Tag: Mardi Gras

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‘A Night Like This’ Premiere + Straight Ally At Sydney Mardi Gras + More

Alexander Lincoln and Jack Brett Anderson star in "A Night Like This"

Some news items I thought worth your time:

• Gay Times: Two mismatched men fall for each other in A Night Like This, set to have its world premiere at the BFI Flare Film Festival on March 28.

The gay romance stars Jack Brett Anderson and Alexander Lincoln who “stay out all night, intent on getting to know each other and inadvertently get to know themselves in the process.” Continue reading “‘A Night Like This’ Premiere + Straight Ally At Sydney Mardi Gras + More”

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Australia’s Prime Minister Marches In Mardi Gras Parade For 1st Time

For the first time in its 45 year history, the sitting Prime Minister of Australia marched in Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese marches in 2023 Sydney Mardi Gras Parade (photo: official Twitter)
For the first time in its 45 year history, the sitting Prime Minister of Australia marched in Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. Anthony Albanese, the country’s 31st prime minister, joined over 12,500 attendees in Oxford Street for the annual LGBTQ event, which began in 1978. Continue reading “Australia’s Prime Minister Marches In Mardi Gras Parade For 1st Time”

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Cher Thrills 300K+ Crowd At Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras

(Photo: YouTuber Frank Patti)

Thrilling her fans ‘down under,’ Cher dazzled the packed crowd of over 300,000 at Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras last night delivering a 20 minute set that included hits like “All or Nothing,” “Strong Enough,” “Believe,” and “If I Could Turn Back Time.”

The international icon also made a surprise appearance earlier in the evening during the parade.

From The Guardian:

The singer, sporting bright orange hair and a low-cut black top with a silver-embroidered jacket, mingled with her many fans.

She said she loved the feeling of the parade and even chimed in about Australia’s passing of same-sex marriage laws.

“It’s about time,” Cher told reporters.

The American singer praised the Mardi Gras and said she wished she had attended one earlier.

“I love that everybody is having such a good time and there’s no feeling of any kind of anger, there’s no negativity and that’s what I like most,” Cher said.

“All the people with everything hanging out, and fabulous girls with their slap on and big hair and no clothes – I love it.”

Check out Cher’s after-party performance below.

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Cher Wows Down Under At #MardiGras40

Cher on the Quantas float (image via Quantas)

The indomitable Cher is “down under” thrilling the gays in advance of her performance at Mardi Gras this weekend.

Adorned in orange hair – because why not? – Cher even met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who welcomed her to the festivities tweeting, “Welcome to Sydney, Cher! @GladysB Lucy and I and all your fans thrilled to be with you at the 40th Mardi Gras & first since Australia achieved marriage equality.”

A post shared by Cher Brasil (@sitecherbrasil) on Mar 3, 2018 at 7:26am PST

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New Orleans: We Welcome Everyone

New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and members of the New Orleans community gathered together during Mardi Gras 2017 to create a tourism video letting potential visitors know that New Orleans welcomes everyone.

Via press release:

If there ever was a celebration to honor diversity and equality, it is Mardi Gras New Orleans. To emphasize this important message that New Orleans is ‘always open’, New Orleans tourism joined people from all over the community at New Orleans’ famous Bourbon and St. Ann streets to march together in its first-ever Reverse Parade.

Through word of mouth, some four hundred citizens gathered and volunteered their time to create a message of diversity and equality. Donning full make-up, Mardi Gras garb, beads, or just plain clothes, the New Orleans community and its supporters marched backwards in a symbolic gesture shedding colorful clothing and masks along the way. Everything stopped, quiet ensued, then a flag appeared stating “We Are Never Going Back.” Music filled the streets as participants marched forward in celebration.

“New Orleans has a history of welcoming all people all the time,” said Mark Romig, President and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC). “The amount of excitement and numbers of citizens who came to participate in the parade and film is a testament to the city’s determination to never relinquish its achievements in human rights.”

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Video: 38th Annual Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras In Sydney, Australia

With 178 floats, over 12,500 participants and a massive party that stretched through the entire night, the 38th Annual Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras was the biggest and gayest party in the world yesterday.

Notable attendees included Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. While Mr. Turnbull has attended the event before, this year he becomes the first sitting Australian Prime Minister to attend the event. Also of note – Mr. Turnbull continues to block a vote on marriage equality.

The video below is covers almost four hours of gay Australia’s “night of nights.”

A video posted by Qantas (@qantas) on Mar 4, 2016 at 10:27pm PST

A photo posted by Contiki (@contiki) on Mar 5, 2016 at 3:43am PST

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News Round-Up: February 14, 2015

Nick Jonas to headline 2015 Mardi Gras in Australia

Some stories you may have missed:

• Australia gets hot and hunky Nick Jonas to headline this year’s Mardi Gras

• 60% of likely 2016 voters support marriage equality

• Vanessa Williams heads back to TV in Fox pilot Fantasy

• Whackadoodle Sen. Ted Cruz wants the federal government to stop recognizing legal marriages in some states

• Bookies put the odds of Ireland’s marriage equality referendum at 6/1

• Teen Wolf gets a new “lone wolf” and he’s the “muscle twink of muscle twinks”

Cody Christian joins the cast of Teen Wolf
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Sydney Mardi Gras spectator possible victim of police brutality

SameSame is reporting the story of a Sydney Mardi Gras spectator who was slammed to the ground head first while handcuffed.

The victim has apparently stated he was trying to cross the road during the parade.

While we don’t know the full story, from the video we do see about a minute before the slamming to the ground. The victim doesn’t seem to be violent and he was already in handcuffs, so it’s difficult to imagine what the officer felt was so threatening to him that he had to slam the young man head first to the cement.

Near the beginning of the video, onlookers can be heard referencing would could have been earlier violence as the voices talk about the young man already having been slammed to the ground before.

Update:

It appears the incident did not begin with the young man attempting to cross the street.  Jamie Jackson speaks to A Current Affair about the incident: