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Organisers of the Pride In Protest Mardi Gras float “Celebration Without Compromise” have shared the news that their float has been removed from the 2026 parade — which is tonight.
In response they will be holding a snap rally at Sydney City Hall at 3:30pm.
Pride In Protest float removed from Mardi Gras
Organisers of the Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras officially removed the float from Pride In Protest (PiP) as of 9pm Friday evening.
Jesse Matheson CEO of SGLMG advised the group via email following correspondence sent to the float organisers at 11am on Friday morning.
In emails sighted by Star Observer, organisers of PiP were sent a formal warning “regarding compliance with the 2026 Parade Entrant Terms & Conditions,” with a request of response by 5pm Friday February 27.
The warning pertained to social media posts made by Pride In Protest regarding LGBTQIA+ Jewish group Dayenu.
In posts made on February 19 and 21, Pride in Protest made two posts on social media relating to claims that Dayenu was pulling out of the parade. Daneyu announced they were marching again just a few days after their initial statement.
“These posts include statements characterising Dayenu as “pro-genocide” and alleging that Dayenu “support genocide” the official correspondence reads.
“In 2024, Dayenu publicly opposed the SGLMG Board’s open letter calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” Pride In Protest said in a statement issued on Saturday morning.
“At the time, LGBTQIA+ Jews of Tzedek Collective denounced Dayenu’s “anti-Palestinian” statement and called them out for “holding onto Zionist ideologies and the perpetration of genocide”. Following this, Dayenu paid for then-director of SGLMG Louis Hudson to visit Israel.”
Instructions from Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras stated that in order to remain in the parade, PiP must “Delete or retract the social media posts” and “Provide written confirmation that you have read, understood and will comply with the T&Cs, including (without limitation) Section 9 (Code of Conduct), at all relevant times, in the lead-up to and during the Parade.” Organisers were also reminded that they must “confirm in writing the steps that you will take to ensure compliance by all of its Participants.”
The correspondence concluded that failure to comply with the instructions “may result in denial of permission to participate in the 2026 Parade, immediate removal from the Parade and/or exclusion from future Parades.”
At 9:13pm Matheson advised organisers via email that due to a lack of written response, they decision to cease their involvement had been actioned, stating “as no response was received within the required timeframe, the Pride in Protest entry has regrettably been removed from the Parade.”
“The Mardi Gras CEO’s threat to remove Pride in Protest was issued at 11am on the day before the parade, giving just six hours until close of business to respond,” Pride In Protest said in a statement.
“It was based on allegations Pride in Protest had breached parade terms and conditions for a social media post critiquing the “pro-genocide” stance of another parade participant.”
“This is a disgusting and unprecedented overreach by the SGLMG leadership who are destroying the organisation with their vendettas” said Evan Gray (they/them) of Pride In Protest. “Ordering groups to remove social media posts criticising support for the genocide, regardless of the truth, is a way of equating Jewishness with genocide. It is Zionism.”
Dr Amanda Cohn, Member of the NSW Legislative Council, also denounced the actions of Mardi Gras stating, “It’s an extraordinary act of censorship to exclude Pride in Protest from the Sydney Mardi Gras parade, especially when the organisers are happy to include the Liberal Party who have called for the parade’s funding to be reviewed and continue to vote against LGBTQIA+ rights in Parliament.”
78er Mark Gillespie called out the organisation for their actions and their continued inclusion of the NSW Police force, stating, “SGLMG board members have unwisely decided to include uniformed NSW police and hateful groups that stand for the use of violence in our 48th parade. They might feel that they are playing it safe and are being ‘inclusive.’ But there are dangers in always playing it safe. As Dag Hammarskjold, an early Secretary-General of the United Nations and a gay man from Sweden with experience of the Nazi occupation of his country during WWII who wrote: “It is when we play it safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity.”
Mardi Gras responds
Jesse Matheson issued a statement on behalf of Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras.
“Following a formal written warning issued on 27 February regarding breaches of the 2026 Parade Terms & Conditions, Pride in Protest has been removed from this year’s Parade,” he confirmed.
“Participation in the Parade is conditional on compliance with our Terms & Conditions, including the Code of Conduct provisions that prohibit harassment, bullying, vilification or discriminatory conduct toward other Parade participants.”
“Pride in Protest were asked to remove unacceptable public commentary levelled against another small community group marching in the Parade. Their float marshal were also asked to confirm they had read and understood the Parade Terms & Conditions before marching in the Parade. Neither actions were undertaken,” he stated.
“Regardless of differing political views or perspectives, the manner in which we engage with one another matters. Language or behaviour that targets, intimidates or undermines the safety and dignity of other community members is not consistent with the standards of care we expect within our Parade. All float marshals and Parade applicants have the responsibility to understand and uphold the Parade Terms & Conditions and Code of Conduct.”
“Mardi Gras was born from protest. However, no group has the right to target or vilify another LGBTQIA+ community within the Parade. Our focus remains on delivering a Parade that upholds both our history and our responsibility to provide a safe, inclusive environment for all.”
“This decision reflects our obligation and priority to ensure the safety, dignity and inclusion of all entrants.”
Jean Maxine of Pride In Protest said that the timing of the requests were not reasonable.
“We would like to reiterate that Jesse’s email was sent to the inbox of an individual working full-time in the medical sector at 11am on a Friday, demanding a response by COB,” Maxine said.
“The float marshal was not given time to respond to these demands due to this unreasonable expectation around response time.”
“Further, a request for an extension to the deadline was made over a phone call, and later declined.”
“After the 5pm deadline, Pride in Protest received a reminder from float organisers confirming that they would be marching, which was followed hours later by a confirmation of our float’s removal,” stated Maxine.
“This is all to say that Jesse Matheson’s engagement in this discussion has not been good faith.”
Pride in Protest will be holding a snap protest rally outside Sydney City Hall today, Saturday February 28, at 3:30pm.
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