Sydney’s ‘Heated Rivalry’ Lookalike Competition Got So Big, The Council Had To Intervene

A upcoming Heated Rivalry lookalike competition in Sydney has gotten so big that the Council have had to intervene in the name of public safety.

In case you’ve somehow managed to avoid the discourse, Heated Rivalry is a new and wildly successful HBO show following the love story of closeted ice hockey players, Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) as they balance their relationship and identities with their careers in professional sport.

People have gone quite genuinely nuts about it, with a second season greenlit almost immediately. Williams and Storrie were even invited to be torch bearers for the Winter Olympic Games earlier this week.

Following the uptick of community organised lookalike competitions on social media over the last few months, it was only natural that the gay hockey show received the same treatment.

Content creator Lena Tuck first posted about the “Hudson and Connor Lookalike Competition” on January 17, where it racked up thousands of likes.

Advertised to take place at Camperdown Park in Newtown this weekend, competitors were invited to submit themselves to a number of categories, including “Best Loon Call”, “Best ‘I’m Coming To The Cottage’ Impression, and “Best Hudson Glambot Flip Off (Hudson)”.

However on Thursday, Tuck posted an update to social after what she referred to as “the most stressful two hours of my life”.

“I’ve got a call from the council and they said, ‘you need to shut that down. This event has gotten out of hand’, and I just don’t know how many people to expect, and so they’re saying I will cop a fine if I host it,” she said.

@lenasdoingthings UPDATE VENUE CHANGE AT THE IMPERIAL IN ERSKINEVILLE #heatedrivalry #sydney #lookalikecontest ♬ original sound – Lena

“I should have registered it, I know, but I didn’t realise it would be this big.”

As per the Inner West Council, events held in local parks with more than 30 people need to be registered more than a week in advance, with those expecting over 250 people requiring at least four weeks notice.

But then a hero comes along…

Thankfully, the Imperial Hotel heeded the call for venues willing to host, and have stepped up to offer their services, and that of drag queen Jackie Daniels, who will be hosting.

Other local businesses have also joined the hype, pitching in with prizes for the winners.

Tuck said the response to the competition was representative of just how big Heated Rivalry had become since the first episode aired in December.

“It’s truly crazy, but also amazing,” she told Star Observer. “It just goes to show that the people are invested, and the people want to see the lookalikes, and the people want to have a space where we can talk about shows like Heated Rivalry and crazy fandoms.

“The two actors, Hudson and Connor, are just these no-name actors who have blown up out of nowhere, and they are just so warm and excited for the spotlight unlike any Hollywood actors we’ve seen before, who were just primed and ready… I think the public hasn’t seen that in a while, and I think we haven’t seen that since One Direction, or Justin Bieber, and everyone’s just really gravitated towards these two actors who are just obviously beautiful, but funny, talented, and we just want to root for them.”

The “Hudson and Connor Lookalike Competition” is taking place at the Imperial Hotel in Erskinville, this Saturday at 1pm.

 

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