Sydney’s entertainment scene is back bigger and better

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Editorial

Sydney’s entertainment scene is back bigger and better

A year ago, Sydney was sliding into the COVID-19 lockdowns that would sap its vitality for the next half a year. The CBD was dying. No one was going out. Restaurants, cinemas and entertainment venues were shutting. Even the State of Origin series was moved to Queensland.

The bleak mood was encapsulated by a much memed photo of the then-premier Gladys Berejiklian, standing in front of a television in her office in a Blues beanie and scarf waiting for the big game to begin in distant Townsville.

The Herald is pleased to announce however that Sydney is back.

It was not just the return of the Origin on Wednesday night, where 80,000 fans were expected to fill the stadium to watch the traditional slug fest against the Queensland Maroons.

Across town, in the CBD, the red carpet was rolled out at the State Theatre in Market Street for the opening night of the Sydney Film Festival.

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With two big events on one night, the Herald published a light-hearted debate between two of our culture writers — NRL fan Osman Faruqi and cinephile Helen Pitt — over which was the better gig. Meanwhile, stage and screen musicals of Mary Poppins, Moulin Rouge and Elvis have all enjoyed glittering opening nights recently.

Sydney is buzzing even for people who cannot afford tickets to these events. The city has been heaving for the past two weeks with visitors young and old to the Vivid Sydney festival which has returned after a two-year hiatus. After a rainy summer, the crisp clear weather has been perfect for enjoying the unprecedented display of 34 installations and 12 projections on Vivid’s Light Walk, which stretches eight kilometres from Circular Quay to Central.

There are a few qualifications to this story of recovery.

The shadow of COVID-19, which is still causing about a dozen deaths a day, is probably keeping many vulnerable people at home.

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Others are waiting till the very last minute to buy tickets to events because they are worried they will catch COVID-19 and be forced to isolate themselves. The organisers of the generally successful Sydney Writers’ Festival last month say this made planning difficult.

Moreover, the CBD is still a little subdued during the day – especially on Mondays and Fridays – because many workers are reluctant to come into the office after experiencing the convenience of working from home during the pandemic.

International tourists are only just starting to trickle back after the border lockdowns. The first cruise ship since the infamous Ruby Princess docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal only 10 days ago.

More work is needed to give the CBD back its mojo. NSW must maintain vigilance about COVID-19 so that people can feel safe going out.

The NSW government on Wednesday offered some useful encouragement to go out by extending by a month the validity of its $25 Dine and Discover vouchers. The program, which pays for restaurants, cinemas, museums and the like, has pumped more than $200 million into Sydney and it will now last until the end of the winter school holidays.

Now is also a good time to think about how to make Sydney’s entertainment scene even better than it was in the “before time”.

Sydney City Council is considering scrapping an outdated regulation that banned standing up while eating or drinking in outdoor bars and restaurants. The Inner West Council has proposed making better use of its historic town hall buildings, converting them into arts spaces.

The pandemic brought this city to a low ebb but measures such as these can help it rise again much higher than it was before.

Bevan Shields sends a newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive his Note from the Editor.

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