Thousands of revellers have lined Oxford Street for the annual Sydney Mardi Gras 2025 before partying the night away at different venues across Sydney.
The parade, now in its 47th year and the premier event in Sydney’s LGBTQI+ calendar, was a dazzling showcase of inclusivity, colour, and pride with this year’s theme ‘Free to Be’.
Kyah Day, a 20-year-old University of Sydney student attending for the first time, said she was overwhelmed by the display of unity.
“I could feel the strength of the community in the atmosphere,” she added. “I’ve never felt more accepted and free to be myself.”
Lily Johnson, 23, described it as “the perfect encapsulation of what Mardi Gras stands for”, while Jason MacIntosh, 19, praised it as “a great theme to promote uniqueness and acceptance”.
About 11,000 people participated in the parade across more than 181 floats, starting at the northern end of Oxford Street before finishing at Moore Park on Anzac Parade.
I’ve never felt more accepted and free to be myself.
But Saturday’s festivities weren’t without controversy, with police making four arrests, including a man who climbed on the top of a police bus. The small handful of disturbances were swiftly dealt with and less arrests were made in comparison to the year prior, with NSW Police labelling the night a success.
Mardi Gras organisers were preparing for a slimmer parade this year after last year’s event experienced a drop in attendance from an expected 250,000 to a reported 120,000. However, tens of thousands of people gathered along Oxford Street to get a glimpse of the parade.
Known for its floats, this year’s Mardi Gras had a diverse range of organisations and institutions showing their support for the LGBTQI+ community, led by, among others, Dykes on Bikes, LGBTQIA+SB First Nations communities, and the ’78ers, the original activists from the first Mardi Gras protest.
Western Sydney University made a strong statement of inclusivity, marching under the theme ‘Unlimited Freedom and Endless Dreams’. The university launched a special installation the week prior, attended by Chancellor Professor Jennifer Westacott AO and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Michelle Trudgett, reinforcing their commitment to LGBTQIA+ visibility.
Other major organisations that continued their presence this year included Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Amnesty International Australia, the Australian Defence Force, the City of Sydney, Fire & Rescue New South Wales, and the Taronga Conservation Society.
The original ’78ers parade bus. Photo: Katelyn Smillie.
There is more to Mardi Gras than just the parade, however, with a month of activities and events taking over Sydney, including the recent Fair Day at Victoria Park, which kicked off the Mardi Gras season with thousands gathered for a day of performances, markets, and advocacy.
Among the many institutions taking part, the University of Technology Sydney played an active role, through its Respect.Now.Always. initiative, which promoted awareness and support for LGBTQIA+ rights and safety, encouraging students and staff to get involved.
The university also participated in the Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival, hosting a screening of The Paradise of Thorns, a film that explored LGBTQIA+ narratives within diverse cultural contexts.
The now-global event began as a small protest in 1978, held in response to the growing wave of LGBTQIA+ activism, inspired by the Stonewall Riots in New York.
However, what was meant to be a peaceful demonstration was met with police brutality and mass arrests. That night, a movement was born. Over time, Mardi Gras has evolved from an act of defiance into a powerful festival of pride, advocacy, and visibility, drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees from around the world.
Today, it continues to play a pivotal role in shaping conversations regarding equality and LGBTQIA+ rights, both in Australia and globally, as well as being a major economic driver for Sydney, injecting millions into the city’s tourism industry — leading to Sydney hosting WorldPride in 2023.
Photo: Katelyn Smillie.
Sydney’s Mardi Gras season also featured a variety of satellite events, including the Inner West Council’s Feel the Love Festival, and all-ages LGBTQIA+ celebration held on Saturday at the Inner West Pride Centre and Camperdown Memorial Rest Park.
It featured an array of free entertainment and activities, including drag performances, a live DJ, face painting, a free BBQ, and a mobile sensory van. The event was capped off with a public screening of the Mardi Gras Parade on a big screen in Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, ensuring everyone could partake in the magic of the celebration.
Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, and Federal Member for Sydney, addressed attendees outside the Inner West Pride Centre alongside Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.
Main image by Katelyn Smillie.
