Sponsored: Iconic Oxford Street gay nightclub Palms will now stay open two hours longer every weekend after the City of Sydney approved an extension to its trading hours.
Starting this weekend, the basement club will extend its closing time from 3am to 5am every Friday and Saturday, as well as on the Sunday night of long weekends.
Although the extension technically allows Palms to trade until 5am every night, venue manager Michael Lewis said the club will initially use the later hours only on Fridays and Saturdays “at this stage”. Currently, Palms opens every day except Monday.
“But, never say never [to opening longer on other nights]. However, I do like some sleep!” Lewis joked.
Palms will be making the most of its new hours this long weekend when it hosts its WEAR it RED with PRIDE party, a fundraiser running from 8pm to 5am on Sunday.
Tickets are $15 plus a $2 booking fee via palmsonoxford.simpletix.com, with door profits to be split between HIV health charities ACON and the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation.
Entertainer Jackel Doll will host the evening and welcome guests before pole dancers Max and An Dre open the show. They’ll be followed by cabaret performers Heath Keating, Eli Crawford and James Vidigal in their new production show Glamboyance.
Resident crowd-pleasers DJ LXO and Division 4 will keep the dance floor pumping until sunrise.
Party-goers are encouraged to dress in red, with the best-dressed reveller to be awarded a $100 bar tab. And for those who rock up without an outfit? Free red-sequin hats, ties and bow ties will be handed out.
Venue manager Michael Lewis said he sought a later closing time to meet demand.
“The main reason we asked for an extension was because we were getting to three o’clock with a packed dance floor and having to kick everyone out at the earlier close,” he told Gay Sydney News.
“It became clear that there is a space for Palms’ unique vibe on Oxford Street running later into the night.”
The four-month approval process to trade later was “smooth but thorough”, Lewis said.
The process involved two key steps: obtaining a live entertainment endorsement on its liquor licence – qualifying the venue for the extra two hours due to its nightly DJ performances – and lodging an application with council to amend its development consent, which required acoustic studies and consultation with neighbours.
“Politically, it’s good timing to be granted the extension given the long-awaited reinvigoration of Oxford Street,” he said.
Lewis added that the green light to trade longer was “particularly fortuitous given the closure of ARQ and the waning popularity of some of the other traditional late-night venues”.
He believes Palms’ cosy, “no-attitude” atmosphere will offer queer revellers a warm refuge in the colder months.
“As the last gay-owned-and-run nightclub on Oxford Street, it gives us great pride to now be there even more for the gay and LGBTQI+ community, which has supported us steadfastly for so many years,” he said.
The extended hours will also benefit staff, he said.
“It’s the barmen and DJs who get another couple of hours, the host on the door and performers who get more work … it really is about giving back to the staff, to the entertainers, and to the customers,” Lewis said.
With other queer venues shortening their trading days or shutting altogether, Lewis hopes Palms’ later licence will help keep a distinctly gay space alive on Sydney’s storied rainbow strip – and keep the party going a little longer for everyone who calls it home.
