Bondi Beach New Year’s Eve Festival Returns: Council Approves Iconic Celebration’s Revival

Yes - after more than a decade of quiet sand on the 31st of December, Waverley Council formally backed the return of a major New Year's Eve festival to Bondi Beach. In March 2025 councillors supported a motion to bring a proper NYE event back to our shoreline for the first time since the old Shore Thing parties wrapped up in 2014, and by spring the shape of it was public. I've watched this story closely from the promenade, so here's what was actually approved, what was planned, and where things landed.

Approved

Waverley Council, March 2025

Behind it

Cr Michelle Stephenson & Mayor Will Nemesh

Planned date

31 December 2025, Bondi Beach & Pavilion

Last major NYE

Shore Thing, ended 2014

How the festival came back

For anyone who was around in the late '90s and 2000s, Bondi on New Year's Eve used to mean one thing: Shore Thing, the beachfront dance festival that pulled big-name acts down to the sand. It ran until 2014, then disappeared amid concerns about crowds and behaviour, and for years our end-of-year nights went weirdly quiet for such a famous beach.

That changed at a Council meeting in March 2025. A motion led by Bondi Ward Councillor Michelle Stephenson and Mayor Will Nemesh - to bring a New Year's Eve beach event back to Bondi - won the room. The pitch wasn't just nostalgia; it was about giving locals and visitors a reason to gather again, and putting Bondi back on the global NYE map alongside the Harbour.

The idea was simple: give Bondi its New Year's Eve back - a night on the sand that belongs to the community as much as the crowds.

What was planned for New Year's Eve 2025

By September 2025 the format was announced. Council appointed Sydney promoter Fuzzy - the same crew behind long-running Sydney dance events - to produce it, and the night was built in two halves so there'd be something for everyone.

• elrow Bondi Beach XXL - a ticketed music festival on the sand, reported at around a 15,000-person capacity, headlined by the wildly colourful elrow brand.
• Locals Lawn - a free family zone near the Pavilion with roaming entertainment, food trucks and an early fireworks display, so families could celebrate without a ticket.
• A run-of-night across Bondi Beach and Bondi Pavilion, reported from early evening through to just after midnight.

So did it actually happen?

Here's the honest part, and why I'd always tell you to check before planning a night around it. The inaugural December 2025 edition was ultimately cancelled - the decision made in consultation with Waverley Council out of care for the community following a tragedy in Sydney. Ticket holders were contacted directly about refunds: the right call in the moment, even if it stung for everyone hoping to see the beach light up again.

What hasn't changed is Council's appetite for bringing a proper New Year's Eve celebration back to Bondi. The approval and the framework are there, and the ambition - a signature beach event locals and visitors can share - is very much alive. My hunch is we'll see it return in some form; I'll just always point you at the official source for the year you're visiting.

For me, the takeaway is hopeful: the door is open again. Bondi's New Year's Eve story isn't finished - it's being rewritten. Check the official listings each December, and one of these years I fully expect to be down on the sand with you, counting in the new year where it belongs.