Music festival evacuated as wild storm sweeps through

A wild storm ripped through Sydney on Saturday night, halting a music festival and an A-League soccer match.

The NSW Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning about 7.30pm for heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large hailstones across Sydney, the Illawarra, Hunter and Central Tablelands.

It warned rain, hail and flash flooding could sweep through central Sydney, Penrith, Parramatta, Campbelltown, Camden, parts of the Sutherland Shire, Wollongong and Gosford over several hours.

Thousands of festival-goers at the Good Things alternative music event were told to evacuate Centennial Park as the thunderstorm swept into Sydney’s eastern suburbs about 9.30pm.

A message on the festival’s big screen told patrons to evacuate and warned them not to shelter under trees.

“Try to get indoors or into built-up areas external from [the] event site,” the message read.

It said the festival would restart after the storm; however, patrons were still waiting at 10.15pm.

The downpour also pushed back the start of play in the second half of the soccer between Sydney FC and Perth Glory at Allianz Stadium at Moore Park.