The history of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

Sydney Mardi Gras as we now know it includes an array of events to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The Sydney Mardi Gras now features a host of events including the Parade, Post-Parade Party, Festival, Fair Day, and Sydney Mardi Gras Awards.

The Parade is a well-known, well-loved, and well-attended feature of the Sydney Mardi Gras. Each year the parade includes over 12,000 entrants, culminating in bright and colourful costumes and intricate floats of groups who represent either a topical theme, community group, or political message.

The parade begins with a smoking ceremony and acknowledgement of the Gadigal, who are the traditional owners of the land on which the celebrations are held. 200 motorcycles descend as the Dykes on Bikes chart a 1.7 kilometre route through the Sydney CBD and in Darlinghurst, which attracted approximately 400,000 street spectators in 2020 (with attendance at 2021-22 events being impacted by COVID-19).1

The theme and programming of the Sydney Mardi Gras responds to the community and topical stories of the time.

Often, the Sydney Mardi Gras selects a theme which reflects key issues within the LGBTQIA+ community. In 1985, the parade had significant pressure to cancel due to public fear about the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, the parade still went ahead with the theme Fighting for Our Lives.2

In 2017, the year of the Equal Marriage Postal Survey, the theme Creating Equality saw floats centred around the campaign, and the 2018 parade included a live wedding atop a float in celebration.3

In 2021-2022, the Parade moved to the Sydney Cricket Ground and continued through the lockdowns, a powerful symbol of visibility and pride under difficult circumstances.

The Sydney Mardi Gras Parade was the only Pride event in the world to keep marching under pandemic restrictions.

Following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sydney WorldPride marked the return of The Parade to the Oxford Street precinct, welcomed by record numbers of spectators.4