Thousands of protesters have marched on the streets of Sydney calling for the dissolution of the city’s controversial lockout laws.

The march began in Belmore Park and finished at Hyde Park, where local music industry figures gave speeches and performed.

DJ Nina Las Vegas and Dave Faulkner of The Hoodoo Gurus addressed the audience, estimated at between 5,000 and 15,000, arguing the controversial laws were destroying Sydney’s once vibrant nightlife.

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Local band Art vs. Science played a set, treating the crowd to a cover of The Beastie Boys’ ‘Fight For Your Right (to Party)’.

The Sydney lockout laws were introduced in 2014 and extend to the city’s CBD and surrounding areas.

While a coalition of nurses and emergency workers have called for the lockout laws to remain in tact, thousands have bemoaned the slow death of the local music scene, exemplified by new figures released last week which suggest live music revenue has fallen by 40 per cent.

The laws were triggered by a number of high-profile one-punch deaths in the notorious Kings Cross area.

Since the lockout was introduced, assaults in the area are down by 32 per cent, according to data from the nearby St Vincents Hospital.

Many of the protesters called for more sensitive legislation to keep the streets safe, rather than blanket bans.

A review of the success of the lockout will be handed down in August, while another protest is scheduled for March, this time organised by advocacy group ‘Reclaim the Streets’.

See images and videos of the protest below:

.@artvsscience: “You gotta fight for your right to partyyyyyyy.” Crowd goes nuts #KeepSydneyOpen pic.twitter.com/08k9flIwb3

— Vanessa Lawrence (@nesslawrence) February 21, 2016

A sign likening Mike Baird to the film Straight Outta Compton. Photo: Twitter

These #KeepSydneyOpen banners are all kinds of genius https://t.co/h1WSz66Zrn pic.twitter.com/7hfz9Jj4b3

— FasterLouder (@FasterLouder) February 21, 2016

‘NSW – The Police State’. Photo: Twitter

One reveller’s cheeky t-shirt design. Photo: Toby Jay 

Attention Mike Baird: @KeepSydneyOpen rally draws thousands #keepsydneyopenhttps://t.co/RuUCPHPN6I pic.twitter.com/WhDQOOijai — theMusic.com.au (@TheMusicComAu) February 21, 2016