The City of Sydney, Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Council have long supported Sydney’s LGBTIQ communities.

There are more LGBTIQ people in the City of Sydney than any other council area in Australia. The City has demonstrated its commitment to LGBTIQ residents and visitors through partnerships, consultations with the community, advocacy work against homophobia, our financial and in-kind support of the ‘Yes’ campaign (2017) and of course our continued support for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival and Parade.

The City of Sydney supports Mardi Gras as an internationally celebrated event that honours the history of LGBTIQ communities in Australia. Mardi Gras showcases LGBTIQ cultures and honours its contemporary struggles.

As a global city, the City of Sydney is proud to support Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and showcase its diversity to the world. First recognising Mardi Gras as a major festival in 2008, the City of Sydney provided $120,000 in sponsorship in recognition of its significance as a hallmark event and positive impact on the NSW economy.

Since 2012, the City of Sydney has provided more than $2.25 million dollars in support of Mardi Gras through sponsorship agreements.  Support has included cash grants, banner pole hire, major venues hire and accommodation grants for office space on Oxford Street from 2014 to 2019.  A further sponsorship agreement for Mardi Gras is now in place, valued at almost $1 million, including an $800,000 cash contribution to the festival for 2018 to 2020.

The City of Sydney has entered a float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade every year since 2005. In support of the LGBTIQ communities, the City of Sydney has flown the Rainbow Flag over Town Hall during Mardi Gras and Pride weeks each year since 2009.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Mardi Gras, in 2013 the City of Sydney installed a temporary rainbow crossing on Oxford Street. The new rainbow crossing on Campbell and Bourke streets is now a lasting symbol of the history and contemporary culture of the LGBTIQ communities in its heartland of Oxford Street and surrounds.

In 2018, the City was also proud to support the installation of the temporary artwork ‘40 Years of Love’.  The artwork was an expression of the 40 year history of Mardi Gras and the LGBTIQ communities in Australia.