Department stores within cooee of the handful of gay and lesbian villages around the country are in overdrive.
Trollies are being filled with make up, spotlight is running short of any shiny material and there’s more hairspray polluting the air than at any other time of year.
Mardi Gras in Sydney has arrived yet again.
After the high of the 30th anniversary last year — thousands of queers around the world moaned when they were left stranded without a party ticket weeks before the event — the pressure on organisers this year is enormous. And not only do they have the 30th anniversary lag to deal with this year, there’s also the bleak economic outlook to contend with and the fact that the increasingly popular ChillOut Festival at Daylesford is on the same weekend.
And chances are there will be a significant downturn in the number of Melbourne visitors this year as the Victorian community unites to help those devastated by the recent bushfires rebuild their lives.
But New Mardi Gras chair David Imrie is upbeat about the festival’s prospects this year — the first under his presidency.
“We launch at Fair Day, an event that gets more popular every year. I love the eclectic mix of people of all ages and from all over our city. It goes to show what a big happy family our community can be when we put our mind to it,” he said.
“You can then enjoy three weeks of a festival that just keeps getting better. We’ve brought Joan Rivers out after the success of Margaret Cho last year. We’re working more closely all the time with major arts venues and companies and you can see the fruits of this effort in a really top-notch line-up, from high culture to sporting endeavour.
“We’re also running Harbour ’09. It’s our second year running this iconic party and we’re putting our all into making it a distinctly Mardi Gras event this year, with all the colour and creativity you would expect from us.
“Putting it bluntly there is simply no excuse for being bored in the three weeks leading up to March 7th and when that big day comes around you’ll know all about it. If you thought 2008 was a high point then think again. It’s 10 years till our next big anniversary and we’re not going to wait till then for a big one. One way or another you’ll want to be part of it, whether marching or watching.”
It seems Mardi Gras is bringing some big names to town in an effort to maintain crowd numbers and cover its costs.
Joan Rivers, the acidic queen of comedy, is heading to Australia for shows in Sydney and Melbourne – all being produced by new Mardi Gras. Rivers said she was eager to return to Australia.
“I’m really thrilled. I did it five years ago and I had such a good time. I said I would come back and now I’m coming back,” she said.
“I love the country. I think it’s beautiful and I love the people. I think the gay community is an amazing community. If I could choose, I would be a gay man — no question. I could decorate and be very chic and my daughters would really have good times with me.
Gay men are the best because they have both the woman’s sensibility and man’s sensibility.”
New Mardi Gras has even released details of its three key performers at the $135-ticket party after the parade, which is being televised this year on Foxtel.
Tina Arena, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Alison Jiear will all lend their significant voice and star power to the all-nighter, while Sam Sparro will add his artist-of-the-moment celebrity to Harbour Party and golden boy Matthew Mitcham to the parade.
Jiear, best known for the gay anthem I Just Want To Fucking Dance, is heading to Australia later this year to perform in Jerry Springer: The Opera. Her Mardi Gras performance will not only be a highlight of the party, but a significant promotional opportunity for the show.
“I can’t wait because I’ve never done Mardi Gras before. I’ve watched many parades in the past before but I’ve never actually performed there — it’s really a lifelong ambition,” she said.
“It’s such a celebration and I think for me they use the term ‘gay icon’. And I take my role as a gay icon very seriously. And I loved that my dance track had such an amazing success, despite never being released. It’s been so successful in the underground.”
Arena has played Mardi Gras before and knows what to expect. While her standing in the gay and lesbian community is nowhere near as strong as it once was, her performance is still expected to result in a significant number of ticket sales.
Bassingthwaighte is also no stranger to the Mardi Gras stage, having performed there as part of the Rogue Traders at a Sleaze Ball.
But this will be her first solo gig in front of more than 10,000 screaming, loved-up gays and lesbians — and you can expect a lot of nerves.
“I’m so excited to perform. Last year I was asked by all these journalists whether I would like to do Mardi Gras and then the next day the papers said that it was Natalie’s dream. I was thinking I didn’t say I was doing it and I felt a bit bad at the time but it worked in my favour,” she said.
“I’ve done Sleaze Ball and went along to the parade. Normally I’ve been working but my visions of Mardi Gras are all of my friends telling me how wonderful it is.
“Mardi Gras has come up with some really great concepts and we are just workshopping it at the moment — its going to be my favourite night ever. I’m going to do some songs people will know and it’ll be a mixture with hot dancers.”
Then of course you need to add Sam Sparro into the mix.
Sparro has agreed to headline Harbour Party, an event dogged by drug raids and poor numbers in recent years. Organisers are clearly hoping his presence will breathe new life into the dance party that takes place on the stunning edge of Sydney Harbour.
“Sam Sparro adds the final touch to this year’s already exciting Harbour ’09” Imrie said at the announcement of his signing.
“His iconic status in the gay community, and legendary performances around the world, make him an obvious choice for the event, and we expect a fantastic turn-out for this show.”
It seems there’s no stopping the Mardi Gras juggernaut — everyone’s excited about performing, everyone’s excited about the performers and everyone’s expecting to have the night of their lives.
Just how it finishes up at the end of the day will be determined by the bean counters, but one thing is for sure .. Sydney’s not going to let anyone or anything rain on its parade. Not this year. Not next year. Not ever.
Sydney Mardi Gras parade and party is on March 7. Tickets. www.ticketek.com.au
