Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras: Difference between revisions
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* [[Alcazar (band)]] (2002) |
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* '''1990''' - [[Sam Backo]], [[Marcia Hines]] |
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* [[Courtney Act]] (2005) |
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* [[Vanessa Amorosi]] (2001) |
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* '''1995''' - [[Boy George]] |
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* [[Christine Anu]] (2001) |
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* '''1996''' - Trudi Valentine, [[Thelma Houston]] |
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* [[Tina Arena]] (2005) (2009) |
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* '''1997''' - [[Chaka Khan]], [[Village People]] |
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* [[Sam Backo]] (1990) |
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* '''1998''' - [[Jimmy Somerville]], [[Kylie Minogue]], [[Danni Minogue]] |
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* [[Bardot]] (2002) |
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* '''1999''' - [[Danni Minogue]], [[Marcia Hines]], [[Erin Hamilton]], [[Jimmy Barnes]] |
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* [[Jimmy Barnes]] (1999) |
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* '''2001''' - [[Vanessa Amorosi]], [[Sheena Easton]], [[Christine Anu]] |
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* [[Deborah Cox]] (2002) |
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* [[Young Divas]] (2007) |
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* [[Sheena Easton]] (2001) |
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* [[Nicki French]] |
* '''2005''' - [[Nicki French]], [[Darren Hayes]], [[Tina Arena]], [[Courtney Act]] |
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* '''2006''' - Baby Marcelo, [[Jimmy Sommerville]] |
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* [[Boy George]] |
* '''2007''' - [[Young Divas]], [[Boy George]] |
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* '''2008''' - [[Cyndi Lauper]], [[Olivia Newton John]] |
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* [[Erin Hamilton]] (1999) |
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* [[Darren Hayes]] (2005) |
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* '''2010''' - [[George Michael]], [[Kelly Rowland]], [[Adam Lambert]], [[Amanda Lepore]] |
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* [[Marcia Hines]] (1990, 1999) |
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* [[Thelma Houston]] (1996) |
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* [[Chaka Khan]] (1997) |
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* [[Cyndi Lauper]] (2008) |
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* Baby Marcelo (2006) |
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* [[Danni Minogue]] (1998, 1999) |
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* [[Kylie Minogue]] (1994, 1998) |
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* [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] (1998) |
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* [[Olivia Newton John]] (2008) |
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) |
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* [[George Michael]] (2010) |
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* [[Kelly Rowland]] (2010) |
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* [[Adam Lambert]] (2010) |
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* [[Amanda Lepore]] (2010) |
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* [[Village People]] (1997) |
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* [[Jimmy Sommerville]] (1998, 2006) |
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* Trudi Valentine (1996) |
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Revision as of 00:13, 1 March 2011
The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is an annual gay pride parade and festival for the LGBT community in Sydney, Australia, and is the largest such event in the world[citation needed]. The parade features individual entrants in colourful costumes, gatherings of local and inter-state community group members, and elaborate floats representating a topical theme or political message.
The parade and dance party attract many international and domestic tourists. Mardi Gras is one of Australia's biggest tourist drawcards,[1] providing a significant economic boost of around $30 to $90 million Australian dollars to Sydney each year.[2] The celebrations emerged during the early 1980s after arrests were made during pro-gay rights protests that began in 1978. Despite its name, it is not held on Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday) or indeed, on a Tuesday at all.[3]
History
The first Mardi Gras was held on 24 June 1978 at 10 pm as a night-time celebration following a morning protest march and commemoration of the Stonewall Riots.[4] Although the organisers had obtained permission, this was revoked, and the march was broken up by the police. 53 of the marchers were arrested.[5] Although most charges were eventually dropped, the Sydney Morning Herald published the names of those arrested in full, leading to many people being outed to their friends and places of employment, and many of those arrested lost their jobs as homosexuality was a crime in New South Wales (NSW) until 1984.[6]
In 1981 the parade was shifted to February, with the name changed to the "Sydney Gay Mardi Gras".[5] An increasingly large number of people not only participated in the now summertime event, but larger numbers of the wider community turned out to watch the parade.[citation needed] In 1988 the parade was renamed the "Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras".[5]
The Parade
The parade, whilst featuring many in the gay community with a penchant for exotic costumes and dance music, has always retained a political edge, with often witty visual commentary on their political opponents featuring in the floats. As homosexuality became more and more accepted in the wider community, more gay representatives of community groups and organisations have taken part in the parade, including the police force. Each parade starts with about 200 "Dykes on Bykes" riding up Oxford Street.[7] It is often accompanied by fireworks displays, which are launched from the rooftops of buildings along the parade route.
