Sydney enjoyed a night of pure decadence as Sleaze Ball 2010 took over the Entertainment Quarter

Sydney enjoyed a night of pure decadence as Sleaze Ball 2010 took over the
Entertainment Quarter last Saturday night with just over 4,000 attending the
iconic costume event.

The new layout of the party was embraced by revellers who packed out all
three venues. The Forum was extremely popular with its pumping house and
Zoe Badwi blew everyone away with a performance that included a stunning
rendition of “When Love Takes Over”, and shows from Mary Kiani and Dallas
Dellaforce were highlights of the night. The atmosphere was electric by the
time DJ Baby Bear closed the party with the very fitting “Love is in the Air”.
The Dome retained some of its traditional darkness, while creating an exciting
space that was more women-friendly than ever and enjoyed by a great mix of
boys and girls. An all-female DJ line-up gave us some of the best sets of the
night, with shows from poledancers, performance art duo Fancy Piece and a
surprise second performance from Zoe Badwi.

Meanwhile The Bordello was treated to some of the most decadent costumes
of the night, with nearly 50 groups taking part in the Project Sleazeway
costume awards. Dallas Dellaforce won the first prize of a trip to New
Caledonia, but only after a Sarah Murdoch moment from one of the hosts who
“accidentally” announced the wrong winner.

NMG revealed that party attendance was just above 4,000, somewhat lower
than in 2009. There was a large increase in younger attendees as a result of a
strong youth concession price. There were also indications of a larger female
presence at the party. Growing both youth and female attendance at its
events has been highlighted as one of NMG’s key marketing objectives.
The final financial result of the event will not be known until later this week
when full bar reconciliations are completed.

“The overall feedback to this year’s party has been wonderful, and we’re
thrilled that attendees had such an enjoyable night,” said Michael Rolik, CEO
of New Mardi Gras. “Whether the loss of the Hordern was a major factor isn’t
clear. It will have affected some people’s decision, but equally by moving to
the other venues we were able to offer much lower ticket prices which
undoubtedly will have had a positive effect.”

“We don’t yet have a final financial result, however it is clear from ticket sales
that we will be below projections. We face a general decline in numbers for
large format dance parties right across Australia and increased competition
from many angles. Without doubt too the major police presence at last year’s
Sleaze Ball detracted from an otherwise well-produced and exciting party. We
were very pleased that their approach was much more measured this year.”
It was also announced today that the new NMG Hallowe’en event, Trick or
Treat, scheduled for the 30th October has been cancelled for 2010.
“We did not see Hallowe’en as a major revenue source this year, but as
something we would invest in to create a major revenue earner in the long
term. Given Sleaze is coming in below our projections the NMG Board
decided we could not justify making that investment this year. It is however
still on the agenda for the future.”

photo: Anne-Marie Calihanna