A great Sydney music venue needs our help
For more than 50 years, Selina’s at Coogee Bay has been one of Sydney’s largest live music venues. Each night offering 2,500 of us the chance to see the worlds greatest musicians.
From local(ish) acts such as Midnight Oil, Crowded House, the Angels, Nick Cave and the Hoodoo Gurus. Through to international names both big and small -- from Elton John to Nirvana. Chuck in a few nights out dancing with friends too - and you’ve got a recipe for somewhere special.
But this Sydney institution has said they may have to shut the doors on live music.
From the lockout laws to Sydney’s infamous liquor laws that banned rock music, dancing and mirror balls - Selina’s is dying a death of a thousand cuts from the Liberal’s fun police. Leaving Sydneysiders with one less live music venue, one less place to have a good night out, and one less place for new musicians to find their breakthrough moment.
We can save Selina’s, but we must act quickly. We need to demand the Liberal state government declares Selina’s a Special Entertainment Precinct. This protection, which is set to apply to the Enmore Theatre, would give critical extra support and clarity needed to ensure Selina’s can stay in business.
We need to take action to protect Selina’s and venues just like it, and we need to do it now before it is gone. Will you add your name today?
Will you join the campaign to help save Selina’s?
“Premier Perrottet, we call on you to designate Selina’s a Special Entertainment Precinct. Protecting this iconic venue, and ensuring there is a future for live music in Sydney”
Why does Selina’s matter?
For decades, Selina’s at Coogee Bay was the third-largest live music venue in Sydney. Giving us the opportunity for intimate gigs with huge acts, and acting as a vital stepping stone for emerging bands as they began to breakthrough.
Despite trading for more than 50 years, the last ten has pushed Selina’s to the brink. Our infamously fun policing NSW Liberal Government, with its lockout laws and liquor laws which literally banned rock music, dancing and mirror balls for a time, has resulted in Selina’s struggling to stay commercially sustainable.
If we want to still be able to enjoy intimate gigs or see Sydney musicians rise to the top of the charts—we have to protect Selina’s now.
What’s the plan?
There’s a way to make Selina’s, and other live music venues across Sydney, viable once more. We can push the state Government to give Selina’s a new Special Entertainment Precincts classification.
These precincts, which can be anything from a streetscape (such as Enmore Road) or a single premises (such as the Coogee Bay Hotel), give venues a break. Allowing them to manage opening hours, sound volumes and traffic flow locally with the council and their community — rather than pushing them into a big, one-size-fits-all state bureaucracy.
So how do we do this?
We have worked together to protect Sydney’s nightlife and live music before. We know this is a powerful electoral issue, and when the people of Sydney stand together — our leaders will eventually listen.
The first step? Add your name to the petition, and let’s make it clear just how many people want to see live music thrive in Sydney.
From there, we want to hear your favourite memory from Selina’s over the years. Can you share your story?
“It’s a stage which has given Sydney so much,
and it deserves to be preserved as a living entertainment venue”
— John Graham MLC