New Year’s Eve event ticket sales soar as Sydney partygoers kick Covid fear

There will be a big boost for bars and eateries this New Year’s Eve, with Sydneysiders booking in to welcome 2022 despite the recent Covid surge.

Fun-loving Sydneysiders are excited to shake off 2021 with a big New Year’s Eve celebration, with venues reporting a post-Christmas jump in partygoers snapping up tickets.

At Opera Bar, which offers unimpeded views of the Harbour Bridge, more than 750 of 1000 tickets have been sold, with sales leaping since Christmas Day.

“We’ve noticed people waited until Christmas to make a decision, tickets are selling really fast now,” a spokesman for the bar said.

“We’re really looking forward to welcoming people back to Opera Bar – we can’t wait to say goodbye to 2021 and welcome in 2022.”

New Year's Eve in Sydney

Where you can still get tickets for New Year’s Eve festivities in Sydney:

• Café Sydney (Circular Quay) – from $980 
• Opera Bar (Circular Quay) – from $495 
• The Glenmore Hotel (The Rocks) – from $399 
• Doss House (The Rocks) – from $145
• Frank Mac’s (The Rocks) – from $145
• Bungalow 8 (Darling Harbour) – from $120
• Argyle House (The Rocks) – from $99
• Woolwich Pier Hotel (Woolwich) - from $89
• Fortune of War (The Rocks) – from $75
• The Orient Hotel (The Rocks) – from $35

At Bungalow 8, a tropical-themed bar at Darling Harbour ticket sales have also soared since Christmas Day with the venue’s outdoor dance floor a key attraction.

“We’re fortunate we’re a massive outdoor venue, and we’re seeing demand fly over the last couple of days,” licensee Jeremy Fraser said.

Bondi locals Shona Rigg and Andrea Rohleder will be among the revellers flocking to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks at Opera Bar. Picture: Richard Dobson

While it’s hoped revellers will provide a major boost to pubs and clubs battered by two years of Covid, some venues are reporting sluggish ticket sales. Craig Laundy said the three largest venues in his family’s pub and hotel portfolio – the Woolwich Pier, Watsons Bay Hotel and Terrigal Beach House – were all staying open for New Year’s Eve, but ticket sales were “running a long way behind last year”.

“You can see there’s a sense of hesitancy and uncertainty in the community, so people are staying close to home,” he said.

“It’s just the latest whack in the guts for the hospitality sector that’s fast approaching two years of being smashed.”

John Green, the director of Australian Hotels Association NSW, said venues were relying on a busy holiday season to recoup losses incurred over the past 20 months.

“I think it’s important people do get out for New Year’s Eve – not just for their mental health, but also the economy – and that people start to live with various iterations of Covid-19.”

Bondi locals Shona Rigg and Andrea Rohleder will be among the throngs heading to Opera Bar to watch the fireworks.

“We were thinking of going away but ‘corona’ changed everything,” Ms Rigg said. “I’m ready to let my hair down.”

Ms Rohleder said: “I just feel like Covid is not going to go anywhere, we’re living with it now, so I’m not going to miss out on the positive experiences … trying to hide from it.”