Sydney Mardi Gras parade moved to Sydney Cricket Ground

Sydney’s iconic Mardi Gras parade on Oxford Street has been cancelled and instead will be held in a very different way next year.

Sydney’s iconic Mardi Gras parade will not go ahead on Oxford Street in 2021.

The 43rd annual pride festival was scheduled for March 6, but will instead be a ticketed event held at Sydney Cricket Ground, it was announced on Thursday afternoon.

Floats usually parade down the famous Oxford Street, but will be forced to make laps around the stadium instead.

🔊🏳️‍🌈 BREAKING NEWS!! 🏳️‍🌈🔊

Mardi Gras will take over the @scg for our COVID-Safe PARADE on Saturday 6 March 2021.

Applications open and ticket sales start Monday! #MardiGras2021

More info: https://t.co/NCWBAnyLSJ pic.twitter.com/ds890z6r8E

— Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (@sydneymardigras) November 5, 2020

Mardi Gras confirmed the cancellation of the typical parade, instead calling next year’s event “the first internationally significant event to be staged” since the spread of COVID-19.

There will be a capacity of 23,000 people at the SCG – with the parade still set to go ahead on March 6.

“Mardi Gras has always been the epitome of creative expression through art and culture; two things severely impacted by COVID-19 this year,” Mardi Gras Albert Kruger said.

“So it was important to Mardi Gras that we rise to the occasion and to give the community the creative platform to express their pride to the world.

“The 2021 Parade may look different to how it has been in the past, but we feel very lucky to be able to give this opportunity to our communities during these times.”

Next year’s Mardi Gras will take place in a COVID-safe way at the SCG. Picture: Nikki Short

Mr Kruger said the Mardi Gras team worked together with NSW Health to develop a COVID-safe plan for the festival.

“Not only is the SCG close to our spiritual home of Oxford Street, but it also provides the safest venue for us to hold the event and meet requirements of physical distancing and contact tracing,” he said.

“With a greater focus on community, our 2021 parade will move away from large floats, centring instead on the outlandish pageantry of costumes, puppetry and props that make it such a phenomenon to witness.”

Tens of thousands attended this year‘s festivities on February 29, which was the last major event in Sydney before coronavirus restrictions were introduced and national borders closed.

The celebration began as a small protest in 1978 and has been commemorated every year since.

City of Sydney has been contacted for comment.

More to come.