The Chief of Parade is decided each year by the organisation, and this title was given to gay film star, Rupert Everett in 2007, and American comedian, Margaret Cho in 2008. In 2009, the Chief of Parade was openly gay, Australian Olympic gold-medalist and 2008 Australian Sports Performer of the Year, Matthew Mitcham.[7] In 2008, gay icon and comic, Kathy Griffin filmed an episode of her Emmy-winning reality series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List in Sydney during Mardi Gras and participated in the Parade.
The parade travels along Oxford Street before turning into Flinders Street and finally into the Buslane that runs parallel to Anzac Parade - to the parade end. These roads and others including some around Hyde Park, are closed to traffic for the duration of the parade and for a few hours after as clean-up operations proceed.
Opposition
Mardi Gras has consistently attracted opposition from numerous sources of various religious and political affiliations. Each year the event is held, Fred Nile, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a former minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, leads a prayer for rain on the event.[8]
Criticism of Sydney's Mardi Gras was perhaps at its strongest during the early years of the AIDS crisis, and flared again when in 1994 the national broadcaster, ABC, telecast the parade for the first time.[5] Triple J radio has broadcast the event live across the nation a number of times as well.
Support
Political support has come from a number of local and federal politicians such as Senators Natasha Stott Despoja and Penny Wong, Members of the House of Representatives Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek as well as the present Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore.[9]
The crowds generally begin to appear at midday on the day of the parade and by 8 pm crowds in some sections of the parade route are 5–10 people deep. Though it has rained on several Mardi Gras parades (notably with heavy downpours prior to, and drizzle during, the parade in 1995, and heavy rainfall during the parade in 2004), this has never stopped the parade.[citation needed]
The event was quite popular within Australia's GLBTI communities and the international "Gay Party Circuit" and for a while was quite a lucrative event. An evaluation of the 1998 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras estimated the event injected $99 million into the NSW state economy.[10] In the 2000s the Mardi Gras organisation struck financial trouble, and collapsed. This was attributed at the time by some to poor financial management, but others[who?] in the gay community have claimed that these events indicated that homosexuality has "gone mainstream" and is now so integrated into the wider suburban Australian community that the need to band together for such events is declining.
Another explanation was given as Australia's ongoing public liability crisis, which has seen massive insurance premiums impose a significant burden on community and public events, if not preventing them. As a consequence of the impending collapse of the organisation, there was a groundswell of concern and support within Sydney's GLBTI communities for the continuation of the work and events of Mardi Gras and a series of crisis meetings culminated in the creation of a reformed organisation "New Mardi Gras" being formed to continue the Parade, the Festival & the Party.
Limited funds have also been sourced from the Sleaze Ball party held in Sydney towards the end of the year. Mardi Gras still receives significant public support and the event now receives some limited government funding which should go towards ensuring that it remains a part of Sydney culture for some time.[citation needed] In 2009, the parade returned to prime-time television, and was telecast live on Foxtel's pay-per-view channel Main Event in its entirety. The parade was also broadcast on radio by Joy 94.9 FM Melbourne and 2SER 107.3 FM Sydney. In 2010, the parade was shown live on Foxtel's Arena Channel in its entirety[citation needed]. The parade was also broadcast on radio live by various community radio stations, via the CBAA's Community Radio Network satellite[citation needed].
