March 2, 2024
Key posts
7.48pmDykes on bikes kick off 2024 parade7.10pmFirst look at Qantas tribute to Luke Davies5.49pmWeather starts to turn as marshalling area fills up5.32pmPink might just be the colour of the parade4.40pmTensions in marshalling area over protest group4.16pmMinns to become first sitting premier to march3.28pmRoad closures already in place3.01pmJesse Baird and Luke Davies to be honoured at parade
Pinned post from 5.50pm
Catch up on all the looks in our Mardi Gras gallery
The false eyelashes have been fixed, the props have been hot glued, and pieces of glitter have entered carpets within which they will remain for months as 12,000 marchers and hundreds of thousands of revellers take part in the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Flick through the fabulousness in our gallery of snaps from the evening.
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7.48pm
Dykes on bikes kick off 2024 parade
By Amber Schultz and Michael Koziol
The Dykes on Bikes have opened the 2024 Sydney Mardi Gras, taking a minute to stop at the entrance to Taylor Square in honour of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
The music was cut as the crowd observed a moment’s silence.
We are used to seeing the Dykes roar through, blaring their horns and waving their arms and smiling their naughty smiles, so it was poignant to see them stand still as the men were remembered
Dykes on Bikes have opened the parade for 36 years running with a protective – and intimidating – roar of motorcycles.
President Emily Saunders said recent events served as a sombre reminder of the prejudice and violence the queer community faced.
The NSW government late last year released its report into the special commission of inquiry into gay hate crimes. Coupled with the “dreadful” murders of Baird and Davies, she said memories of violence and negative interactions with police would be brought to the surface for many.
“It brings back the reality of day to day life for queer people that you live with these risks, and also the history that that queer people in Sydney have always had a difficult relationship with the police, and a difficult relationship with violence,” she said.
Speaking at the top of the the ABC broadcast, co-host Courtney Act also acknowledged the tragedy.
“Tonight is a night for celebration for many, but tonight our hearts go out to the loved ones of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, two souls who won’t be marching with their community tonight,” she said.
7.22pm
Stools and protein bars the hot accessories in the crowd
By Amber Schultz
Sam Boniface, Sarah Campbell, TJ Mallick and Alex Micallef arrived at 4pm to score a viewing spot at the start of the parade.
They’ve come armed with protein bars and overpriced plastic stools they purchased from nearby.
“Extortion,” Boniface said, but getting there early was worth it.
Sam Boniface, Sarah Campbell, TJ Mallick and Alex Micallef at the parade.Credit: Amber Schultz
They also paid $10 for a can of Red Bull.
They can’t risk leaving to use the bathroom. Stores have stuck multiple signs up warning patrons there’s no use of the bathrooms.
“I might need this Red Bull can handy,” Micallef said.
7.10pm
First look at Qantas tribute to Luke Davies
As was reported last week, Qantas employees will use their float tonight to pay tribute to their colleague Luke Davies, who was allegedly murdered alongside Jesse Baird in Paddington last month.
Every year, the airline marches with a float shaped like the nose of a plane. Tonight’s float is a plane named the “Luke Davies”.
The 2024 Mardi Gras Qantas float.Credit: Jessica Hromas
Davies began flying with Qantas in September 2022 in Brisbane before moving to Sydney in November last year, where he flew on the international network.
On Tuesday, this masthead reported Davies’ characteristic act of kindness on one of his last flights with Qantas, caring for an elderly man dying of dementia, travelling with his wife from Sydney to their son’s home in Switzerland for one final visit before the father passed away.
The elderly man’s loved ones knew the flight would be among his last moments in the sky. Davies, however, did not.
The way Davies cared for the man and his wife during the flight brought his crewmates to tears, according to a fellow cabin crew member.
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6.58pm
Is it raining on this parade? A little, yes
Is it raining on this parade? A little, but the spirits of those lining Oxford Street to watch the spectacle have not been dampened.
