More than 11,000 marched ‘Free to be’ at Sydney’s 47th Mardi Gras parade [photos]
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
Another iconic LGBTQI night of nights concluded on Saturday as the culmination of a two week-long celebration with over 80 events for Sydney’s rainbow festival.
The 47th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade saw over 11,000 participants from the LGBTQI spectrum broadcasting a message of pride, with a big crowd joining them lined up on Oxford Street or watching from nearby rooftops and balconies.
Greek Australian couple Basil and Jodi Psanoudakis were there to take part in the celebrations of diversity, amidst a sea of glitter, fluorescent colours and dazzling costumes.
“Daughters of Sappho and Sons of Alexander the Great … Mardi Gras … go Greek… Sydney…”, Basil Psanoudakis wrote on socials after attending the parade.
“We are visiting Sydney from Perth. We were over to visit family, so the parade was just happening while we were here and not far from our Airbnb,” he told Neos Kosmos.
While his wife Jodi had been to the parade before, it was Basil Psanoudakis’ first time attending.
“It was fabulous to see so many people out and about pretty much sharing the message of acceptance and love. A street party where you can express who you are.”
Running under this year’s theme of ‘Free to Be’, the parade featured a total of 181 floats with LGBTQI performers from all walks of life.
Protection of trans kids emerged as the unofficial political theme, with hundreds of parade participants holding signs and wearing T-shirts in support of the transgender community.
Dykes on Bikes led the parade, as per the annual tradition, before several floats representing First Nations communities and activists from the 1978 protest made their entrance.
Oxford Street was flooded by rainbow logos and flags, with the parade featuring painted faces, and nude buttocks or chests for the bold ones marching along the 1.3km route through Darlinghurst.
Groups represented included from queer doctors and emergency responders through to migrant communities, regional residents, historians and public servants in NSW government floats.
Police force members also marched in this year’s parade, following an unsuccessful bid in December to ban their presence.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, and federal independents Allegra Spender, Zali Steggall and Senator Lidia Thorpe, were among political leaders who attended.
Mardi Gras is a celebration of how far the LGBTQI community has come, Equality Australia says.
“It’s a reminder that for many people in our communities, particularly trans people, such targeted acts of hate are a year-round occurrence and that despite our gains we are still fighting for equal rights and protections in the law,” chief executive Anna Brown said.
Following the parade, revellers danced the night away across Sydney pubs and surrounding streets, with more than 10,000 estimated to have joined the eight-hour Mardi Gras Party rave at Moore Park.
The 47th edition of Sydney’s pride event didn’t escape the usual confetti debris and the sea of beer cans and shattered glass littering the inner-Sydney streets in its aftermath.
Clean-up crews started sweeping the streets and gathering loads of rubbish bags as soon as the night parade concluded.
Police made four arrests over incidents, but overall festivities ran smoothly.
“A small handful of people did the wrong thing, and they were dealt with swiftly and appropriately.
“The vast majority of the large crowds were well behaved and looked after each other,” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Rod Smith said.
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
