The parade always attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators but those who can't attend the festivities will have plenty of ways to experience what's become one of the world's most spectacular street parades.
There's no starter's gun for the Sydney Mardi Gras parade - instead it's the sound of revving motorcycle engines from the Dykes on Bikes that marks the start of the procession.
Hundreds of thousands of people pack Sydney's Darlinghurst and surrounds as tens of thousands of people take part in what's become a celebration for the LGBTIQ, their family and friends.
For veteran activists like Nicolas Parkhill, the Mardi Gras season is always a time to promote a broader awareness among Australians about some of the issues he believes policymakers should be addressing.
As the head of the ACON, the AIDS Council of New South Wales, Mr Parkhill says Australia was at the forefront of the initial response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the mid-1980s but now it's lagging behind when it comes to adopting some of the new ways to reduce HIV infections.
"We're lagging behind, we know that we've got to bring online new testing devices that are fast, that can give results in 30 minutes. We also know that we need access to HIV drugs that prevent the onward transmission of the HIV virus. At the moment we don't have access to them here in this country, they've got them in the United States, they'll soon come on line in the UK and in France and in other European countries and we need to fastrack approval of them here in Australia to end HIV."
Nicolas Parkhill says the stay safe message is as relevant as it's always been.
"Always stay safe, condoms remain critical but test, it's imperative that people know their status. We know that if you're positive the sooner you can get treatment and get the support you need to go on treatment the better health outcomes that you will have but also it minimizes your chance of passing on the virus so stay safe, test more and treat early, doing all three of those things that will end HIV transmission."
This year, coverage of the Mardi Gras parade will be available to a much larger audience because of media collaboration.
SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid helped to negotiate a re-broadcast agreement with community radio station, JOY 94.9.
From 9pm tonight SBS Digital Radio 3 will be re-broadcasting JOY's Mardi Gras coverage for 48 hours, including four hours of live parade commentary tomorrow night from 7 o'clock.
Speaking on JOY, Mr Ebeid says SBS is excited about the collaboration.
"It's great to be able to partner with JOY on it because it means the entire country will be able to tune in. You know, some people have said to me, but it's on digital radio, you know how do I get it if I don't have a digital radio? You can just switch on your TV and we've got the signal for the radio on your TV channel so you can just listen to it and have the music and programs going for a whole 48 hours."
Michael Ebeid says about 100 SBS staff will be marching with the SBS float.
"I think we've got a brilliant culture at SBS and people love working there because we're such an inclusive organization so we talk about multiculturalism, we talk about inclusive societies but we really do live and breathe it in the organization as well so when you mentioned that we've got about a hundred staff actually getting involved with the SBS float in Mardi Gras more than half of them who are participating are actually straight colleagues who just want to be there to support their gay and lesbian colleagues at work and there's no better sign of comradeship than that and we did it for the first time ever last year and we had a lot of fun with it."
Amnesty International Australia's Senthrorun Raj says the Sydney Mardi Gras is a time to celebrate the right of individuals to live their lives free from discrimination and harrassment.
"We're celebrating the right to be who were are and love who we do. At the core of this is the right for every person around the world to life free lives, free from violence, discrimination, harassment and vilification."
TV coverage of the parade will be on SBS One on Sunday night from 830 and SBS online has a dedicated webpage for the Mardi Gras at sbs.com.au/mardigras.
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