Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade moved from Oxford Street for second year – 7NEWS
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade up Oxford Street has been scrapped again due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The iconic event will instead be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the second year in a row, with marchers to walk around the famous pitch as thousands of revellers cheer them on from the stands.
Organisers said they did not want to risk the 2022 parade being cancelled, with a ticketed seated event offering far more certainty.
“There is also a question mark on whether there will be future lockdowns after vaccine targets are met,” Mardi Gras chief executive Albert Kruger told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We do not want to be in a position where we may be forced to cancel the Mardi Gras parade.”
He promised the SCG parade on Saturday 6 March will feature “incredible music acts” and “colourful costumes”, with tickets selling for $25.
The Voice coach Rita Ora was the headline act at the 2021 event.
Mardi Gras organisers are hoping to bring the parade back to Oxford Street in 2023 when Sydney will host WorldPride.
The international LGTBI festival is expected to attract thousands of international visitors.
The “largest Pride celebration in the world” will tie in with the usual Mardi Gras program and adds an Opening Ceremony in The Domain, 50,000 person Pride March across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a dance party on Bondi Beach.