it every weekend next summer. That would require infrastructure changes such as installing retractable bollards in the road to reduce the cost of closing the street.
But the motion was amended to a broader review of the council’s “Sydney Streets” program. Clover Moore-aligned councillor Adam Worling said the Stanley Street event was clearly an enormous success, but warned holding it every weekend could “water it down”.
MacFarlane said Stanley Street business owners wanted to permanently pedestrianise the block between Riley and Crown streets. “That’s been our long-term goal for a long time,” he said.
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