Sydney’s Finest Horse Around for Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras shows Sydney for what we are: bold, brash and out for cash. Ever since the first protesters marched down Oxford Street into the holding cells of the Kings Cross police station in 1978, the Golden Mile has been Australia’s most visible queer village. Nowadays Darlinghurst has become a popular destination for gay tourists. No wonder the State government provides financial support for a globally pre-eminent gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual gathering. As State Education Minister Verity Firth told a packed, international media conference on the morning of the parade, “Mardi Gras attracts 21,000 visitors to Sydney and generates $30 million into our local economy.”  Cashed-up, single, international and interstate visitors in frocks and jocks flock to this town. And what do they find when they get here?

This year’s Mardi Gras parade went into lock down at 6:30pm. Hyde Park was a no go zone, following last year’s anti social, drunken brawls. After the street party was disrupted by “certain elements”, this year “the authorities” as a Mardi Gras spokesperson told the press, put up a stronger gate to deter the gatecrashers. Visitors and locals alike pressed up against the six-foot tall barricades for hours waiting for the parade to begin. While the dykes on bikes rumbled in the distance, mounted police marched their horses up against the fence. Terrified old ladies clung to the barriers and parents pulled their children back in terror. Welcome to Sydney. Be careful.