Now Bondi bans booze

Just days after implementing a smoking ban on one of Australia’s most famous beaches, Australian authorities have outlawed alcohol on Bondi beach for its famous – or infamous – Christmas Day party. For decades, tens of thousands of backpackers from around the world have descended on the famous beach for a huge party – but last year more than 100 people, many of them drunk, had to be rescued from the surf by lifeguards. This year, the BBC reports, police and security guards will patrol the beach and adjoining promenade and will turn away anyone found trying to smuggle alcohol on to the beach. Peter Moscatt, Mayor of Waverley, the suburb in which Bondi is located, is quoted as saying: “It’s pretty hard to keep control of 40,000 people that are drunk. When so much alcohol is consumed over a whole day in the sun, that’s pretty dangerous. If you are going to be drinking in the sun, you’re going to get sunburned, get sick, make a lot of mess and if you dive in the water, you’re likely to drown.” Unsurprisingly, the BBC managed to uncover a few backpackers who “vowed” to “flout the ban”. One said: “Of course they will. As if people aren’t going to put alcohol in little bottles of soft drink. It wouldn’t be the same if they don’t.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd