Sydney nightclubs ARQ, Nevermind trade blows in online feud

A feud has erupted between two of Sydney’s biggest gay nightclubs, with the venues trading blows in an online spat.

IT seems a storm is brewing between two of Sydney’s top nightclub venues.

ARQ Sydney recently took the extraordinary move to share a statement on social media distancing itself from rival venue, Nevermind.

Confidential has dug up the dirt. ARQ reopened after a multimillion-dollar renovation late last year with longtime owner Shadd Danesi at the helm.

Danesi had partnered with event producers Kings Experiences to provide entertainment acts for the revamped ARQ and that relationship bubbled along nicely for a few months.

Kings then began to work with Nevermind, a club just a few hundred metres around the corner on Oxford Street, in addition to other venues.

ARQ Nightclub in Darlinghurst.

It is understood that is when Danesi and the team at Kings parted ways and that prompted a statement that went live on the ARQ Instagram with the aim of ensuring people knew the clubs were not aligned in any way as some in the sector had started to believe they were ‘sister venues’.

“ARQ Sydney is a stand-alone club and has no business affiliation with any other Oxford Street venue,” the statement read.

Shad Danesi is the owner of ARQ, which recently underwent a major refurbishment. Picture: David Swift

The ARQ’s statement on Instagram.

“ARQ Sydney has never been associated with Nevermind nor do any of our management have any involvement in the operation of Nevermind. ARQ Sydney has no commercial relationship with any of Nevermind or Kings Experiences suppliers, performers, DJ’s or Production Personnel or any other Parties engaged by Nevermind or Kings Experiences.”

Nevermind subsequently responded with a witty post to Instagram, that added fuel to the flame of industry and community chatter.

“Oh Nevermind Babe,” its witty post read, with an image of punters partying at the club.

“No statement needed here to get ahead of all of the Nevermind events. Simply check out the April action on the link in our bio and below.”

ARQ and Kings Experiences were contacted for comment.