- Title: AUSTRALIA: ANNUAL GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS PARADE IN SYDNEY
- Date: 5th March 2005
- Summary: (W3) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (MARCH 5, 2005) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF MEN IN UNDERWEAR WITH POM POMS PRACTISING DANCE MOVES 0.12 2. VARIOUS OF " DYKES ON BIKES " AT BEGINNING OF MARDI GRAS 0.21 3. VARIOUS OF (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRAG ARTISTE BEVERLY BUTTERCUP, SAYING: "It's a long day, but it's a lot better this year because it i
- Embargoed: 20th March 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
- Country: Australia
- Reuters ID: LVAEQBHNNOH703UEDBFP368Q52NU
- Story Text: Thousands of people have lined the streets of Sydney
to watch the annual gay Mardi Gras.
Sydney was filled with glitter and sparkle for the
28th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday (March
5).
Up to 500,000 spectators lined the centre of Sydney to
watch the colourful parade.
Dykes on Bikes traditionally start the parade and they
were revving to go -- as were drag queens eager to begin
dancing.
"It's a long day but it's a lot better this year
because it is not raining. We're here with all our family,
we're here with everyone from Western Sydney. And it's
great because there are
so many people heRe and the crowds are phenomenal and there
is such diversity in the floats and that is what's good
this year," drag queen Beverly Buttercup said.
Participants dressed in outlandish outfits vied for
space on the busy street.
"Mardi Gras is Mardi Gras," Livio said.
"It doesn't matter -- everyone is just having a
fabulous time and just celebrating who they are are
individuals, that's how I look at it," Andrew said.
The parade featured 130 colourful floats which drove
Oxford Street. Many of the floats reflected issues from this year
w
ith
people dressed as President Bush and Saddae Hussein in
wedding frocks.
The House of Windsor also featured - with Prince
Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles look-a-likes strolling
past spectators.
One of the most spectacular floats was a huge snake
with the face of John Howard that was propelled along by 40
gay marchers.
The lead float highlighted coentries where
homosexuality is still illegal, while a lesbian couple who
featured on the local ABC's Play School program will lead
the parade.
Vicki Harding and her partner Jackie featured on the
children's program last year with their then six-year-old
daughter, Brenna.
Their .ppearance on the show as Brenna's 'two mums'
sparked a political controversy, with the Government
criticising the ABC for exposing young children to same-sex
parenting.
Last year's chief-of-parade was Monica Hingston, a
lesbian cousin of Sydney's Catholic Archbishop George Pell.
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