MARDI GRAS 2021
Photography Riley-McFarlane Photography, Anna Kucera, Rocket Weijers. Report by Andrew Creagh.
How did Sydney pull off a glampacked Mardi Gras in the middle of a pandemic?
In the middle of a global pandemic, how did Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras manage to pull-off a glam-packed, relevant, real-life and covid-safe event for 36,000 unmasked spectators in a sports stadium? It began a year ago… The first reported case of COVID-19 in Australia was detected in the state of Victoria on January 25, 2020. Up in New South Wales, the 2020 Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival was just kicking off, and climaxed with the Parade and Party on February 29. It just scraped in: Australia’s national lockdown started on March 12.
By early May, the covid curve was flattening and some restrictions were lifted by state and territory leaders. However, major sporting and cultural events that involved largescale groups of people in public and mass transport were cancelled. Things didn’t look great for a 2021 Mardi Gras season.
Meanwhile, around the world, Pride events were cancelled or hosted online as “Digital Prides” as reallife events were just too risky. But the novelty of digital events wore thin very fast.
By late last year, it became clear that Sydney could not stage a covid-safe Mardi Gras Parade on Oxford Street. The annual event usually attracts 300,000-plus spectators lining the Parade route. Also cancelled was the popular Fair Day which, with vendor stalls, portaloos, public transport and over 100,000 visitors, would have proven a covid disaster. The famous Mardi Gras after-party would also be impossible.
Mardi Gras promised to find a work-around solution, and they did, taking the Parade off the street and making it a ticketed and seated event at the nearby Sydney Cricket Ground. Tickets quickly sold out.
With only a fraction of the usual spectators (the SCG holds a covid-safe 36,000) broadcast partners, SBS, live-streamed the Parade around the country and removed geo-blocks allowing a global streaming audience. Its hosts included a hot-right-now list of gay celebs – comedians Zoë Coombs Marr and Joel Creasey, TV presenter Narelda Jacobs and Aussie drag royalty, Courtney Act.
The Parade itself was limited to 120 walking groups of no more than 40 people each. No heavy floats, a usual feature of the Parade, were permitted on the Sydney Cricket Ground to protect the grass. Groups improvised with extravagant costumes, large-scale puppetry and over-sized props.
Singers Jack Vidgen and Troye Sivan appeared in commercially sponsored marching groups.
Stadium spectators were treated to a vibrant display of LGBTIQA+ diversity. As afternoon slipped into evening, light shows and fire effects began to dazzle and the more complex costumes and choreographed groups emerged. The atmosphere in the arena began to feel like an Opening Ceremony – boding well for World Pride in 2023, which Sydney is hosting.
With tickets priced from as little as $12 up to $20,
the event delivered real value with performances by Sneaky Sound System, Electric Fields, G Flip and Montaigne during the Parade, with a show-stopping finale by Rita Ora, as though the after-Party had been brought to the SCG.
Earlier in the afternoon, a protest group of several hundred people, unaffiliated with Mardi Gras, marched down Oxford Street to draw attention to trans rights and Black Lives Matter in a counter-Mardi Gras demonstration.
Inside the Cricket Grounds at the official Parade, these issues were well represented with Trans Rights, First Nations and Haka For Life marching groups delivering their messages.
Other pressing LGBTIQA+ issues were frontof-mind for Mardi Gras CEO, Albert Kruger, who said earlier, “Today, faith-based service providers, including schools, can lawfully turn us away, even when they receive public funding to deliver their essential services. Trans Australians are vilified, struggle to access critical healthcare and face insurmountable hurdles to updating their ID documents to reflect who they are.”
While the Cricket Ground lacked the grit and edgy energy of Oxford Street, many felt the easy access to bars and toilets made it a preferable venue. A Mardi Gras Parade like no other, it is unlikely to be repeated. Mardi Gras have already announced the event will be returning to its “spiritual home” on Oxford Street in the future, keeping it connected to its historic protest origins, making it accessible to all, and remaining a visible part of the New South Wales cultural landscape.
Mardi Gras 2021 was not the first Pride event to happen in real-life since the pandemic began. In late October, Taiwan staged its Pride for an estimated in-person crowd of 130,000 in Taipei, numerous cities in New Zealand hosted real Prides, and in January, the tiny Western Australian tourist town of Broome threw their third annual event. What these regions have in common is they have successfully suppressed COVID-19 community transmission.
And that’s the simple answer. Pride Parades and Parties will be back, in-person, when the pandemic is beaten. That will mean vaccinations, continued travel and lifestyle restrictions, and combinations of both, but we will all dance together again. •