Photos: Keep Sydney Open Rally

February 29, 2016

Unless you’ve had your eyes/ears tightly closed recently, you’ll know about the massively-attended Keep Sydney Open rally last weekend.

An estimated 15,000 people braved the weird weather (rain, then clouds, then insanely hot sun) to take part in the peaceful march from Belmore Park to Hyde Park and then listened to impassioned words from notable Sydney personalities. Taking to the mic to give heartfelt speeches were Dave Faulkner from iconic Australian band Hoodoo Gurus, Bernard Keane (Political Editor of Crikey), Tyson Koh from Keep Sydney Open, Nina Las Vegas and our old mate Isabella Manfredi from The Preatures (pictured, above).

There were also live performances from Art vs Science (who seamlessly dropped The Beastie Boys’ Fight For Your Right to Party) and local heroes Royal Headache.

We were there and, heck, you were probably there too. It was a fantastic, empowering day which sent a clear message to politicians (hello #casinomike), the media and supporters of the lockout laws. We are strong in numbers and in spirit and we will not be forced to spend our nights in casinos while our city is sold off piece by piece, while small businesses die and while our music scene is strangled. We want a safe and vibrant nightlife, not a Nanny State, and we won’t stop until we get it.

Here are some of our photos from the rally, taken by Adam Davis-Powell. We’ll put the rest up on our Facebook page soon, so follow us to make sure you see them all.