The Progress Pride Flag has been raised above Sydney Town Hall to officially mark the start of more than two weeks of Mardi Gras celebrations.
Attending the Progress Pride flag raising ceremony on Friday were Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organisers, key members of rainbow communities, participants of the first Mardi Gras protest in 1978 known as the 78ers, representatives from Sydney’s LGBTIQA+ groups and other official supporters of the celebrations.
Raising the flag kicks off a festival of more than 80 events and attractions including the Mardi Gras Parade and Party, Fair Day, Blak & Deadly: The First Nations Gala Concert, Paradiso Pool Party, Laugh Out Proud comedy show and Ultra Violet, the ultimate LGBTIQA+ women’s event.
Championing equality and human rights, the theme for the 2025 Mardi Gras festival is ‘free to be’ – encouraging everyone to embrace and celebrate individuality and bravery.
Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said the festival, now in its fifth decade, is as relevant and provocative as ever.
“The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival is one of the most anticipated events on the Sydney calendar and one we celebrate with pride,” the Lord Mayor said.
Last year’s event was attended by more than 300,000 people and generated around $38 million for the NSW economy.
“Raising the Progress Pride flag above this important civic building sends the resounding message that everyone is welcome in Sydney,” the Lord Mayor said.
“The City of Sydney has a very long history of supporting the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and we’re proud to celebrate the iconic community festival in 2025.”
For the 20th consecutive year, the City of Sydney will take part in the Mardi Gras Parade and this year they’re making a statement about censorship and the push for book bans.
The ‘not a fan of a book ban’ themed float will feature 80 participants dressed in colourful costumes purchased from various Oxford Street stores.
The City of Sydney float will include a choreographed routine to a mash-up soundtrack of Armand van Helden’s You Don’t Know Me, Taylor Swift’s You Need to Calm Down and Troye Sivan and Pnau’s You Know What I Need.
The theme speaks out against the banning of books featuring same-sex families in public libraries.
“Our theme was developed in workshops with our pride employee network last year – it reflects the feelings of our employees and their push to stand up for the values of inclusion,” the Lord Mayor said.
“We’ll come together to proudly showcase the City of Sydney’s commitment to equality and celebrate the power of diversity and individuality.”
Throughout the festival, the City of Sydney will fly 90 Mardi Gras banners and 350 pride flag banners in and around the city. The festival banners are in addition to the permanent pride flag and pride crossing at Taylor Square and new pride intersection officially opened today by the Lord Mayor at the QTOPIA museum.
Since 2014, the City of Sydney has provided $4.1 million in cash and in-kind or non-monetary support for the festival.
