2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival dates and Parade announced!

2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival dates and Parade date announced!

The iconic Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival will return to Sydney from 14 February – 2 March 2025, ready to bedazzle the emerald city with a celebration of pride and diversity. FREE TO BE will be the central theme for 2025 festivities.

Celebrating 47 years, Sydney Mardi Gras continues to stand strong as a pillar of strength and unity and a monument for creativity and self-expression within LGBTQIA+ communities in Sydney and across the globe. The 2025 Festival promises to bring unforgettable moments, radiant performances, and vibrant events that honour the past, celebrate the present and inspire a future of inclusivity and acceptance.

The 17-day celebration culminates in the world famous Sydney Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday 1 March 2025. Community groups from around the country will gather on Oxford St, Flinders St, and Anzac Pde for the spectacular march, with their float concepts drawing on the 2025 theme, FREE TO BE.

The 2025 Festival theme FREE TO BE is 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,” said Gil Beckwith, CEO of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. “Our theme is about making a statement to embrace and rejoice in our unique individuality as well as our collective identity. 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 this year promising a vibrant tribute to resilience, diversity and solidarity. A raft of ways to get involved in the 2025 Festival have also been announced today:

• Mardi Gras Parade: Applications to march in the 2025 Parade open today, 15 August, with up to 200 floats anticipated to take the streets. New for 2025, Airline Partner Qantas will provide up to a total of $25,000 worth of flights for interstate and regional groups, supporting them to participate in the 2025 Parade. Eligible groups can apply as part of the application process.
• Fair Day presented by American Express: Applications to host a stall at Fair Day 2025 open today, 15 August, with very limited spaces available following over 90% of 2024 stallholders rolling over to 2025.
• Volunteer: Applications to volunteer at the 2025 Festival open in September 2024.
• Mardi Gras+: Entries to host your event as part of the open-access Festival program ‘Mardi Gras+’ open today, 15 August.

Sydney Mardi Gras also announces the return of American Express as Principal Partner of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for the 2025 and 2026 Festivals.

Naysla Edwards, Vice President of Brand, Marketing and Member Experience said, “American Express has a long history of proudly backing our colleagues, customers and communities and we are delighted to extend our partnership with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras into 2026. 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.”

The annual Festival takes place in the Australian hub for arts, culture, live music and performance making the glistening shores of Sydney the perfect backdrop for the 2025 Festival. Beyond the Festival’s official program, visitors can explore renowned galleries, museums and theatre as well as a booming food and creative scene.

For more information head to mardigras.12.efront.dev

The 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival is proudly supported by Principal Partner American Express, Presenting Partner Coles Group and Government Partner of the Sydney Mardi Gras Festival, the City of Sydney.