North Sydney Council voted at its meeting on 28 July to charge $50 per person for one year only to watch the year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks from Blues Point (incorporating Blues Point and Henry Lawson Reserves).
Council also manages vantage places at Bradfield Park/Mary Booth Reserve, Lavender Bay Parklands (incorporating Clark and Watt Parks and Quibaree Reserve) which will still be free.
Mayor Zoë Baker said at the meeting that it was ‘with a heavy heart’ that she supported the motion to charge $50 for Sydneysiders (including North Sydney residents) to view the fireworks from Blues Point this year.
Mayor Baker said she had always advocated to keep open space free, but that North Sydney Council had found itself in a ‘really precarious financial position’ and its request for a rate variation had been refused.
Ticketing the event will cost council between $39,000 and $44,000 to cover costs such as pre-production fees, staffing of gates, ticket software and hardware.
Council will gain about $400,000 from the sale of 8,000 tickets for this year’s event, which will offset some of the $1 million that the NYE event costs council to manage infrastructure such as toilets and bins, crowd and traffic management, plus managing food vendors.
Council introduced ticketed trials during the COVID-19 Pandemic but did not charge in 2024.