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The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is an annual gay pride parade and festival for the LGBTQI community in Sydney, Australia, and draws in thousands of visitors from around Australia and overseas. It is one of the largest such festivals in the world, and includes a variety of events such as the world-famous Mardi Gras Parade and Party, Bondi Beach Drag Races, Harbour Party, the academic and discussion panel Queer Thinking, as well as Fair Day, which sees 70,000 people converge on Victoria Park, Sydney.

The parade and dance party attracts many international and domestic tourists. Mardi Gras is one of Australia's biggest tourist drawcards, generating an annual income of about $30 million for the state of New South Wales. It is New South Wales’ second-largest event in terms of economic impact.

The celebrations emerged during the early 1980s after arrests were made during pro-gay rights protests that began in 1978. The Parade maintains this political edge, with many floats marching in support of LGBTQI rights. Marriage equality was a dominant theme in the 2011 Mardi Gras Parade, with at least 15 floats lobbying for same-sex marriage.

History
The first Mardi Gras was held on 24 June 1978 at 10pm as a night-time celebration following a morning protest march and commemoration of the Stonewall Riots. More than 500 people moved down Oxford St, calling for an end to discrimination against homosexuals in employment and housing, an end to police harassment and the repeal of all anti-homosexual laws. Although the organisers had obtained permission, this was revoked, and the march was broken up by the police. 53 of the marchers were arrested. Although most charges were eventually dropped, the Sydney Morning Herald published the names of those arrested in full, leading to many people being outed to their friends and places of employment, and many of those arrested lost their jobs as homosexuality was a crime in New South Wales (NSW) until 1984.

The Mardi Gras Parade occurred again in 1979, and was attended by 3,000 people. While there was a large police presence, there were no arrests made. In 1980, no Parade was held, but following community consultation, decisions were made to move the parade to the summer.

In 1981 the parade was shifted to February, with the name changed to the "Sydney Gay Mardi Gras". An increasingly large number of people not only participated in the now summertime event, but a crowd of 5,000 came to watch it.

The first giant post-parade party was held in 1982, which 4,000 people attended. This would continue to become an integral part of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The mid 1980s saw considerable pressure placed to the Mardi Gras Committee following media controversy regarding AIDS. Despite calls for the Parade and Party to be banned, the 1985 Parade went ahead with theme “Fighting for Our Lives”.

In 1988 the parade was renamed the "Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras" at an Extraodinary General Meeting.

1991 saw the eighth annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Film festival, a Mardi Gras event, included in a national film festival for the first time.

By 1993, the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade had become the largest night time outdoor parade in the world. Mardi Gras' Economic Impact Study found that Mardi Gras' total impact into the Australian economy was around $38 million.

In 1994, Mardi Gras Festival adopted the theme 'We are Family', a nod to it being International Year of the Family. For the first time, the Parade was filmed by the ABC and shown on Sunday March 6 at 8.30pm. It won its time slot and earned the ABC its highest ratings in history.

The 2009 performance figures indicated about 9,500 participants and 134 floats were part of the parade, making it the largest ever.

In 2011, up to 300,000 spectators from Australia and overseas turned out for the celebrations.

The Parade
The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras festival culminates in the renowned Mardi Gras Parade, an LGBTQI rights protest and celebration of sexuality. The parade features more than 8,500 entrants in colourful costumes and elaborate floats, who represent a community group, topical theme or political message. Parade entrants include members of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Australian Defence Force, Amnesty International Australia, Australian Marriage Equality, City of Sydney, Fire and Rescue NSW, Taronga Conservation Society and DNA (magazine) among many others.

Each parade starts with approximately 200 "Dykes on Bikes" riding up Oxford Street. It is often accompanied by fireworks displays, which are launched from the rooftops of buildings along the parade route. Approximately 300,000 spectators watch the Parade as it snakes 1.7 km through the Sydney CBD and Darlinghurst.

The parade travels along Oxford Street before turning into Flinders Street and finally into the Buslane that runs parallel to Anzac Parade - to the parade end. These roads and others including some around Hyde Park, are closed to traffic for the duration of the parade and for a few hours after as clean-up operations proceed.

Each year, a Chief of Parade (Grand Marshal, is chosen by the organisation New Mardi Gras as someone who represents the values and spirit of Mardi Gras. This honourable title has previously been awarded to:
 * 2007 - Rupert Everett, gay actor.
 * 2008 - Margaret Cho, bisexual American comedian.
 * 2009 - Matthew Mitcham, Australian Olympic gold-medalist, world record holder and 2008 Australian Sports Performer of the Year.
 * 2010 - Amanda Lepore, transgender model/performer.

In 2011, instead of a single Chief of Parade leading the march, eight high-profile heroes were chosen to lead the Parade. These were:
 * Lily Tomlin, gay actress and comedian
 * Peter Tatchell, world-renowned gay rights campaigner
 * Don Baxter, Executive Director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations
 * Bev Lange, CEO of the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation, former President of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and former co-chair of the Sydney Gay Games
 * Lex Watson and Sue Wills, Campaign Against Moral Prosecution's (CAMP) first Co-Presidents
 * Hannah Williams and Savannah Supski, who recently protested against the ban against same-sex couples at Hannah's Melbourne school formal.

In 2011, Ignatius Jones (of 2066 Asian Games and Shanghai World Expo 2010 fame) was brought in as Consulting Artistic Director to oversee the creative production of the Parade.

