Field Day music festival in Sydney swings into action on New Years Day

Music festivals are back as New Year’s Day partygoers shrugged off the distant spectre of Covid lockdowns to ring in 2023 in style at the first major event of the year’s concert calendar. 

Field Day is in full swing at The Domain in Sydney with bands starting from 12pm Sunday and revellers streaming into the parklands from mid-morning dressed in colourful, racy and, in some cases, outlandish festival-wear. 

More than 20,000 ticket holders flooded through the gates and made their way to the three stages – Centre Field, Left Field, and The Island – as the opening acts kicked things off.

Centre Field, the main stage, opened with Jade Zoe and featured Tkay Maidza, Benee, and Kaytranada with the headliner, US producer and DJ superstar Diplo, set to take the stage about 10pm.

The Island and Left Field are being headlined by Irish electronic duo Bicep and Texan rapper Mike Dimes respectively.

Police also remained out in force throughout the city from the previous night’s celebrations. Sniffer dogs were checking festival goers for drugs as officers maintained a strong presence outside The Domain.  

NSW Ambulance Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Tonge also urged everyone keeping the party going to ‘take special care’ to start the new year in a safe way.

2023 marks the 21st anniversary of Field Day with organisers Fuzzy Australia putting on the event since 2002 – though the odd year has been missed – most recently 2021 which was rescheduled and eventually cancelled thanks to the Delta Covid wave.

The event bills itself as Sydney’s ‘most popular boutique music festival, known for a super-friendly atmosphere and quality line-ups mixing hip-hop, house, indie and electronic artists from around the world.’

Fuzzy was born out of a partnership between nightclub lighting operator Ming Gan, DJ John Wall and ‘assertive’ door girl Adelle Robinson who joined forces and began hosting events at the famous Home nightclub in Sydney in the late 1990s – branching out into outdoor festivals shortly after.

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Field Day 2023 has kicked off in The Domain in Sydney with about 20,000 partygoers flocking to the festival (pictured) 

Fortunately for revellers, the heatwave which sent many Sydneysiders to the beach this week had ended, delivering sunny skies and a lovely 26C 

Field Day has become a mainstay of Sydney’s New Year’s celebrations since its inaugural event in 2002

This year marks the full return for the festival with an Australian-only line-up due to travel restrictions in 2022, while the 2021 festival was scrapped entirely 

Shorts, tshirts and sundresses featured heavily as Sydney put on glorious weather for the start of the new year

Most festival attendees made the smart decision to don comfortable footwear or boots to withstand dirt and crowds

Police and sniffer dogs were out in force with authorities urging people ‘keeping the party going’ to do so safely

One trio of attendees opted for cowboy boots and 60s inspired fashion complete with rose coloured sunglasses

Another partygoer went for a butterfly theme while her friend went for a tank top and Fox Studios baseball cap

Shoulder bags for mobile phones were an essential accessory for many

White boots and mini-skirts seemed to be on trend among the partygoers 

The Field Day organisers also run the Listen Out and Harbour Life festivals which are popular among Sydneysiders

Howdy partner: festivalgoers were keen to try some fun and out there fashion choices after festivals were disrupted in recent years 

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