Spectators shelter under a poncho. Credit: Jenny Evans/Getty
After our earlier optimistic weather report we must now reveal that light rain has settled in over central Sydney, and things are also a bit windy. The inclement weather is not enough to take shelter, but it might ruffle a few – literal – feathers.
Regardless, the stage is being set for the LGBTQ community’s biggest night of the year. Organisers expect more than 250,000 people will watch the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, with 200 floats taking part.
A paradegoer talks to a police officer on Saturday evening.Credit: Jenny Evans/Getty
Participants line up to take their place in the marshalling area.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
6.39pm
Blast from the past: Mardi Gras 1984
The parade theme this year is “Our Future”, but here is a blast from the past.
Cold Chisel filmed sections of the music video for Saturday Night at the 1984 Sydney Mardi Gras.
Lead singer Jimmy Barnes shared the clip this afternoon on social media, wishing everyone at tonight’s parade a great time.
6.23pm
When does everything kick off?
Hyde Park is now well and truly heaving with marchers ahead of tonight’s Mardi Gras parade.
Things will kick off around 7.30pm with some short speeches. First on the route will be the original ’78ers and the Dykes on Bikes who, as we reported earlier, will stop at Taylor Square for a moment to remember Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
No pedestrians will be allowed to cross the parade route after 7pm. So if you’re on your way to Oxford Street, keep that in mind!
Final touches are being made to costumes at Hyde Park.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Vira Deechai is ready to march. Credit: Jessica Hromas
If you’re staying home, we will be running this live blog all night, bringing you running updates from our reporters and photographers in amongst the action. ABC TV will also be broadcasting the parade live.
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6.12pm
Parade’s activist roots on show
Mardi Gras began in 1978 as an act of protest, and even as the parade has changed and evolved, for some marchers it is still in that spirit that they take part.
Our photographer Jessica Hromas has been at Hyde Park, capturing Mardi Gras participants who used their costumes and banners to make a political statement.
Some participants used their costumes to comment on the ongoing war in the Middle East. Credit: Jessica Hromas
Others referenced the events of the past week, as Mardi Gras organisers ultimately directed police to march without uniforms following the alleged murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies by constable Beau Lamarre-Condon.Credit: Jessica Hromas
5.50pm
Catch up on all the looks in our Mardi Gras gallery
The false eyelashes have been fixed, the props have been hot glued, and pieces of glitter have entered carpets within which they will remain for months as 12,000 marchers and hundreds of thousands of revellers take part in the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Flick through the fabulousness in our gallery of snaps from the evening.
5.49pm
Weather starts to turn as marshalling area fills up
By Amber Schultz
With just an hour to go, Hyde Park is starting to fill up with a slow-moving queue to get into the parade holding area.
But the weather has turned with a consistent light drizzle pushing people under trees to protect their costumes, while others are rushing to pull on their plastic ponchos.
Scenes at Hyde Park ahead of the Mardi Gras parade.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Marchers as the weather turns on Saturday afternoon.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Kiakya Doenau and Stacy Napper with the Mid North Coast Pride float spent a few hours getting ready: Napper is adorned in glitter and Doenau is in glam makeup.
They’re a little worried about the rain.
“I’ll just have to use my fan!” Doenau said.
It’s their first time marching in the parade after attending as spectators.
“We want to represent community and be surrounded by community,” Napper said
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5.32pm
Pink might just be the colour of the parade
Our photographer Flavio Brancaleone is at Hyde Park, snapping marchers as they prepare for the night’s festivities.
And if there’s one thing to take away from the array of fabulous looks being expertly kept off the wet grass, it’s this: the colour of the 2024 Mardi Gras looks to be pink.
It makes sense: we are still living in the year of the Barbie movie. My colleague Amber Schultz even spoke to a representative of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee – regular Mardi Gras participants – who confirmed their float this evening would be inspired by Margot Robbie’s blockbuster.
Mardi Gras marchers at Hyde Park before the parade.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
More than 12,000 people will march in this year’s parade.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Members of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee at Hyde Park.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone.
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