It looks like Bondi Beach may once again be host to another beach party during next year’s Mardi Gras season.
On Tuesday, Waverley Council unanimously approved “the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Bondi Beach Party event at Bondi Park, Beach (stage set-up only) and Bondi Pavilion on a date to be confirmed in late February 2024”.
The council also noted that a report, titled “Mardi Gras Bondi Beach Party 2024”, had been prepared for the event and that it was “confidential”.
It authorised its general manager or a delegate to “complete negotiations, finalise the event fee and execute a licence agreement with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras” and approved “an event fee up to the maximum as set out in the report”.
It’s unclear if the report was the council’s or one put to it by the organisation behind the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
GSN asked Mardi Gras for comment on Thursday night but it had not responded by 2pm on Friday.
Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Doll fame was the headline act at this year’s WorldPride Bondi Beach party, while DJs included dameeeela, Jarred Baker, Jacqui Cunningham, DJ Charlie Villas and DJ Dan Murphy.
Next year’s 2024 Mardi Gras season runs from February 16 until March 3.
March 2 will be the official date for the 46th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.
Editor’s note: GSN editor Ben Grubb pays a $50 annual fee for access to Mardi Gras membership discounts.
Ben Grubb is the founder and editor of Gay Sydney News, an independent publication covering LGBTQIA+ news. A journalist with more than 15 years' experience, he has reported and edited for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAToday, Brisbane Times, The Australian Financial Review, News.com.au, ZDNet, TelecomTimes and iTnews, primarily on the topic of technology. He previously hosted The Informer, a queer current affairs program on Melbourne’s JOY 94.9 radio station, and contributes to LGBTQIA+ media including Stun Magazine. Ben has also appeared as a technology commentator on Channel Ten's The Project, ABC RN’s Download This Show and commercial radio stations 2UE, 2GB and 6PR. Contact Ben: ben.grubb@gaysydneynews.com.au
