Sydney Mardi Gras

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) is an LGBTQIA+ not-for-profit member-based organisation that produces the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade and Festival and several other events and supportive initiatives throughout the year.    

SGLMG was built on the foundations laid by early community activists who fought for LGBTQIA+ rights in a time of wide-spread, institutionalised oppression and discrimination. 

Year-round, we also develop initiatives that celebrate our LGBTQIA+ identity, champion creative expression, challenge injustice and elevate diverse voices. We proudly provide a platform for our communities to share with the world. 

A history of love and protest…

It all began on a chilly winter’s night in 1978, when the police descended on a street festival bravely celebrating gay rights when homosexuality was still illegal. 

This first Mardi Gras Parade ended in violence and 53 people arrested, but the police crackdown fired up a community who would no longer be silent.

Mardi Gras had become a defining moment in the nation’s gay rights history. Our people were out of the closets and into the streets.