Inside Merivale head Justin Hemmes’ $1m staff party at Sydney’s Ivy

Check out the pictures as Aussie hospitality billionaire Justin Hemmes hosts his annual lavish party for his 5000-plus staff. Think good vibes and a hefty price tag.

Justin Hemmes delivers again – the billionaire hospitality baron has helmed Sydney’s most exclusive, and wildest, party of the year.

And it is only January.

The Merivale boss set the theme of ‘Good Vibes – A Celebration of early-90s festival and rave culture’ as he put on an impressive display for his more than 5000 staff across his many venues that is rumoured to have cost more than $1 million.

Hospitality staff, to be fair, miss out on many of the public holidays and weekends that most everyday Australians get to enjoy.

Acknowledging that sacrifice and their hard work, Hemmes shut down the entire Ivy precinct on Monday night and had a team dedicated for the past eight months working on the party to ensure staff had a night to remember.

29 January, 2024. Merivale Annual Staff Party. Photo: Pat Stevenson / Supplied

“It’s a pretty epic and iconic annual event that takes many months of planning,” Hemmes, attending with model partner Madeline Holtznagel, told Confidential.

“We’ve got a team of over 5000, and watching them come together to celebrate at our staff party is always the highlight of my year.

Inside Merivale's annual staff party. Justin Hemmes with partner Madeline Holtznagel. Photo: Supplied

“The theme this year was ‘90s Good Vibes”, so we converted the whole of Ivy into a music festival time capsule and had over 30 DJ’s and acts playing across five stages.

“We’ve got a creative bunch so the outfits were spectacular.”

Staff hit the dancefloor at the Merivale Annual Staff Party. Photo: Pat Stevenson / Supplied

Merivale staffers let down their hair en masse. Picture: Pat Stevenson / Supplied

The party kicked off at 2pm Monday, with 37 DJs playing for a combined 40 hours.

The Jungle Giants headlined with the venue decked out with lavish styling that included nearly 800 cuddly plush toys.

Entertainers included 12 pop-up rave dancers, six skaters performing 90s choreography and theatrical cast personalities.

Mumu restaurant on George street was turned into a custom ‘Mumu canteen’ with all the signature dishes turned into bite size snacks that included 4000 cheeseburger spring rolls, 2000 slices of Oti’ pizza, and thousands of slices of fresh fruit.