The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival will return to Sydney in 2025 for three weeks’ worth of pride celebrations, the organisation behind it announced on Thursday as it revealed the theme and dates.
The 17-day celebration will begin on Friday, February 14, and culminate in the Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday, March 1. The last official day of the festival is March 2.
Fair Day will also make a return in 2025 after it was cancelled this year due to asbestos being found in mulch at Victoria Park, but there is limited space for stallholders due to more than 90 per cent of 2024’s stallholders rolling over into 2025.
There is no word yet on whether the Bondi Beach Party will return, although this seems unlikely given comments from Sydney Mardi Gras earlier this year that 2025’s festival would be “leaner”. This year’s Bondi Beach Party attracted 5825 attendees for an event with a 15,000 people capacity.
The theme for 2025 is “Free To Be”, which Sydney Mardi Gras describes as a “celebration of the strides toward true LGBTQIA+ equality while also acting as a global reminder that our fight is far from over, and that we are not truly free until we are all free to be”.
“Free To Be is a manifesto of what our community has desired and fought for dozens of decades, and the reason why we will continue to be here, fighting, celebrating and being fiercely visible for the generations to come,” Sydney Mardi Gras chief executive officer Gil Beckwith said in a statement.
Beckwith said the 2025 festival, which will celebrate 47 years of Mardi Gras in Sydney, promises to bring unforgettable moments, radiant performances and vibrant events.
“Our theme is about making a statement to embrace and rejoice in our unique individuality as well as our collective identity,” said Beckwith. “It is about the bravery to rise for each other in the darkest of times and protect the progress we’ve made, using it as a springboard toward the progress we deserve.”
The full festival calendar and ticket sales will be revealed later in the year, but applications to march in the 2025 parade opened on Thursday.
Up to 200 floats are anticipated to take to the streets, and this year airline partner Qantas will provide up to $25,000 worth of flights for interstate and regional groups to participate in the event.
American Express has also returned as the principal partner for the 2025 and 2026 festivals.
“Both of our organisations embrace diversity and stand for equity and inclusion, and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a powerful stage on which those values are celebrated,” said American Express vice president of brand, marketing and member experience Naysla Edwards.
Coles Group is also back for 2025 as the festival’s presenting partner, while the City of Sydney is the government partner.
Earlier this year, a $1.1 million emergency relief package was secretly provided to the Mardi Gras organisation by Destination NSW after it projected a $1,095,000 deficit for the financial year. The City of Sydney agreed to contribute half of that money.
Editor’s note: Journalists Ben Grubb and Eliot Hastie are Sydney Mardi Gras members for venue discount purposes only.
Gay Sydney News reporter
Gay Sydney News editor