Post Parade Party
The post parade party is one the largest ongoing party events in the country. Mardi Gras Party attendances at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion / Royal Hall of Industries peaked in 1998 with 27,000 tickets sold.[11] In the years since 17,000 to 20,000 tickets are consistently sold, an extraordinary explosion since the first Parade Ball held in 1980 at the Paddington Town Hall, a BYO event which attracted 700 guests.[12]
In the last 20 years, several well known local and international artists have performed at the Party and include:[13]
) |
Mardi Gras today
Normally the launch of the Festival is held at the Sydney Opera House during the last week of January. Fair Day, which is held mid festival at Victoria Park, is a day-time event attended by 65,000 people. The following weekend, the same park hosts the Pool Party. It commences just before sunset and there is non-stop entertainment for 1000 lycra-clad guests.[citation needed] For many years a fully themed, magazine style guide with information on all events has been produced. Several multi-disc Mardi Gras compilation albums were released in 1996, 1997 and 2003.
The festival's live entertainment including cabarets, comedy, music and theatre. The Mardi Gras Film Festival showcases gay and lesbian films. There are many literature and arts events, forum and conferences to attend between the many social activities. Individual and team sports have always been a part of the festival.[citation needed]
A celebrity at the 2007 Mardi Gras was Rupert Everett, who attended various events throughout the festival. He was the 2007 Chief of the Mardi Gras Festival and Chief of the 2007 Parade. On 26 February 2007, he discussed his autobiography "Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins" at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre in front of a packed house. His comments about openly gay Sydney real estate agents Michael Marquette and Simon Turner were captured by both SX Magazine and The Sydney Star Observer. He complimented the duo on their courage in coming out in what he thought to be a really difficult industry to be openly gay.[citation needed]
The 2009 performance figures indicated about 9500 participants and 134 floats were part of the parade, making it the largest ever.[14]
Over recent years, there has been growing criticism over the festival's increased level of sponsorship. This has led to several debates over whether or not the parade is still relevant as a political statement and an expression of pride.[15] Statistics show that homophobic hate crimes seem to peak during the festival period.[16]
Corpus Christi
In January 2008, Robert Forsyth, Anglican bishop of South Sydney condemned Corpus Christi, which opened for Mardi Gras, because it depicted Judas seducing a gay Jesus as well as Jesus' administration of gay marriage between two apostles. Director Leigh Rowney accepted that it would generate discussion on Homosexuality and Christianity stating: "I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering questions about Christianity as a faith system." Playwright Terrence McNally, a gay man, received death threats when it was played in the United States.[17]
See also
References
- ^ Christine Sams (7 March 2004). "Statements and sequins on parade". The Sun-Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Josephine Tovey (6 February 2010). "City finds rival for Mardi Gras". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Mardi Gras 2009 Parade". New Mardi Gras. mardigras.org.au. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ "Mardi Gras". George Negus Tonight (Transcript). www.abc.net.au. 6.30pm on 01/03/2004. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d "Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras". Australian Museum. austmus.gov.au. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. "New South Wales Year Book, 1998". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ a b Adam Bennett and Vincent Morello (2009-03-07). "Mardi Gras gaiety lightens economic gloom". healdsun.com.au. Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 2009-03-08. [dead link]
- ^ "The power of one". Sydney Morning Herald. 2008-01-05.
- ^ "Clover Moore Political Website". Gay and Lesbian Issues.
- ^ (Marsh, I. & Levy, S. (1998) Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras: Economic Impact Statement 1998 Sydney, Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Ltd)
- ^ Pinkboard Mardi Gras History 90s
- ^ Pinkboard Mardi Gras History 80s
- ^ "Pinkboard History of Post Parade Parties". Party details, including poster artwork for each party.
- ^ "Economic woes fail to rain on Mardi Gras parade". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
- ^ The corporatisation of Mardi Gras. Green Left Weekly
- ^ Gay hate crimes to "increase" during Sydney Mardi Gras Sydney Central.
- ^ Afp.google.com, Row erupts in Australia over 'gay' Jesus play: report
External links
