Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival will return to Sydney from 14 February – 2 March 2025, ready to bedazzle the emerald city with a celebration of pride and diversity. FREE TO BE will be the central theme for 2025 festivities.
2025 will be the festival’s 47th year, and the community organisation that puts on the festival says 2025 promises to bring unforgettable moments, radiant performances, and vibrant events that honour the past, celebrate the present and inspire a future of inclusivity and acceptance.
The 17-day celebration culminates in the world-famous Sydney Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday, 1 March 2025. Community groups from around the country will gather on Oxford St, Flinders St, and Anzac Pde for the spectacular march, with their float concepts drawing on the 2025 theme, FREE TO BE.
The 2025 Festival theme FREE TO BE is a celebration of the strides toward true LGBTQIA+ equality while also acting as a global reminder that our fight is far from over, and that we are not truly free until we are all free to be.
“Free To Be is a manifesto of what our community has desired and fought for dozens of decades, and the reason why we will continue to be here, fighting, celebrating and being fiercely visible for the generations to come,” said Gil Beckwith, CEO of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. “Our theme is about making a statement to embrace and rejoice in our unique individuality as well as our collective identity. It is about the bravery to rise for each other in the darkest of times and protect the progress we’ve made, using it as a springboard toward the progress we deserve.”
It’s also a throwback for those who remember it as the call sign of the aspirant L gay radio station from the early 2000s, FREEfm, which used the phrase as its call sign.
The full Festival calendar and ticket sales will be revealed later this year, promising a vibrant tribute to resilience, diversity and solidarity. A raft of ways to get involved in the 2025 Festival have also been announced today:
• Mardi Gras Parade: Applications to march in the 2025 Parade open today, 15 August, with up to 200 floats anticipated to take the streets. New for 2025, Airline Partner Qantas will provide up to a total of $25,000 worth of flights for interstate and regional groups, supporting them to participate in the 2025 Parade. Eligible groups can apply as part of the application process.
• Fair Day presented by American Express: Applications to host a stall at Fair Day 2025 open today, 15 August, with very limited spaces available following over 90% of 2024 stallholders rolling over to 2025.
• Volunteer: Applications to volunteer at the 2025 Festival open in September 2024.
• Mardi Gras+: Entries to host your event as part of the open-access Festival program ‘Mardi Gras+’ open today, 15 August.
Corporations are continuing their support of the festival, with American Express returning as principal partners until 2026.
We recommend that to secure cheaper tickets and pre-releases, sign up as a Mardi Gras member now so you can get your membership in time.
For more information head to www.mardigras.org.au