Wollongong event organisers Yours and Owls are upping the ante on their New Year's Eve celebrations with a festival planned for Bulli Showgrounds.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For a second year the team have partnered with Sydney artist management and international touring agency, Astral People, to host The Last Dance on December 31.
This year would see two stages (an indoor and outdoor setup) and the event capacity increased to 4200 people, according to a development application lodged with Wollongong City Council. There will also be food stalls and four bars.
The festival is expected to host 10 DJs (including international artists) and would run from 6pm to 2am, with ticket prices starting around $70.
Yours and Owls co-founder Balunn Jones told the Mercury the music lineup would be announced towards the end of August, with tickets to go on sale soon after.
"[We] have developed a comprehensive waste management plan for events that incorporates global best practices for sustainable festival management," the DA stated.
"This has resulted in a landfill diversion rate of between 85 and 90 per cent at Yours and Owls events."
In 2018 the application for the music festival drew a number of objections from nearby residents concerning parking and noise pollution. However, the Wollongong Local Planning Panel gave it the green light.
To mitigate concerns this year, organisers have employed sound contractors to devise a "four-point sound system" to direct music away from neighbouring residents.
They will also have an acoustic monitoring technician on site during the event, with data made available to council.
While residents will be notified of a "hotline" phone number to call if concerned about the noise levels during the festival.
Additionally, a free event shuttle bus will be operating between 12am and 2.45am transporting passengers between the event, Thirroul Village and Wollongong City.
Meanwhile, organisers expect half of patrons to The Last Dance to hail from outside the Illawarra.
It comes as new data from online travel site Wotif revealed 39 per cent of Australians travel specifically for events and festivals and spent, on average, $421.56 on the last event or festival they traveled to.
Mr Jones predicted The Last Dance to inject approximately $1.5million into the Illawarra economy.
The DA is on exhibition via council's website until August 28.