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[title]The Sydney Mardi Gras Parade is almost upon us, the sparkliest jewel in the tiara that is the Sydney Mardi Gras Festival. This globally recognised mass celebration of LGBTQIA+ pride is one of Sydney’s biggest nights out, and is even televised nationally and around the world.
When and where is the Mardi Gras Parade?
The 46th annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade will take over Oxford Street and surrounding areas on Saturday, March 2. Oxford and Flinders Streets will close to traffic in the afternoon, ahead of the main event from 6pm-11pm.
Do you have to pay to watch the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade?
It is free to be on the street, however this year there are also ticketed Parade Viewing Areas with hosts, DJs and premium views. Remaining tickets start around the $100 mark, and you can find out more and get tix (if any remain at the time you're reading this) over here. But we reckon the best way to enjoy the parade is by being part of it, so if you find a fitting float to join, learn the choreo and get amongst it!
Side note: Here's our list of the best Mardi Gras parties around town.
Practical tips for navigating Sydney Mardi Gras
Every year around 250,000 spectators line Oxford and Flinders Streets for the event. Despite the all-consuming joy and awe, a night of swarming crowds and sold-out parties can easily turn into a logistical nightmare if you aren’t armed with a plan. But we’re here to help. The Time Out team has put their collective heads together and recalled some of their most tragic Mardi Gras mishaps to help you have the best 'Queer Christmas' ever.
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We've seperated our advice into two lists: practical tips, and etiquette tips.
Arrive early if you’re planning on attending the parade
Hundreds of thousands spectators flock along Oxford and Flinders Streets every year to watch the colourful procession of more than 200 floats and 12,000 people shimmy their way down the parade route.
Claustrophobics be warned: the crowds are jam-packed
Prepare to be packed in like sardines towards the middle of the parade route, and move closer to the start around Hyde Park and/or the end stretch of Flinders Street if you feel you need more breathing room.
Parade viewing is an endurance sport
You may be standing for long periods of time, so wear comfy shoes, bring snacks, stay hydrated, and have a raincoat or umbrella handy in case it rains on your parade. The vertically challenged may wish to stand on a milk crate (as is tradition).
If you’d like a little more comfort, enjoy some screen time
There are plenty of pubs around Oxford Street and beyond screening the parade live, so you can get a flavour of the party atmosphere minus the scrum. The ABC will be broadcasting the event live from 7.30pm AEST, presented by Courtney Act and Mon Schafter with G Flip, Remy Hii, Mel Buttle and Jeremy Fernandez. Find out how and where to watch it here.
Getting around isn’t always easy, so plan ahead
Transport disruption is rife on parade night, particularly in the Oxford Street area, with major roads closed between the Sydney CBD and Moore Park from 4pm AEDT and hundreds of thousands of people expected to line the streets. WorldPride has created free digital maps of the Mardi Gras Parade Route and a Parade Pedestrian Map to help you out.
Don’t even think about driving darling
Hold on to your boa babe, leave the car at home, and give yourself ample travel time on all forms of public transport. Check the Sydney Mardi Gras website for travel tips and updates, and for detailed closure and clearway listings and maps, visit Live Traffic NSW.
Photograph: Sydney Mardi Gras/Cassandra Hannagan
Leave plenty of time to get from A to B
If you’re planning to shimmy your way to an after-party (or just keen to get back home and kick up your feet), your best bet is to boogie on away before the parade officially ends and things get extra swarmy.
Figure out the most convenient pick-up location near to you
If you’re ordering a ride to a destination in a different part of the city, be prepared to go for a bit of a walk to a more convenient pick-up spot away from the road closures and crowds (and, you bet, rideshare surge rates are almost guaranteed).
Prepare for a price hike
If you’re partying on at one of the venues around Oxford Street, be aware that any old bar is likely to slap a few more dollars onto their usual entry fee (or charge you to enter bars that are usually free to enter).
Seek out good times further afield
If you’d rather avoid braving the parade crowds but you’d still like to get amongst the celebrations, there are plenty of other places to party on Mardi Gras Parade Night. Newtown’s pubs usually get in on the rainbow action, and over at the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville there’ll be three levels of partying.
Be smart and stay safe
When it comes to a massive night of counter-culture revelry and celebration like this, it would be naive to believe there won’t be some ‘disco bikkies’ doing the rounds. However you choose to celebrate Mardi Gras, exercise some caution and make sure you’re in a safe environment with allies at hand.
Look out for those around you
Drug-related deaths are real and you should exercise utmost care for yourself and those around you. Don’t be afraid to seek medical assistance if you have to and be honest, they’re there to help you – not to dob on you. ACON has some great resources about partying safely through the With Love campaign. The Fair Play website is another great resource, which is an initiative set up to inform, support and educate members of sexuality and gender diverse communities on health, safety and rights issues when attending Mardi Gras events.
Kick-on like a queen
Doing the recovery right is also essential to a fabulous Mardi Gras. There’ll be plenty of kick-on parties around town (check they’re not ticketed or sold out before you toddle on down). You can also heed our advice for where to sober up in Sydney, the best Bloody Marys in town and the best yum cha in Sydney for a replenishing Sunday feast.
Photograph: Sydney Mardi Gras/Cassandra Hannagan
Mardi Gras etiquette tips
Don’t get too blotto
No one wants to be that person chundering in the gutter before the night has even really kicked off, or the reason your friends have to call their night early and get into an Uber with you, hoping the driver doesn’t notice the chunks in your cheap shiny wig. A night you can actually remember is always better spent. If you have any concerns about yourself (or a mate) going too hard on the sauce, maybe you can pick an accountability buddy to make sure you’re both celebrating consciously and drinking a glass of water between alcoholic beverages.
Respect rainbow families
The Mardi Gras parade is one great big party, but it bears remembering that this is a celebration for all ages. Rainbow families with young kids, elderly queer folks and allies of all strokes are in attendance too. Check yourself before you yell obscenities at someone’s dad.
Don’t touch the drag queens (or anyone) without consent
Drag queens are enticing by design – all that glitter and beauty and colour. But behind all that is someone who has invested a lot of time and money into looking that cheap for many sweaty hours – so think twice before going to touch a performer's face or tugging on their perfectly coiffed wig. The same goes for any part of anyone’s body. There are a lot of fabulously liberated, scantily clad looks coming out of the closet on parade night – but just ‘cos you can see someone’s underboob or butt, doesn’t mean you’re invited to touch.
Know your rights
Expect an increased presence of police and security personnel on the streets. While this is to ensure everyone's safety, it is not unheard of for people to receive unwanted attention from the boys in blue or over-zealous bouncers. Know your rights, look out for more vulnerable people, and speak up if you feel the need.
Get back to Mardi Gras’ radical roots
The parade is now one great big, sparkly, televised party (with a lot of corporate and political interests riding its sequined coattails). However, when it began in 1979, it was to mark the first anniversary of a march that led to shocking police violence against peaceful protestors exercising their right to campaign for LGBTQIA+ liberation.
A lot has changed since then. Marriage equality was finally passed in Australia in 2017, largely due to a community effort to show up for what is right. We can carry that energy forward, because the fight for equal rights didn’t end there.
Beyond Mardi Gras, we can fight for the rights of transgender people, create space for People of Colour and marginalised identities in queer spaces, and acknowledge dismissed identities such as asexuals (yep, the ‘A’ in LBGTQIA+ is not for ally, as important as they are).