Tens of thousands of people packed into Sydney’s famous cricket ground to celebrate and watch the city’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade leave a rainbow trail of glitter and colour around the hallowed turf for the very first time on Saturday (March 6).
With the event moved from its normal home on Oxford Street due to coronavirus restrictions, the 43rd edition featured smaller floats, but no less enthusiasm.
Around 5,000 people took part in groups of 40 at a time parading around the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
An indigenous smoking ceremony kicked off celebrations before the ‘Dykes on Bikes’ roared into the arena.
The Mardi Gras began in 1978 as a protest march for gay rights and the decriminalisation of homosexuality. But it’s since grown into a major tourist spectacle as Sydney’s biggest street party and a major focal point for Australia’s LGBTQI+ community.
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