Skip to main content

Disco balls banned by draconian new law in New South Wales

It's the latest development in the state's concerning night-time laws...

A Draconian law in New South Wales, Australia has stopped a Sydney Bar from having a disco ball.

The latest in a series of concerning rulings for the night-time economy in the state has seen Japanese-themed bar Goros banned for spinning the nightclub staple.

The ruling stems from a New South Wales investigation into the state's night-time economy, which suggested that's a disco ball could be seen in some quarters as sign a venue - in this instance Goros - "could be acting as a nightclub".

The report claimed that “the installation of a mirror ball implies an intent to provide for a dance floor. Police would have concern that the installation of a mirror ball in a premise that has not been approved for a dance floor could mean that the premises is being used for purposes not allowed.”

Justine Baker, CEO of Sydney bar group Solotel, who own Goros, said, "It’s a small bar with great music and there’s lot of quirky Japanese games and karaoke rooms. It’s a very different model to a nightclub. But if we put a mirror ball on the ceiling and people danced underneath, it starts to operate like a nightclub. It’s just crazy, you can’t regulate people wanting to have fun, so we don’t have a mirror ball or a dance floor and people just end up dancing where they want.”

Last month, Glitterbox kickstarted a petition to encourage the creation of a disco ball emoji.

A 100-foot disco ball featured at Burning Man 2018.

Back in December, we asked: is it time for a total ban on phones on the dancefloor?