Thousands of revellers have flocked to Sydney Cricket Ground for Mardi Gras celebrations on Saturday night
Sydney s queer community kicked off the gay pride day with a demonstration down Oxford Street
New South Wales Health granted its first gathering exemption for the protest, which activists called a win
The annual parade was cancelled because of Covid and is being replaced by a smaller one at the SCG
Thousands of revellers celebrate Mardi Gras in Sydney dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
This is the first protest to be granted an exemption by NSW Health. Pictured: NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard,
March 5, 2021
NSW Health has granted an exemption for Pride in Protest’s Mardi Gras march tomorrow, allowing the event to have up to 1500 people and exceed the current political gatherings limit of 500.
More than 1100 people have RSVPed for tomorrow’s march, with over 3200 interested.
This is the first protest to be granted an exemption by NSW Health. As a result, NSW Police have withdrawn Supreme Court proceedings against organisers.
The approval comes after significant community pressure, including letters of support from Greens, Labor and Independent Members of Parliament, as well as 78ers a group of activists who marched in the first Mardi Gras in 1978.
Sydney LGBTQI rights protesters will march along Oxford Street while the city s Mardi Gras is held elsewhere after NSW Health granted organisers an exemption from gathering restrictions.
In mid-September, two months after the caps were introduced, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he hoped to get as many people (as possible) home, if not all of them, by Christmas . Health Minister Greg Hunt also echoed those comments, saying he wanted to ensure that every Australian who wants to come home is home by Christmas .
At the time, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said at least 25,000 Australians had registered their need to come home since the caps were introduced in mid-July. However, the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia estimated the true number of those stranded at the time to be closer to 100,000.