Mardi Gras Has Officially Cancelled The 2026 After Party

Looks like the Party’s officially over, with Mardi Gras today cancelling its iconic annual post-Parade Party for 2026, citing a number of setbacks including huge financial losses and last minute artist cancellations.

In an email on Tuesday afternoon, Mardi Gras CEO Jesse Matheson broke the news that there would not be a Mardi Gras Party in any capacity.

“After reviewing the Mardi Gras PARTY’s financial performance, capacity constraints following the loss of the Royal Hall of Industries, community feedback, and changing demographics of attendees, it became clear that the event in its traditional format was no longer fit for purpose or aligned with our future vision to be a celebration event for our entire LGBTIQA+ community,” Matheson said.

“As CEO, I could not continue to sell expensive tickets to an event I did not believe offered value for our community, honoured the Mardi Gras PARTY’s legacy, or protected the organisation’s financial future.

“For 2026, we pursued a new vision: a post-Parade celebration in a single space large enough to bring our whole community together, complemented by additional venues delivered with outstanding community producers. We made real progress, including unlocking extended trading hours for an outside event, and designing moments to celebrate Parade entrants and offer lower-cost access to those historically excluded from the Mardi Gras PARTY.

“However, significant setbacks followed. Over the Christmas break, we lost our headline artist. Despite tireless efforts to secure a replacement, this also fell through just before the recent long weekend. While Mardi Gras PARTY has always been about more than a big-name headliner, at the same time, delivery costs continued to rise across production, infrastructure, staffing and compliance.”

Matheson said that as such, he made the difficult decision to pause the Mardi Gras Party for 2026.

“Instead, we will focus on supporting the incredible community-led events taking place across the city on Parade night. Many of these producers are facing their own pressures, and I strongly encourage our community to get behind them.”

“Heartbreaking” decision, says CEO

In their last communication before Christmas, Mardi Gras had said the party would be taking place at Moore Park Entertainment Quarter in a “reimagined format”, with updates delayed as a result of the Bondi terror attack.

Matheson said that the Party huge $2 million cost- sometimes costing more to deliver than the Parade itself- was only getting more expensive to produce. The Party has been running a deficit since 2021- last year’s celebration cost $1,504,999 with $1,361,838 in ticket sales, earning only $143,161 in revenue for the event.

In the email, Matheson said organisers would “explore whether a small-scale celebration at the end of Parade is possible”, and will be in contact with community by the end of the week.

“This has been heartbreaking — but I believe it is the right decision for our community and for the future of Mardi Gras,” Matheson said.

“Thank you to everyone who held faith in us – and in what the Mardi Gras PARTY can become. For those disappointed, from the bottom of my heart, please accept my heartfelt apology.”