The glory days of Kings Cross are more than a memory for Nathaniel Bourke, and the strategic director for the Kings Cross Quarter has plans to reinvent its legacy.
Once affectionately known as ‘The Glittering Mile’, Sydney’s once notorious party strip Kings Cross is undergoing some major internal revitalisation, spearheaded by one of Sydney’s most seasoned nightlife operators.
Back for its second year, the ‘Light Up the Cross’ programme kicked off on Saturday for a month of creativity and culture.
“It has helped to reignite the spark of Kings Cross, but in a good way,” says Bourke, as he sat in Italian restaurant Pelicano recently. “No one wants Kings Cross to be exactly like what it used to be, with lines down the street. feeling hectic and dangerous.
“And it doesn’t have to be, we’ve got some of the best restaurants and bars that the country has to offer in one of the most historic settings.
“Our focus is going to be on highlighting these things, not veering away from the history of the Cross but actually embracing it.”
Kings Cross was a different world, another life, you couldn’t understand it if you weren’t there.
For decades Kings Cross’ neon streets pulsated with music, mayhem and mystery until the party was stopped in its tracks by a change in legislation. Fast forward 15 years and Siale ‘Charlie’ Tomasi, head security guard at nightclub Sussudio, reminisced almost poetically on the strip’s former glory.
“Kings Cross was a different world, another life, you couldn’t understand it if you weren’t there if I’m being honest,” he told Central News.
The lights in the Cross dimmed as many venues shut their doors for good after the then Premier Barry O’Farrell pulled the plug on late night drinking by introducing the controversial 2014 Lockout laws, which followed the violent one-punch deaths of 18-year-olds Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie in seperate incidents.
A 2019 report by New South Wales Parliament revealed there had been a 70-80 per cent fall in foot traffic around Kings Cross between 2012 and 2015 as a result, as well as a decline in patronage at 82.9 per cent of CBD businesses open after midnight between 2013 and 2015.
“My job got easier but in another way it got harder, it was boring and I felt like it would never be the same, never be the same, you know,” adds Tomasi, shaking his head, as he began clipping together a queue barrier.
Doorman Charlie Tomasi outside Kings Cross night club Sussudio. Photo: Sara Petsas.
The reputation of the Cross took a hit, alongside Sydney itself which was dubbed the country’s sleepiest city after dark. But, the flicker of neon lights can be seen once again as Bourke and his team set out to rebrand the nightlife experience of Sydney.
Since last year’s campaign launch, at least 10 more venues in the area have decided to get on board with light Up the Cross, and Bourke promises each will get a chance to tell its own story as threads that make up the unique fabric of Kings Cross.
“Last year’s campaign was actually so successful, that this year we’ve been able to grow the membership base and now we have 42 venues on board and coming off the back of that success we actually have the support of destination NSW, the NSW government and the 24-hour economy commissioners office,” Bourke says.
The revival in Kings Cross is no accident, and has been carefully planned through a fresh policy embrace. The 2025 event will run in direct partnership with the 24-hour Economy Commissioner’s Office NSW, which has become a lead funder and policy driver to help guide the campaign’s success.
Patrons line the street awaiting entry to Kings Cross night club Sussudio. Photo: Sara Petsas.
Bourke and his team capitalised on the jump in night-time in-person spending across NSW, which the NSW night-time economy insights for the 2024 December quarter reported was $4.26 billion of spending across the state, a 17.1 per cent increase from the previous quarter.
The quarterly report also revealed 0.7 per cent annual growth in night-time economy businesses, showing promise for further potential growth in 2025, that the Kings Cross precinct and Bourke and his team plan to take advantage of.
Bourke describes his campaign’s partnership with the office, NSW Government and Destination NSW as “united”, working together to leverage hospitality, culture, and entertainment in order to reclaim the area’s icon status and secure its long-term viability.
“Sydney is Kings Cross, Kings Cross is Sydney. It’s the most iconic entertainment precinct in the country, it’s been around… more than 100 years,” Bourke notes, pointing to growing community confidence and coordinated business efforts.
Palpable outcomes possible for the precinct include incentives for late-night operations, expanded licensing, and funds provided directly for the precinct event. The coordinated planning across local venues, with the campaign’s wide social-media visibility and government backing, aims to turn the Cross into Sydney’s most resilient 24-hour precinct, making brave economic reforms visible, lived change.
Kings Cross’ cultural heart has been beating even in the smallest streets and corners and now has a chance to be shared once again, and there are many hearts and minds behind Kings Cross to thank, especially those rooted in its history.
Sussudio owner, Jeremey Delesueaux says: “Everyone’s seen in the media that Kings Cross died off a little bit… by running Light Up the Cross it shows how invested he (Nathaniel) is in our success… the campaign is here to finally show people that we’re back.”
Nathaniel Bourke, strategic director for the Kings Cross Quarter. Photo: Sara Petsas.
Social media manager Gemma McNamara agrees the transformation is more than marketing, it’s the reimagining of the precinct’s identity.
“It’s not what you would originally think it to be, it’s actually quite classy and there’s elevated experiences,” McNamara says. “The campaign is leaning into that to show Sydney a new Kings Cross experience but with that authentic, nostalgic spirit.”
Connection, local knowledge, and creative energy are being combined to shape a precinct where old reputations fade and a broader cultural legacy can emerge.
The Kings Cross revival echoes a wider national momentum. Brisbane leads in night-time spending with $6.2 billion according to Deputy’s 2025 Big Shift Report, but Sydney is regaining ground, potentially shedding the “sleepy” reputation and positioning itself at the heart of Australia’s cultural future.
In the heart of Sydney, Kings Cross may yet prove that reinvention, not nostalgia, defines a city which refuses to dim its lights.
“I don’t want to say the Cross is coming back, because the truth is Kings Cross is already back and a lot of people just don’t know it,” says Bourke.
For more information about what’s on at Light Up the Cross CLICK HERE.
Main image by Sara Petsas.
