In June 1978 when the Gay Solidarity Group organized a march and a series of events to shed light on the discrimination gays and lesbians faced in their daily lives. The police blocked the parade moving down Oxford Street. While attempting to break up the parade violence and police brutality ensued with the night ending in 53 arrests. 

 
The following year, 3,000 people marched peacefully in the parade and more have joined every year in solidarity with Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community. 

in accordance with the Catholic calendar. The parade is the same day as Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins, the same day as other Mardi Gras celebrations, such as the one in New Orleans. Thus, Mardi Gras typically falls sometime between the first week of February and the first week of March each year. 

June 1980 the parade took place on an extremely cold Australian winter night. Afterwards the organizers decided to move the celebrations to summer. 

The Tiwi Island Sistagirls, a group of transgender Aboriginal women from the Northern Territory, joined the Mardi Gras parade in Sydney for the first time in 2017. The Sistagirls documented their struggles with discrimination, suicide and acceptance in their Aboriginal communities with VICE, through which their stories made headlines across the world. 

This year’s Mardi Gras festival will officially run from February 15th to March 3rd with numerous parties, panels and performances taking place throughout the city!