International superstar Harry Styles may have finished the Australian leg of his tour, but a sea of feather boas left in his wake has sparked concerns among a local Council.
Around 70,000 fans descended on each of Styles’ Olympic Park shows on March 3 and 4, decked out in everything from sequins to cowboy hats.
But it was the assortment of multi-coloured feather boas many of the ‘Harries’ wore that was the accessory of choice.
The fashion statement, which saw plenty of feathers strewn across the stadium floor and the streets surrounding the venue, has since prompted calls from Parramatta Council about the impact it has on the environment.
“In the same weekend that it was Clean Up Australia Day, there was a super weekend in our city in that same time frame and Harry Styles came to Sydney Olympic Park, which was amazing,” Lord Mayor Donna Davis said.
“My sons went along like everyone else, but one thing they didn’t do like many others was they didn’t take a feather boa and when they come home that night they showed me the photos of the feathers that were all over Sydney Olympic Park.”
Davis said the feathers that fans left behind after Styles’ concerts brings home the importance of people really thinking about their actions and what the end result can be.
“I drove down Hill Road the next day, and there were feathers down Hill Road, there were feathers all over the place,” she said.
It comes after national retailer Big W revealed sales of the fluffy accessory surged dramatically before Styles’ concerts.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.