‘The beach is for the people’: Council votes against commercial events on the sand

Big boozy parties on Bondi Beach by entrepreneurs trying to make a buck off its name have now been banned.

Bondi locals have scored a major win against the commercialisation of their beach’s famous sands.

Big boozy parties on the beach by entrepreneurs trying to make a buck have been banned.

While Waverley Council is calling last drinks on commercial events that involve selling alcohol on Bondi Beach, Mardi Gras celebrations, Sculpture by the Sea and the annual City2Surf event will be ­excluded from the ban.

On Tuesday night councillors voted in mayor Paula Masselos’ plan to not only stop “high impact events” that sell alcohol on Bondi Beach, but all of its beaches until it reviews its events policy.

In her motion, Cr Masselos said Bondi Beach was “not an event space or a venue or a brand.”

“(It) exists within a suburb where people also live and go about their daily lives”.

Locals had “very loudly” told the council they do not want alcohol fuelled events on the beach, where alcohol is already prohibited from being consumed, she said.

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras’ Bondi Beach Party is one of the few events excluded from the ban. Picture: Supplied

Ms Masselos told the Sunday Telegraph: “Our beaches are a space of all of our community, and they have told council loud and clear that they are not in favour of big commercial events involving alcohol on the sand at Bondi Beach.”

Despite condemning the boozy scenes of hundreds of drunk revellers partying on­ Christmas Day at nearby Bronte Beach for the annual “ex-pat Christmas”, and the mess left afterwards, the council’s current plan would not stop it from taking place again this year as it is an unsanctioned event.

Waverley Council mayor Paula Masselos.

A similar furore erupted in 2020 over plans for an Amalfi-style beach club on Bondi Beach.

The “club” would have charged an $80 entrance fee to an enclosed area on the sand. The temporary event would have seen partygoers sipping cocktails from private cabanas from the months of November through to ­February.

Then Planning Minister Rob Stokes waded into the debate claiming he would step in to stop the beach from being “carved up”. The plan was dropped after the backlash.

When questioned about whether the council was shutting down Bondi’s party scene, Bondi councillor Leon Goltsman rejected any NIMBY claims and instead said the ban would stop the “commercialisation” of the beach.

“The beach belongs to the people and it should be free for everyone,” he said.

“It is not for sale. Bondi Beach is for the world to enjoy.

“Bondi is a small area and there are more appropriate places to have a party. We need to protect our assets from being privatised.”

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Originally published as ‘The beach is for the people’: Council votes against commercial events on the sand