A rally against Sydney’s lockout laws has turned into a dance party after thousands marched through the city.



Hours after emergency service workers urged the NSW government to keep the laws, Sydneysiders took to the streets in a rally organised by the Keep Sydney Open group.



Opponents say the laws are killing off the city’s nightlife with venues being forced to close and hundreds of jobs disappearing along with patronage.



Protester Adrienn Lord, 28, said the laws were crushing Sydney’s culture and diversity.



“The lockout laws have seen Sydney’s night life leached away while the violence and aggressive atmosphere has just spread to other areas,” he said at the Sunday afternoon protest which marched from Belmore Park to Hyde Park in the city centre.



The legislation requires central Sydney venues to turn people away from 1.30am, serve last drinks by 3am and ban the sale of takeaway alcohol after 10pm.



The suite of measures were introduced following a number of one-punch deaths and assaults during alcohol-fuelled nights out.



“We hit the dance floor, not each other,” read one placard, while another read, “Drop the Mike!”



But a coalition of New South Wales doctors, nurses, paramedics and police disagree.



Alcohol-fuelled violence has “fallen off a cliff” since the laws came into effect, emergency services say.



Dr Tony Sara told reporters in Sydney the number of victims of alcohol-related violence turning up at St Vincent’s Hospital had fallen by one-third since the laws were introduced.



“All assaults have gone down by 32% and the number of severely injured persons has also gone down,” he said.



There have not been any deaths from alcohol-related violence or trauma since the lockouts, and there have only been three patients admitted to the intensive care unit for such violence, he said.



“Prior to that, it was scores every year.”



Sara rejected suggestions violence had simply been pushed to pockets of Sydney where the laws do not apply.



He claimed it was a “furphy” being peddled by the alcohol industry and he called for an expansion of the lockouts.



However, Sara said relaxing the laws for live music venues “could be a good idea” if proven effective through a small-scale trial.