Analysis: Flash, the gay Sydney dance party that seems to have beef with Gay Sydney News for reasons that are not fully understood, is moving from its original venue on Oxford Street to new digs at Kings Cross Hotel following a run-in with council over capacity issues.
Launched on the glitter strip more than four months ago, the Saturday night dance party has until now been based at Two 3 One, a venue located on the edge of Darlinghurst near Paddington.
Since its opening on April 26, the club night has managed to sell out online tickets (allocation unknown) each week, drawing queues out the door and in the venue.
However, Flash ran into trouble after a late-night City of Sydney inspection in June found the nightclub’s upper floor was over capacity. The floor is known for its house music and is the most popular level, but is licensed for just 72 people.
The capacity constraints meant the club night could only house 192 people in it at any one time, including staff, given its middle floor featuring pop music could hold just 120 people.
In response to the City of Sydney’s inspection, prompted by an unnamed complainant, Flash expanded to the ground floor, which added room for up to another 120 people, bringing the total capacity to 312.
Organisers had hoped the move would keep the party alive at Two 3 One, but it now seems Flash’s future rests solely at its new venue.
Flash at Kings Cross Hotel
If Flash is given the same set-up that Club Hotline recently had at the Kings Cross Hotel, its capacity could be almost 100 people more than at Two 3 One.
The Kings Cross Hotel’s club space spans two levels and can hold 200 people on its own. But if Flash also gains access to other parts of the six-storey venue – such as the mezzanine, which holds up to 150, or the rooftop, which accommodates 50 – as Club Hotline did, its capacity could reach about 400.
Flash confirms move
Earlier on Sunday, Flash posted to its Instagram Story a sign hanging up outside an undisclosed venue – identified by Gay Sydney News at the time as the Kings Cross Hotel – saying “WELL, WELL, WELL… WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?”
It featured the Flash logo and a date 13/09/25. Flash later confirmed the move to King Cross Hotel.
The dance party – run by Joel Siviour, Rojdar Zengin and Ryan Marshall – had previously told its followers that it would be moving by September 13th, with just two more parties on Oxford Street.
Will clubgoers venture to Kings Cross?
Supporters of Flash have praised it for reviving Oxford Street. But will that same magic that brought it success on the glitter strip translate to a new venue on the other side of the gaybourhood?
The new venue is less than 15 minutes walk from Taylor Square, but it is in a different area to the majority of Sydney’s gay bars and parties in Surry Hills and Darlinghurst.
In a city where crossing from one side of the Harbour Bridge to the other is often joked of as being a gargantuan task that no one ever wants to do, Flash’s move could test friendships, deter club-hopping, and divide Sydney’s gay scene in a similar way to what occurs in Melbourne between south and northsiders.
There is precedence, however, for Sydney’s broader queer community to travel for their dance parties.
The Imperial Hotel proves on a weekly basis that you don’t need to be next to all the other gay bars to be successful, and when Poof Doof* first launched in Sydney, hundreds of people would trek into the CBD to go to its then home at the Ivy.
Flash has also built itself a dedicated audience, and Club Hotline tested the waters on Saturday night just gone by when it threw its own party at Kings Cross Hotel in the soon-to-be Flash space.
Club Hotline to become irregular
Initially advertising itself as a “monthly gay club party”, Club Hotline will now only hold one-offs rather than having a dedicated home base.
“Throwing this event made us realise how much work is involved in throwing these things and we don’t have the capacity on making this weekly or monthly,” a Hotline organiser told Gay Sydney News.
“We want to keep Hotline special, something that pops up and everyone can get excited for. We are looking at a potential new venue that is bigger with less stairs.”
What beef?
Flash’s move comes after it took aim at “local ‘news’ social media accounts”, a reference to Gay Sydney News, after the City of Sydney inspection and this publication’s reporting of it.
“We are not intimidated by heavy handed council discipline, nor are we going to entertain local ‘news’ social media accounts who try tear down anyone having a go for clicks instead of empowering the gays and building the community,” Flash wrote at the time on its Instagram.
“Use your platforms to empower and lift the gays, the scene needs it, the community needs it.”
Gay Sydney News gave Flash a largely positive review, describing it as “dark, sweaty, intimate“, with the only criticism being a bottleneck at the upstairs toilet and bar that created an unpleasant scent – though it didn’t dampen the vibe of the dancefloor.
Even before Gay Sydney News had written a word about Flash, its co-founder Joel Siviour had Gay Sydney News blocked on Instagram.
Inside the tent
When Gay Sydney News first got wind of Flash moving to Kings Cross Hotel before the club night had officially announced it, we asked them about it earlier this week.
Flash co-founder Ryan Marshall promised to give GSN a heads up to announce the move at the same time as the club night.
This did not occur – and so the beef apparently continues.
Editor’s note: Journalist Eliot Hastie has a membership with gay club night Poof Doof that enables free and discounted membership. GSN editor Ben Grubb has also known Flash co-founder Ryan Marshall for several years and once went on a holiday with him that included mutual friends.
Eliot Hastie is a senior news producer at Channel Ten, reporting on a range of general stories, specialising in foreign affairs and LGBTQ+ stories. He’s also a reporter for Gay Sydney News, where he covers LGBTQIA+ culture, politics and nightlife. He previously helped to build and launch ausbiz, Australia's only live streaming finance news channel, where he was also an executive producer and host. He has previously worked as a finance and business journalist for publications including Fintech Business, Real Estate Business and other Momentum Media titles. Eliot holds a journalism degree from the University of Westminster and brings experience in both broadcast and digital reporting. Contact Eliot: eliot.hastie@gaysydneynews.com.au
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
