Astonishing footage shows the breathtaking scale of the party that devastated Sydney’s Bronte Beach – as angry locals lash out at ‘larvae’ on Christmas Day

The ugly aftermath of a Christmas Day beach party has left many Aussies furious as new images emerge of the breathtaking scale of the event.

Video shows thousands of partygoers enjoying the sun at Sydney’s Bronte Beach, with barely any grassy sand visible.

The annual event has long been a mecca for thousands of tourists and backpackers who travel to Australia for the summer Christmas experience, but it often draws the ire of angry locals.

The sea of ​​revelers has closed in on their departure piles of trash scattered across the lawn.

Waverley Bondi Ward councilor Leon Goltsman said the beach party was ‘unacceptable’ and the council needed to send a clearer message to tourists and the wider public that it would not accept inconsiderate behavior in the future.

“It’s actually people standing on our doorstep,” he said on Boxing Day.

“The fact that there’s still broken glass there, people cutting their feet, the fact that people are still having illegal parties… the fact that if someone gets hurt or hurt, we can’t even get an ambulance to the scene because that’s all. blocked, it’s unacceptable.’

Mr Goltsman said the council had to organize family events over the Christmas period to keep beaches free of wild parties.

“You can’t control people who are pissed, they bring alcohol to the beach,” he said.

‘But if we organize our own events, or at least work with people who are professionals and they could help organize events, what that does is it manages things, it shows people that Bondi (and Bronte) for this kind of behavior, is out of reach.”

Mr Goltsman said angry Bronte residents had called him to complain.

A resident-led beach clean-up is underway, with locals coming to help clean up broken glass and vomit.

“If you walk on the beach barefoot, there’s a very good chance you’re going to cut your foot,” Mr. Goltsman said.

Robert Kokolich, a longtime resident who lives near the beach, said the crowd defied the alcohol ban and became aggressive when he tried to film them.

‘It was the worst ever. Things got out of hand. Nothing happened in Bondi, but everyone must have come to Bronte… right in front of my house,” Kokolich said.

‘You felt in danger to be there… It was very bad. This morning there was glass broken everywhere. Our friends have a little baby, so we thought ‘this is so unfair’.

Mr Kokolich and his wife Vesna were among locals who returned to the beach on Boxing Day morning to help council staff clear up litter strewn about.

While the beach “started to look better” after a few hours of work, Kokolich said locals cleaned up everything from vomit to tampons.

“It’s that bad, once I saw it I said, ‘I’m moving.’ I don’t want to be a part of this… It looks so bad. It’s worse than a third world country,” Kokolich said.

Video of the crowds, which Koklich said kept him awake until 2 a.m., was shared widely online on Tuesday by locals angry about the “disgusting” waste left behind.

Among them, TV personality and Bachelor host Osher Gunserberg, who wrote on Tik Tok: “Ah man, what a damn mess that crew left behind too.”

‘I should have seen the rubbish left behind. Disgusting,” said one. Another added: ‘(They) treat beaches like they mean nothing’.

The Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, which helped patrol the beach, said it was a “challenging” day and hoped “everyone takes their rubbish with them when the bins are full.”

One local even suggested the beach should be closed, adding: ‘This actually looks like a nightmare and the mess you’ve all left behind is disgraceful…disgusting behaviour.’

For Mayor Paula Masselos, closing the popular beach is off the table after municipal staff found it too difficult given the size of the park and the many accesses.

‘We looked at things like arranging a ticket, and that is simply not possible logistically. It is a large park, there are many access points. People are still going to come in,” she said.

‘So it’s really about how we deal with the crowds and how quickly we can clean up afterwards. And that’s what we did. We have been discussing this (issue) for a number of years.”

Ms Masselos said there was a large police presence in the park to detect and destroy illegal alcohol consumption, and that attendees informed each other of the crackdown.

Importantly, Ms Masselos – who described the event as “Orphan Christmas” – said council staff had even monitored social media ahead of the Christmas party.

‘Everyone has the right to come here, but we ask people to do the right thing. Given the numbers, it’s always going to be difficult,” she said.

“The crowds were so big that we had difficulty getting into some of these areas… But there was no bad behavior, which is important so that people can enjoy the day.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Waverly Council said they were generally pleased with Monday’s behavior but that the amount of waste was ‘disappointing’.

“Our rangers were on site yesterday, along with police, to ensure the beach remained a safe environment for everyone,” the spokesperson said.

‘Our hardworking Open Spaces and Cleansing teams worked last night and today to clear the significant and disappointing amount of rubbish left behind by beachgoers.

‘Public places like Bronte Beach are there for everyone to enjoy, so we do ask that people respect our beautiful open spaces and our local community.

‘We ask visitors to take all rubbish and belongings with them when they leave so that everyone can enjoy our beaches.’

The wild scenes follow multiple similar events in the same place. Last year, shocking photos of the destroyed grass were uploaded to social media, sparking outrage.

In a similar event in the middle of the pandemic, the federal immigration minister threatened to revoke the visas of visitors caught breaking Covid rules.

In December 2020, Sydney’s Northern Beaches region tightened rules over the holiday period, even allowing only 100 people outside on Christmas Day.

However, witnesses to a Christmas beach party in Bronte at the time spoke of the massive crowd drinking, most without face masks.

Nevertheless, the event has not been without its advocates. Monday’s crowd video was quickly uploaded to Tik Tok, from local and international accounts.

“I want to know who coordinated this because the memo got through,” said user Fifihay.

Another video from the event from Canadian content creator Rory Court was viewed more than 11,000 times.

Mr. Goltsman said he was concerned about what would happen in the coming days and weeks.

“I’m worried about New Year’s Eve,” he said.

“People are bored, they come down, all you need is a couple of bongos and it’s drawing more and more people.”

NSW Police have been contacted for comment.