21 Gloriously Queer Photos from Sydney’s Mardi Gras Festivities

Gloriously Queer Photos from Sydney’s Mardi Gras Festivities

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is an international happening. What began in 1978 with a spirited protest has evolved and mature into one of the city's biggest cultural attractions, drawing an estimated half a million attendees to the glitter-covered city streets to celebrate. (National treasure Kylie Minogue even made an appearance alongside Courtney Act and Jake Shears.)

Proudly lead by a First Nations float, the parade this week saw everyone from the original protesters (dubbed the 78ers, the year of the first Mardi Gras) to a rainbow be-wigged Mark Kanemura dancing atop Facebook and Instagram's float strut their stuff down Oxford Street; almost two hundred groups marched in total. Support from the Mardi Gras Community Parade Grants Program, in partnership with Google, made it possible for a number of community groups to get involved, including NSW Trans Youth Alliance, Aboriginal Project ACON and Bi+ Visibility.

To commemorate the occasion, we took an iPhone XS Max to the pre-parade marshalling area to capture some of our favorite behind-the-scenes moments.