Sydney Mardi Gras: Celebrating Australia's diverse culture and inclusive community

In the successful celebration of the LGBTIQA+ community's 45th Mardi Gras Parade in Sydney, the diverse cultural backgrounds of the people in Australia were highlighted in particular the Indigenous community and migrant communities such as the Filipinos.

The Sydney Mardi Gras parade is an opportunity to showcase artists' creativity like these headdresses designed and created by iconic fashion designer and 2016 Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Rene Rivas. Credit: Supplied by Albie Prias

Key Points

• About 208 floats and 12,500 participants fill the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade in Oxford street.
• Through their unique costumes, participants like the Filipino community and allies showcased their creativity and culture.
• The Sydney Mardi Gras Parade coincides with this year's WorldPride Festival as Sydney being the host city.

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Sydney Mardi Gras: Celebrating Australia's diverse culture and inclusive community in Filipino

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Together with the vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and allies, the Filipino community once again participated in the annual Sydney Mardi Gras parade with the theme 'Gather, Dream, Amplify'.

The Filipino Lesbian and Gay Community (FLAGCOM) and Friends through founders Albie Prias and Charles Chan and fashion designer Rene Rivas, led the Philippine float along with the winners of Miss Mardi Gras International Queen 2023.

The Filipino community in Sydney is once again represented by Filipino Lesbian and Gay Community (FLAGCOM) and Friends at this year's Sydney Mardi Gras Parade. In this photo, members of FLAGCOM donned headdresses made in Iloilo, Philippines. Credit: Mary Boticario

"The great thing about this celebration is that different organisations and government agencies participated," Jojo Sebastian, who joined and witnessed last night's events, points out.

"We saw the colourful costumes that are representations of the creativity of each organisation involved and the different cultures and races that participated in the parade."

'The Filipino tradition was integrated with the costumes worn by the members of the Filipino community. The headdress worn was made from Iloilo promoting the artistry of Filipino craftmanship.' Credit: Mary Boticario

The culture of Australia's First Nations was honoured at last night's event where the first float in the parade celebrates the Indigenous Australian.

A group of 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from the LGBTIQ+ community also celebrated their participation in their first-ever Sydney Mardi Gras parade.