The theme of this year's Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is Free to Be. The 47th annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade is set to attract huge crowds on 1 March. Credit: AAP. The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest LGBT festivals in the world , Mardi Gras is the largest Pride event in Oceania . The Festival will wrap with the world famous Sydney Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday 1 March 2025. Festival theme: Free to be The 2025 Festival theme Free to be is a celebration of the strides toward true LGBTQIA+ equality while also acting as a global reminder that our fight is far from over, and that we are not truly free until we are all free Sydney is expected to be buzzing for one of the biggest nights in the city's social calendar today as thousands are anticipated to march in the 47th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. Sydney Mardi Gras 2025 is here! Free to party, free to celebrate, free to laugh, free to be Festival-favourites, revamped returns and new queens on the block join the line-up for Sydney Mardi Gras 2025! Today, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is one of Australia’s most famous and well-loved events, bringing thousands of visitors to Sydney to join in the celebrations. It captures the imagination of Australia’s LGBTQI and mainstream communities, taking over the city for weeks on end, culminating in the world-famous Parade: a colourful and Sydney Mardi Gras 2025 as it happened: Thousands line Oxford Street to celebrate city’s LGBTQ community By Megan Gorrey , Nick Newling and Lucy Macken Updated March 1, 2025 — 11.17pm first Sydney’s Mardi Gras is a glimmering celebration of queer pride | WILLIAM YANG GLITTER, RAINBOWS, LEATHER, and pride: these are what generally comes to mind when you think of Sydney’s Mardi The Sydney Mardi Gras parade and official after-party are iconic events held each year in NSW that promise to be unforgettable celebrations of love, diversity, and acceptance for the queer community. The events are held over three weekends and form part of a Mardi Gras season in which multiple official and unofficial events are held. Dykes on Bikes open this year's Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. (ABC News: Jack Fisher) The group is the country's longest-running female motorcycle club, and one of the country's oldest Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) is an LGBTQIA+ not-for-profit member-based organisation that produces the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade and Festival and several other events and supportive initiatives throughout the year. Sydney Mardi Gras Parade 2025 on Saturday, March 1; Starts 7.30pm AEDT / 8.30am GMT / 3.30am ET; Watch the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade, one of the biggest cultural events of the year in Australia, to How To Have A Fabulous Mardi Gras in Sydney: A First-Timer’s Guide The Background to Mardi Gras in Sydney. The origins of Mardi Gras lie in a spontaneous protest ‘festival’ that took place one night in June 1978 on Sydney’s Oxford Street. With the rallying cry of “out of the bars and into the streets” 500 people grew to 2000. The Mardi Gras Parade. When: Saturday, March 1, 6:45pm to 11pm Where: Oxford St, Flinders St and Anzac Parade, Sydney Tickets: free, with tickets to special parade viewing areas, more info (some sold out) The Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is now in its 47th year and is the jewel in the crown of the two-week Mardi Gras festival. 2024 Festival: 16 February – 3 March. No future is a match for a future where we’re together. We’re thrilled to unveil the 2024 Festival and the 46th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The 47th annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is set to take over Oxford Street, Flinders Street and Anzac Parade on Saturday 1 March 2025. Set your true self free as the Mardi Gras magic makes it's way down the heritage-listed Parade route for one of the largest LGBTQIA+ nighttime parades in the world. The Sydney Mardi Gras Parade takes place on the final Saturday of the festival, so the next one is estimated to take place on Saturday 1st March 2025. The Sydney Mardi Gras Parade route. The Sydney Mardi Gras Parade honors the same path that the bold group in 1978 took – mainly along Oxford Street from Taylor Square to Hyde Park. Today The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade will be held on Saturday night. (ABC News: Mridula Amin) The parade dates back to 1978, when homosexuality was still illegal in NSW. The Mardi Gras Parade, which takes place on Saturday, March 1, is part of the broader Sydney Mardi Gras Festival, running from February 14 to March 2. Now in its 47th year, the festival spans 17 days of international performances, parties, theatre, community events, and more, celebrating LGBTQIA+ pride and visibility. Mardi Gras (UK: / ˌ m ɑːr d i ˈ ɡ r ɑː /, US: / ˈ m ɑːr d i ɡ r ɑː /; [1] [2] also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. [3]
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