Published
Mon, Feb 22, 2016, 10:00
- The anti-lockouts demonstration saw thousands march from Belmore Park to Hyde Park on Sunday, February 21st.
Sunday's Keep Sydney Open rally saw thousands protest the city's lockouts in the CBD.
15,000 is the number being widely reported as the attendance figure for the February 21st demonstration, which began in Belmore Park and moved through streets of Sydney's CBD towards Hyde Park. There, bands and the Future Classic DJs played to the large crowd, with speeches coming from Hoodoo Gurus member Dave Faulkner, local DJ Nina Las Vegas and Keep Sydney Open spokesperson Tyson Koh. The protest unfolded without incident.
The rally came at the end of another significant week for the city's anti-lockouts movement, in which the Sydney Morning Herald reported that data collected by APRA-AMCOS had shown that ticket sales at live music venues within lockout areas have dropped 40% since the laws were introduced. The statistics also indicated a 19% drop in attendance at these venues, and a 15% drop in venue spending on performers.
You can see footage from the rally, including Koh's pre-march speech, below.