Australian first celebrated on Mardi Gras

Crowds lined the streets of Sydney’s CBD to party alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – the first sitting PM to march in tonight’s parade - for the largest Mardi Gras celebrations Australia has ever seen.Reality exceeded expectations as Sydney hosted the World Pride Parade on Oxford St with a seemingly endless parade of colourful floats and joyful revellers.The parade began at 7.30pm on Oxford St, but the street was already at full capacity before the event formally kicked off.More than 200 floats and 12,500 marchers paraded from Hyde Park to Moore Park in their finest outfits and the 2023 theme of Gather, Dream, Amplify.It was the first time the famous parade returned to its usual location after Covid measures forced organisers to hold the event at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the past two years. The march was held in the middle of World Price, which is running over three weeks from February 17 to March 5. To mark the momentous occasion, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese marched in the parade as the first sitting national leader to join in the annual celebrations.“I’ll be wearing jeans and a shirt, I won’t try and compete,” he said on Saturday before joining the festivities.He was joined by NSW Labor leader Chris Minns. The Liberal party was represented by senators Simon Birmingham and Andrew Bragg during the colourful parade. Alongside federal opposition leader Peter Dutton, they carried a banner that read “Happy Mardi Gras” while marching down the street.NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was not in attendance as the politicians waved their rainbow flags.The Australian Defence Force joined in on the fun by sending 60 of its officers to join the parade. Rainbow fireworks were set off along the 2.4-kilometre route as tens of thousands of people gathered to celebrate.Dykes on Bikes were the first to kick off the night’s parade in a continuation of a tradition held for more than three decades. One of the most notable floats was a First Nations serpent which wound its way along the path.Streets in the Sydney CBD were shut at 6pm in anticipation of the hordes of people attending the city’s biggest ever Mardi Gras parade. Roads began to shut from 2pm and will remain closed into the early hours of Sunday morning.The official afterparty was headlined by 90s icons, the Sugababes, who were happy to be back in Australia.The event was enjoyed by millions of people around the globe.NSW Police praised revellers for their good behaviour on Saturday and noted the celebrations proceeded largely without incident. While police marched in the parade as a continuation of the tradition held since 1998, more than 900 officers were also deployed to ensure the safety of attendees.Police arrested four people during the evening for offences including assaulting police. One police officer suffered a suspected broken nose during an arrest on Oxford St while a second officer suffered grazes and a black eye after being assaulted near Moore Park. Officers are still searching for those responsible. Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au