Work and play in the city: some reflections on the night-time leisure economy of Sydney

Abstract This article examines changing patterns of work and play in the context of Sydney's night-time leisure economy. It documents some of the substantial changes that have occurred to the structure of work which have had clear ramifications for the leisure industry, including the proliferation of part-time, service-oriented labour within the leisure industry itself. These consequences include continuing and new manifestations of youth culture, and of anxieties concerning it. In examining such leisure phenomena it is argued that general, global trends can be discerned as well as specific, local adaptations produced by Sydney's specific history, geography and socio-cultural complexion. There is also some consideration of how political interventions through planning and even the hosting of mega events such as the 2000 Olympics have varied and contested impacts on the city, its leisure provision and ‘lifestyle’ amenity. It is concluded that Leisure Studies can make a significant contribution to the analytical understanding of after-dark life and the emergence of the 24-hour city.