February to March · New South Wales · Sydney
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
The biggest LGBTQIA+ pride event in the southern hemisphere, culminating in a parade down Oxford Street.
Three weeks of LGBTQIA+ cultural events across Sydney, finishing with the legendary Mardi Gras Parade down Oxford Street.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras began as a civil rights protest in June 1978 and has grown into the biggest LGBTQIA+ pride event in the southern hemisphere. The full festival now runs for three weeks in late February and early March and includes over 100 events across Sydney, culminating in the Mardi Gras Parade on the first Saturday of March.
The parade runs down Oxford Street from Hyde Park and includes more than 200 floats with some 12,000 participants. It draws crowds of over 300,000 along the parade route and is broadcast live on national television. After the parade, the Mardi Gras Party at the Hordern Pavilion continues until dawn.
Accommodation in the inner east of Sydney books out months ahead for the weekend of the parade. Visitors come from across Australia and the world and the city takes on a dramatically different atmosphere from its usual conservative summer feel.
While you are there
