Mardi Gras dazzles Sydney again!

G’day Sydney, and visitors!

Amongst the piles of clothes and clouds of perfume and makeup as my friends and I got ready for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday night there was sudden cry of disappointment – one of my friends, dressed like a French maid, had looked out the window and seen the first signs of rain!

But would a little rain put a dampener on Mardi Gras? Never!

The French maid and I, as well as a number of sailors, nurses and fantastical creatures, headed with throngs of other people towards the Sydney’s city centre and Oxford Street.

We caught the train in and seemed to pick up more friends at every stop – well, I say ‘seem to’ because it quickly became impossible to tell the difference between those somebody actually knew and those we’d just met!

It’s one of the great things about Mardi Gras. While the parade is certainly a lot of fun and great spectacle, the aspect that actually transforms the city is the communal celebration of diversity and understanding – coupled with a huge amount of partying, music and dancing!

Saturday night was a larger than expected crowd, and a great turn around after last years quieter parade! The parade itself consisted of over 135 floats and nearly 8,500 people! 13,000 peopled continued on to the Mardi Gras Party at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter!

The crowds were so deep police had to shut down streets that access Oxford Street and even when you got near the edges the street was packed with people standing on hastily bought stools and collected milk crates, all craning for a glimpse of the dancers and floats. In the end there was room for everyone, and I didn’t meet one person on the night not having a good time.

I met a couple from Melbourne who had flown up specifically for the parade, their first time attending, and who said they had an absolute blast. The guy, Jim, said “it’s just one of the best parties I’ve ever been to – the fact it’s happening out on the street just makes it that much better!”

His girlfriend Sarah added that “what better way to demonstrate equality and understanding than to see a whole city come together in a celebration like this?”

Even if you didn’t go along to the official after party, a quick stroll around the city saw all the most popular bars and clubs packed with people keeping the party going – not to mention Oxford Street which was still grooving along as dawn broke the next morning.

All in all, I’d have to agree it was a pretty successful night! Did you get along to the parade? Did you have a favourite float? Tell us your Mardi Gras stories in the comments below!

~Sydney Sider

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