Australias festival season has kicked off with thousands flocking to Sydney showgrounds for the countrys largest outdoor music festival
Revellers donned their most colourful outfits for a sun-soaked Saturday for the Knockout Outdoor music festival, ready to take in 40 musical acts over three expansive stages.
The festival, hosted by Harder Styles Unit, was completely sold out well before its 2pm kick off.
Knockout festival, known as KO, described itself as the biggest harder styles festival in the Southern Hemisphere, and was packed with party-goers at Sydney Olympic Park.
The line-up featured rapper 21 Savage, grime hit-maker Skepta and international DJs including N-Vitral and Dutch duo Gunz for Hire.
Sunday is set to see Zambian rapper and singer Sampa The Great and Atlanta hip-hop duo EarthGang take the stage.
It was a blistering start to the states festival season, with prominent festival Listen Out also scheduled for Sunday in Sydneys Centennial Park.
Keen party-goers flooded the stadium, arriving via packed trains, buses and ferries.
80s flashback! Some revellers donned neon kits and were well equipped with sweatbands for Sydneys warm spring weather
Others came in all-black attire, an interminable outfit choice in the rave and hard-style music scenes
One group matched their outfits down to the socks as they rolled into Sydney Olympic Park
Some came in hot, donning neon colours, lycra and fur.
Others wore more classic rave attire including black body-suits and boots.
Pink was the name of the game for many who turned up to dance away the afternoon.
One committed group came in matching even their socks and handbags with eachother.
Harder Styles Unit have been a mainstay in the rave and hard-style scene since 2009, hosting events in Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Chile, and the United States of America.
It comes despite major cancellations in Australias festival scene, Sydney showed it was raring to let loose.
Earlier this year Groovin The Moos poor ticket sales meant they cancelled their event just weeks after floating tickets.
Splendour in the Grass embattled organisers pulled the northern NSW event a further time.
Even Byrons Bluesfest was canned.
Creative Industries expert Sam Whiting and social and cultural researcher Ben Green penned a piece in The Conversation earlier this year listing growing challenges for festivals in Australia.
Thousands flooded the Engie Stadium main-stage, with tickets completely sold out before the event started on Saturday
Some revellers let a little colour shine through the sea of black outfits, others wore the shade from head to toe
Sydney-siders and travellers alike filled the citys public transport with the trek to Olympic Park no deterrent for party-goers
The well-documented cost-of-living crisis is an obvious culprit when it comes to low demand for festivals, they wrote.
They cited higher festival overheads, slow sales and a drop in youth attendance as the key reasons the festival industry was having a hard time.
The festival also renewed calls from experts and revellers to implement pill testing and address strip searching at NSW music festivals ahead of the states highly anticipated drug summit, claiming it could reduce (the) risk of people dying.
Many Knockout attendees, who wished to remain anonymous and none of whom are pictured, echoed calls from experts to implement pill testing at NSW music festivals, with Victoria having committed to a trial over summer following the success of similar trials in ACT and Queensland.
A 25-year-old Knockout attendee said pill testing is really important, claiming people will bring drugs into festivals no matter what.
It should be essential, he said.
Fairy bread on a Hawaiian shirt? Matching get ups and bucket hats were the choice for many of the gents
Sydney showed it was ready to party despite ongoing cancellations in Australias festival industry
Hoards of hard-style lovers flooded the streets of Sydneys Olympic Park, with a second day and Listen Out set to light up Sydneys Sunday
A 25-year-old woman he attended the festival with agreed its an amazing idea, while another 25-year-old man backed calls to implement it.
Your safety is number one, he said.
Another 25-year-old woman said while ideally people wouldnt consume drugs in the first place, pill testing could help ensure people are as safe as they possibly can be.
You do hear of horror stories of when things dont go too well for some people, and if its a way to reduce that risk of people dying and serious harm I think its definitely a good idea to have, she said.
The calls follow the death of two men in suspected drug overdoses last year after attending the Knockout Outdoor festival in Sydney, with nine urgent medical transfers to hospital also being made at the 2023 event.
Music-lovers arrived at the stadium early for the 2pm kick-off with some 40 acts gracing the stage over the weekend
Last year, a 27-year-old Western Sydney woman also claimed she was felt all over and made to squat and cough during a strip search at the same festival, with the experience leaving her terrified of attending similar events.
Until they bring in the pill testing, and people are no longer being harassed by dogs and officers, I will no longer go to an event in Sydney, she said.
It was a horrible experience, I definitely dont want to go through it again.
Slater and Gordon and Redfern Legal Centre have filed a class action against the state of NSW on behalf of people who were allegedly unlawfully strip searched by police at music festivals between 2016 and 2022.
Slater and Gordon senior associate William Zerno said there have been reports of festival goers having to do really degrading things during strip searches, with some claiming they were even asked to remove their tampons.
A 28-year-old attending this years Knockout festival called for strip searches to be axed, claiming they could lead to more deaths.
Aussies turned up to see international acts like UK-based grime artist Skepta and Dutch DJ-ing duo Gunz for Hire
One woman turned up reminiscent of a Flo Rida song, appearing to wear fur footwear to accompany her black ensemble
They shouldnt do it because it just could cause people to take all of it, she said.
Say they were sneaking something in ... rather than dumping (the drugs) theyre going to put it all in their mouth, so its more dangerous.
Another 25-year-old woman claimed strip searches are demoralising.
Harm Reduction Australia president Gino Vumbaca said there is a lot of anxiety and concern in the community heading into this festival season over the continued lack of action by the NSW government to allow proven harm reduction programs, such as pill testing, to be available.
We all want the same outcomes; the government just needs to let the evidence steer the way forward, he said, having earlier offered to run a free pill testing trial in NSW.
The festival season is underway with Knockout Festival kicking off to fine weather in Sydney on Saturday
The festival is one of the biggest in Australia and has bucked the trend of festivals getting cancelled
NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park said he is looking forward to hearing from a range of community voices and their experiences at the states drug summit, slated to begin in November.
The government continues to embrace a comprehensive range of existing measures geared towards awareness, prevention and harm minimisation, Mr Park said.
NSW Health works with music festival organisers to keep people safer at music festivals.
The NSW Ministry of Health, NSW Ambulance and local health districts (LHDs) provide support and advice on harm reduction strategies and risk management approaches for all music festivals across NSW.
A NSW Police spokesperson said police will have a presence at Knockout and Listen Out this weekend to ensure the safety of all patrons.
Officers will continue to enforce the law with regard to the illegal supply of possession of illicit substances, the spokesperson said.
Detective Superintendent Paul Simpkins issued a reminder that prohibited drugs are illegal and potentially life-threatening, especially when combined with alcohol ahead of Listen Out on Sunday.
I urge everyone to behave responsibly. If you or one of your mates feels unwell, please seek professional medical attention at one of the medical tents on-site, Superintendent Simpkins said.
Our goal is for everyone to enjoy the festival safely. We will not tolerate anyone who intends to jeopardise that safety or thinks they are above the law.