Ivy Weekender: Justin Hemmes’ Merivale launches four-day festival
Hospitality titan Justin Hemmes has declared “dancing is back” in Sydney CBD with Merivale unleashing a four-day festival.
NSW
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Hospitality titan Justin Hemmes has unleashed a four-day festival of events to boogie the city out of its lockdown slumber, declaring “dancing is back” in the Sydney CBD.
The Merivale boss said he had never been more optimistic about the future of the hospitality sector, describing the end of the most recent lockdowns as an opportunity for the “renaissance of Sydney’s night-life”.
“It’s a great time to be alive. We’ve survived the most difficult times and it’s time to get excited about the future and start living life again and celebrating,” Hemmes told The Daily Telegraph.
Buoyed by Premier Dominic Perrottet’s fast-tracked reopening of NSW, Hemmes has announced Ivy Weekender — a multi-venue event with eight parties ranging from drag queen discos to poolside DJs.
The festival starts on December 2 with Ivy Thursdays featuring a one-off appearance from internationally-renowned DJ Carl Cox on Saturday.
It will continue through to Lost Sundays on December 5 – and then over summer.
The event – which is expected to attract up to 15,000 people – is the first step towards Hemmes’ vision of creating a world-leading 24/7 economy in Sydney.
“What we’re seeing now, coming out of lockdown, in my lifetime in business, I’ve never seen anything like it – the enthusiasm, the excitement to go out,” he said. “It’s almost like a renaissance of the night-life … This is a once in a lifetime experience and our mission is to shape the future of the night time economy.”
With lockout laws scrapped in March and the city emerging from its three-month Covid lockdown, Hemmes said the sector had gained more momentum than ever.
“For the first time, we’ve got all the stakeholders aligned,” he said.
“The state government is very pro-opening up and about getting the economy going, councils are activating the streets, police are pro-opening and supporting a safe environment and we all have the same goal we want a safe, vibrant 24/7 economy.”
Hemmes said Mr Perrottet’s decision to bring forward the easing of restrictions and reopen nightclubs has restored confidence in the hospitality sector. “Our new Premier has boosted our recovery. He’s come out of the gates running and now we're firing on all cylinders,” he said.
Hemmes said he had also poured millions into revamping his venues during the lockdown period.
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