RECAP: Thousands fill the SCG for a Sydney Mardi Gras parade like never before

It's all getting started at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as performers put the last minute touches on their floats and sneak in some last minute rehearsals. The event will begin with a Welcome to Country before the Dykes on Bikes open the parade at 6.20pm, as is tradition.  

You can watch all the action in the SBS live stream right here:

Hours before the official parade, hundreds of activists took to Oxford Street on Saturday afternoon to march against what they see as the corporatisation of the event - which began as a protest movement in 1978.

The activist group Pride in Protest was granted a last-minute public health exemption on Friday, just before the case was to be heard in the Supreme Court, allowing them to proceed with the march despite the 500 person gathering limit.

Protesters march in Sydney ahead of the official Mardi Gras parade on Saturday. Source: AAP

"This is a massive win for not only the right to protest but for the queer community to say that the fight against transphobia and homophobia cannot wait," the group said in a statement on Friday.

At 2pm, the protesters walked down Oxford Street to Hyde Park carrying flags and signs in support of LGBTIQ+, Indigenous, refugee and sex worker rights and let off pink flares along the way. 

The march was granted a last-minute public health exemption on Friday. Source: AAP

The Facebook event for the protest described it as a "joyful march of resistance". "A Mardi Gras with no cops, no corporations, no conservatives," it read. "Pride without compromise for and by the community, a free-to-attend, real Mardi Gras for the liberation of everyone."

Good evening and welcome to SBS News' live coverage of the most colourful night of the year: Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras!

I'm Maani Truu and I'll be bringing you all the glitz, glamour and excitement from the parade and beyond this evening.

For regular Mardi Gras attendees or watchers, things will look a bit different this year. Due to social distancing requirements brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the parade has been moved from its traditional Oxford Street route to the Sydney Cricket Ground, where attendance has been ticketed.

But don't fret if you aren't able to be there - SBS On Demand will be live streaming the parade from 6.00pm (AEST) and the full event will be broadcast on SBS and NITV at 7.30pm (AEST). We'll also be bringing you the highlights right here. 

You can also join the conversation on social media using the hashtags #MardiGras2021 and #WeRiseFor. 

With that, grab some glitter and settle in as we wait for the parade to get underway.