source : the age
This year’s Mardi Gras celebrations marks the first time train, light rail, and metro services will run on a 24-hour timetable for a major event other than Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
There will be additional train services late at night and early in the morning to help parade-goers get home, but Transport for NSW has urged commuters to plan ahead as, from about 1am on Sunday, not all train lines will run frequent train services.
Metro services will run every five minutes from 5pm until midnight, every 10 minutes until 2am, then every 20 minutes until 5am on Sunday. Light rail services will also run around the clock until 5am on Sunday.
There will be extra daytime and late-night bus services, with a number of routes diverting around the road closures and using different stops. Additional late night 370 and 343 services will also be operating on a 24-hour timetable.
Karl Zlotkowski remembers the horrors of the first Mardi Gras in 1978, when Sydney’s gay and lesbian community came out onto the streets and were met with violence.
One of the “78ers” who took part in the protest that spawned the city’s annual pride parade, Zlotkowski said reports this week of gay and bisexual men being lured off dating apps and beaten in Sydney parks were eerily reminiscent of a violent past from decades ago.
“It’s appalling,” Zlotkowski said. “It’s revisiting horrors many of us had to deal with going back to the 1970s.”
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras chief executive Jesse Matheson – who himself was brutally beaten as a teenager for being gay – said it was more important than ever to carry on the legacy of the parade as it turns 48.
Tens of thousands of revellers and up to 200 floats will descend on Oxford Street tonight. This year’s theme, ECSTATICA, promises to be a celebration of euphoric rebellion, capturing the feeling of collective release when queer communities freely move and gather in public spaces with joy, pride and defiance.
Read the full story here.
Major roads around the CBD and Moore Park will be closed between 4pm today and 2am on Sunday, with staggered closures throughout the affected period.
Transport for NSW has advised motorists to expect delays, avoid the area and use public transport if possible.
Mardi Gras key road closures
From 4pm to 1am: sections of College Street, Liverpool Street, Wentworth Avenue, Goulburn Street and surrounding local streets.
From 4pm to 2am: Flinders Street northbound lanes from Moore Park Road to Oxford Street.
From 4pm to 4am: sections of Bourke Street, Campbell Street, Short Street and surrounding local streets in Surry Hills.
From 5.30pm to 1am: Anzac Parade northbound from Cleveland Street to Moore Park Road, and local roads in Surry Hills between Elizabeth Street and Campbell Street including Nithsdale Street, Foster Street, and Wentworth Avenue.
From 5.30pm to 2am: Major closures along parade route including Liverpool Street, Oxford Street between College Street and Darlinghurst Road, Flinders Street southbound from Oxford Street to Moore Park Road, sections of Crown Street, sections of South Dowling Street between Oxford Street and Fitzroy Street, and Anzac Parade southbound from Moore Park Road to Lang Road, including the Eastern Distributor Randwick Anzac Parade off-ramp (the Bondi exit remains open).
From 6.30pm to 1am: Moore Park Road westbound from Oatley Road to South Dowling Street, no access to Eastern Distributor and Driver Avenue between Lang Road and Moore Park Road (until 10am Sunday).
A full breakdown and interactive map of the closures can be viewed here.
The best stations for accessing the northern side of the route are Town Hall, St James, Martin Place and Kings Cross. For the southern side, Central will be the best option. Museum station will be closed between 5pm on Saturday and 4am on Sunday.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of Sydney’s 2026 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
I’m Cindy Yin, and I’ll be providing rolling updates on the celebrations, along with Emily Kowal, photographers Flavio Brancaleone and Audrey Richardson who will be on the ground bringing you the latest.
The parade doesn’t kick off until 7.30pm (AEDT), but already excitement is building up for Sydney’s night of nights. Tens of thousands of spectators are expected to line Oxford Street and its surrounds, to watch up to 200 floats take part in the parade.
We will be updating you from the Hyde Park marshalling area before the march kicks off.
Happy Mardi Gras everyone! Stay with us, it’s going to be an exciting night.
