A record number of gays and lesbians and their families and friends celebrated the 30th Sydney Mardi Gras on Saturday night.
About 10,000 revellers and a further 400,000 rainbow flag-waving onlookers answered the critics and doomsayers who, in the lead-up to the parade, claimed Mardi Gras had lost its way.
Led by veterans of the first Mardi Gras, the '78ers, Saturday night's parade contained many politically-themed entries alongside the more colourful, crazy and outrageous ones.
The '78ers received a particularly warm welcome from the onlookers who lined Oxford Street for the event's 30th birthday bash.
Among other popular paraders were the progressive Jewish group Dayenu, who marched with Beit el Hob (House of Love), a group for LGBTQs of Middle Eastern backgrounds.
Crowds also gave a rousing cheer for the members of the Australian Defence Force, who marched for the first time.
Also marching for the first time was the new commander of Surry Hills police, Superintendent Donna Adney, who was appointed partly in response to concern over homophobic hate crimes in the area.
In a further challenge to media reports that gay people "aren't really that interested" in events like Mardi Gras, tickets to the official after-party at Moore Park sold out completely.
A late release of tickets made available through Ticketek at noon on Friday was snapped up in just four minutes. And though Mardi Gras organisers warned they would not accept passes bought from scalpers, sellers on internet auction sites such as e-bay were demanding up to $500.
Highlights of the after-party included Olivia Newton-John, who brought the house down with a performance of her campy 80s classic, ‘Xanadu’.
Veteran showgirl Carlotta joined cabaret star David Campbell and 40 drag artists for a rendition of ‘I Am What I Am’ from La Cage Aux Folles.
And Cydni Lauper closed the celebrations at 8am Sunday with a rendition of her anthem, ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’.
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