Glitter and grit: celebrating Sydney Mardi Gras then – and now

Before the glitter, the floats and the global fanfare, there was a protest. On 24 June 1978, a small group of queer folk operating as the Gay Solidarity Group staged a day of events in Sydney to celebrate culture and demand change. A morning march and public meeting gave way to a street parade that night – and a violent police response that would shock the nation, see 53 people arrested, and ultimately transform a single night into the seed of a powerful, celebratory annual movement.

Nearly five decades on, that once-radical march has grown into a 20-day festival that dances through the city, proving that “the only thing stronger than hate is love”, indeed. From 13 February to 1 March this year, Sydney will step into ECSTATICA – a theme that reframes euphoria not as escapism, but as energy. As Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO Jesse Matheson says, “ECSTATICA is about euphoria as resistance. The idea that our joy is powerful, political and unstoppable. This year’s Festival celebrates connection in all its forms: from streets to screens, from protest to party, and from one another to the world.”

This year’s program spans more than 80 events across theatre, music, art, film, parties and community gatherings. The Festival opens with the Progress Pride Flag Raising at Sydney Town Hall, before launching into a luminous lineup: Ultra Violet transforming City Recital Hall into a femme-charged dreamscape; Black Cherry centering trans and gender-diverse performers inside the historic Cell Block Theatre; and Fair Day returning to Victoria Park with the First Nations Circle ceremony, Drag King Games, the Queer Fashion Runway, Doggywood and Disco Divas under the late-summer sun.

Beloved fixtures like Kaftana Pool Party, Laugh Out Proud and the legendary Parade remain central, while powerful works such as The Normal Heart at the Sydney Opera House and Perfect Arrangement in Newtown revisit chapters of queer history shaped by fear, loss and resilience. Alongside them, Mardi Gras+ expands the celebration across surf clubs, galleries, laneways and regional stages, and a new Mardi Gras App connects community “from streets to screens,” reflecting, as Jesse says, “a celebration of who we are, what we’ve built, and the future we’re creating together.”

Our joy is powerful, political and unstoppable.

The crescendo, as always, comes on Saturday 28 February, when the 48th Annual Parade floods Oxford Street, Flinders Street and Anzac Parade with light, colour and sound – a dazzling procession of pride and solidarity in a place once marked by police batons. “Every year, the Parade reminds us that visibility is joy in motion,” says Matheson. “It’s about showing up for ourselves and each other – and doing it with glitter in our veins.”

On the eve of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2026 – the 49th consecutive celebration since that pivotal winter’s night – we revisit the origins of one of Australia’s most powerful cultural movements, with historical insights courtesy of the National Museum Australia.