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TRANSCRIPT:
There were sequins, confetti and rainbows adorning the streets of Sydney this weekend as thousands took part in Australia's biggest celebration of the LGBTIQ-plus community.
"Hi everyone, it's Hannah Conda. Happy Mardi Gras all the way from Sydney. Wooh."
There was some controversy ahead of the proceedings, when one float from social justice group Pride in Protest was expelled over its social media posts about a Jewish LGBTIQ+ group identified as Dayenu.
Mardi gras chief executive Jesse Matheson says the Pride in Protest posts characterised Dayenu as being ‘pro-genocide’, which was considered a breach of the code of conduct.
Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich says organisers were put into a position where they had to act against posts he has called completely inappropriate.
"We know that Jewish Australians and queer Australians are feeling nervous. They are feeling under threat. And that's because these two groups are really under attack and have been the victims of a number of hate crimes. So you can imagine how Dayenu are feeling. Mardi Gras has made this decision. It is a decision for them to make. Everyone who goes into the Mardi Gras parade agrees on a code of conduct and the terms to march."
Pride in Protest held a snap rally on Saturday afternoon at Sydney's Town Hall to demonstrate against their exclusion.
Group spokesman Evan called the decision deeply hypocritical.
"We reject those claims of harassment and vilification. And to be quite frank, it is a political beatup. Because if safety concerns, if harassment concerns were real, then the fact that police who bashed protesters not long ago in this very space are being allowed to march - I myself was pinned down by three police. Why is that valid? It's not."
Despite these controversies, the show went on.
170 floats** and almost 10,000 participants were in the march down Oxford Street.
Among them was Bundjalung man Colin McDonald, who told NITV of his pride in performing as drag queen Destiny Haz Arrived.
"I get a sense of joy, happiness, celebration of myself. And I think visibility is very important - whether it is for yourself or others - young youth. Whether they're Indigenous or whatever they are - LGBTIQ. I just think visibility, being present, being out there, doing your thing. Representing yourself and your culture, who you are."
Another marcher was Vivica, who also shared her excitement with NITV.
"There's not many queer people in my hometown. There's not many people out. So yeah I wanted to represent and get out of my comfort zone."
Then there was Scott Dixon-Smith who marched with his guide dog Pretzel, along with representatives from Guide Dogs New South Wales and their labrador called Gulliver.
He says disability representation is becoming more visible in Mardi Gras celebrations.
"We all have something to bring to the table that makes it a unique and beautiful experience. Those with disabilities or different abilities or not, it takes a community. And I'm proud to be part of it."
The Mardi Gras party concluded on a fitting note - with six planets aligning in the heavens after sunset for those who had a clear view of the sky.
It was an intergalactic event that C-S-I-R-O senior engineer and transgender woman Suzy Jackson says reflected the Mardi Gras Ecstatica Galactica theme - and brought home how her work has been a saving grace.
"Science for me has always been a safe space. Ever since I was a teenager and first coming to terms with my own gender identity."
This year's Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade was the 48th since the first gay rights parade in 1978, and came days after the parade route was added to Australia's National Heritage List.
For 78er Karl Zlotkowski, the heritage listing is something he never imagined 50 years ago.
"Coming out was a big thing in the 1970s. And I think it still is. But the 70s was the decade was when our community came out. We didn't exist before. We weren't visible - until 1978 when thousands of us decided the time had come for us to come out of the bars, and into the streets."
Karl says the parade route is deeply special to the original marchers because it's where they were born.
He says the parade all in all epitomises love, connection and acceptance.
"Our parade is the only pride event in the world that has marched every year in an unbroken succession ever since it was born in 1978. It is the only one I know of that takes place after dark, and that makes it the most riotous celebration of queer joy anywhere in the world."