The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade enjoys extensive coverage from the media. In 2011, it was broadcast on radio by Joy 94.9 FM Melbourne and 2SER 107.3 FM Sydney. The Parade was also shown live on Foxtel's Arena Channel in its entirety. The Foxtel broadcast was presented by hosts Louie Spence of Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series), Charlotte Dawson, Ruby Rose and Matthew Mitcham. The Parade was also broadcast on radio live by various community radio stations, via the CBAA's Community Radio Network satellite.

Despite its name, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is not held on Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday) or indeed, on a Tuesday at all. In recent years, the Mardi Gras Parade has been on the first Saturday of March, with a festival of events going for approximately 3 weeks preceding it.

Support
Political support has come from a number of local and federal politicians such as Senators Natasha Stott Despoja and Penny Wong, Members of the House of Representatives Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek, Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, Barry O'Farrell as well as the present Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians and international guests come out in support of the Parade, with many lining up for a viewing spot from early in the afternoon. By the 7.45pm Parade kick-off, crowds are usually ten-people deep. Though it has rained on several Mardi Gras parades (notably with heavy downpours prior to, and drizzle during, the parade in 1995, and heavy rainfall during the parade in 2004), this has never stopped the parade.

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is regarded internationally as one of the world's biggest and best LGBTQI marches and festivals, and has been described as an "absolute once-in-a-lifetime must for every travelling gay man".

In the 2000's the Mardi Gras organisation struck financial trouble, and collapsed. This was attributed at the time by some to poor financial management, while another explanation was given as Australia's ongoing public liability crisis, which has seen massive insurance premiums impose a significant burden on community and public events, if not preventing them. As a consequence of the impending collapse of the organisation, there was a groundswell of concern and support within Sydney's GLBTQI communities for the continuation of the work and events of Mardi Gras. A series of crisis meetings culminated in the creation of a reformed organisation "New Mardi Gras" being formed to continue the Parade, the Festival & the Party.

Limited funds have also been sourced from the Sleaze Ball party held in Sydney towards the end of the year. Mardi Gras still receives significant public support and the event now receives some limited government funding which should go towards ensuring that it remains a part of Sydney culture for some time.

Opposition
Mardi Gras has consistently attracted opposition from numerous sources of various religious and political affiliations. Each year the event is held, Fred Nile, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a former minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, leads a prayer for rain on the event.

Criticism of the Sydney Mardi Gras was perhaps at its strongest during the early years of the AIDS crisis, and flared again when in 1994 the national broadcaster, ABC, telecast the parade for the first time. Triple J radio has broadcast the event live across the nation a number of times as well.

In January 2008, Robert Forsyth, Anglican bishop of South Sydney condemned Corpus Christi, which opened for Mardi Gras, because it depicted Judas seducing a gay Jesus as well as Jesus' administration of gay marriage between two apostles. Director Leigh Rowney accepted that it would generate discussion on Homosexuality and Christianity stating: "I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering questions about Christianity as a faith system." Playwright Terrence McNally, a gay man, received death threats when it was played in the United States.

Post Parade Party
The post parade party is one the largest ongoing party events in the country. Mardi Gras Party attendances at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion / Royal Hall of Industries peaked in 1998 with 27,000 tickets sold. In the years since 17,000 to 20,000 tickets are consistently sold, an extraordinary explosion since the first Parade Ball held in 1980 at the Paddington Town Hall, a BYO event which attracted 700 guests. The 2010 party was not held on the night of the parade and was later described by organisers as a mistake.

In the last 20 years, several well known local and international artists have performed at the Party and include: {| style="background-color: transparent; width: "
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 * 1990 - Sam Backo, Marcia Hines
 * 1994 - John Paul Young, Kylie Minogue
 * 1995 - Boy George
 * 1996 - Trudi Valentine, Thelma Houston
 * 1997 - Chaka Khan, Village People
 * 1998 - Jimmy Somerville, Kylie Minogue, Danni Minogue
 * 1999 - Danni Minogue, Marcia Hines, Erin Hamilton, Jimmy Barnes
 * 2001 - Vanessa Amorosi, Sheena Easton, Christine Anu
 * 2002 - Human Nature, Bardot, Deborah Cox
 * 2003 - Suzanne Palmer
 * 2005 - Nicki French, Darren Hayes, Tina Arena, Courtney Act
 * 2006 - Baby Marcelo, Jimmy Sommerville
 * 2007 - Young Divas, Boy George
 * 2008 - Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John
 * 2009 - Alison Jiear, Tina Arena
 * 2010 - George Michael, Kelly Rowland, Adam Lambert, Amanda Lepore
 * 2011 - Wynter Gordon, Alexis Jordan, Frankie Knuckles, Larry Tee, Bob Downe

Mardi Gras today
In recent years, Fair Day has opened the Mardi Gras festival with an all day outdoor fair at Victoria Park, attracting 70,000 people.

For many years a fully themed magazine style guide with information on all events has been produced. Several multi-disc Mardi Gras compilation albums were released in 1996, 1997, 2002 and 2003.

The festival's live entertainment includes cabarets, comedy, music and theatre. The Mardi Gras Film Festival showcases gay and lesbian films. There are many literature and arts events, forum and conferences to attend between the many social activities. Individual and team sports have always been a big part of the festival.