Mardi Gras Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Holding hands in public – it’s such a simple human gesture, capable of telegraphing so much and yet this elementary gesture of friendship, love, affection, support and so many other basic human needs is off-limits, in public at least, to the majority of queer people in Australia and especially for gay men.A study conducted by ANZ in honour of their 11-year association with Mardi Gras back in 2017 showed that “members of Australia’s LGBTQI community are three times more likely to feel uncomfortable holding hands in public than other Australians” and that while 94% of respondents agreed that everyone should feel comfortable holding hands in public, only 43% of the LGBTQI community actually felt comfortable and confident enough to do so.And let’s face it, we’re not talking about the horrors of seeing two people eating each other’s faces on a train platform or dry humping in a library, this is two people engaging in the most innocuous forms of Public Displays of Affection possible and yet the sight of two men holding hands is enough to make this 42-year-old gay man blush with the romanticism and braveness of it all, having never walked down the street holding another man’s hand.Will this ever change? Will this simple gesture of love and affection ever truly be an accepted declaration between two men on the streets of rural or suburban Australia? Hopefully one day, Australians of all persuasions will feel safe to perform that most simple act of human connection – basic skin-on-skin contact with another human being of our choosing.© Star Observer 2022 | For the latest in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, be sure to visit

The NSW Police have apologised to  ‘78er Barbara Karpinski for ejecting her from the Sydney Cricket Ground stadium where she was watching the Mardi Gras parade on March 5. In response to questions from Star Observer, a NSW Police spokesperson issued the following statement on Friday: “The NSW Police Force is taking this matter very seriously and is conducting inquiries to determine why and how this incident occurred and ensure it is not repeated.”   “We apologise sincerely to the 78er who was asked to leave and to all 78ers and the LGBTIQA+ communities broadly. Our dialogue and communication with the LGBTIQA+ communities will continue to build on the solid relationship we have established together.”Barbara KarpinskiWhen Star Observer informed Karpinski of the apology last night, she thanked both the NSW police and Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger for their swift apologies, but she said that action rather than more apologies are needed. She said that although sceptical, she remains hopeful that communication and openness are the way forward.This is not the first time that NSW Police have apologised to Karpinski who was arrested as a schoolgirl in 1978.

COVID-19 required only in indoor public spaces.Parade routes are shorter than usual, because there aren’t enough police for the standard ones, even with officers working 12-hour shifts as they always do on Mardi Gras and the end of the Carnival season leading up to it.But with COVID-19 hospitalizations and case numbers falling worldwide and 92% of the city’s adults at least partly vaccinated, parades are back on after a season without them.And people are out and ready to let the good times roll.The crowd Sunday, when the huge Krewe of Bacchus paraded, “was a record for us in the 10 years we’ve been open,” said Thomas Houston, bar manager at Superior Seafood and Oyster Bar, located at the start of the truncated parade route.He expected similar crowds on Fat Tuesday — a state holiday — if the weather is good.

By Kyle Olsen and Troy MurphyThis Saturday, the members of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will vote on a number of motions relating to the behaviour of activist group Pride In Protest. You can view Motions 1-5 here. We have designed these to hold Pride In Protest accountable for the damage their behaviour has caused Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, its staff, board, volunteers and Parade participants.For the past week, the Star Observer has published articles in relation to these motions.

Mardi Gras Fair Day in Sydney’s Victoria Park chances are that you have witnessed or even taken part in a Silverbacks demonstration in Team Sydney’s vibrant Sports Village. First established in 1993, the Sydney Silverbacks are an inclusive LGBTQI wrestling club training on Friday evenings year-round in Kings Cross.Sydney Silverbacks.

Throughout the month of June we will be commemorating Pride Month in our own ways. However, if you are looking to get fully immersed in the community then Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras have just the event for you.

The New South Wales Police are looking for a red sedan that was reportedly driven by homophobic hoons who attacked ABC reporter Mark Reddie and his friends on Sunday morning, hours after the Sydney Lesbian and Gay Mardi Gras parade.

On Saturday, Australia celebrated its LGBTQI communities as Sydney held the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. But, there was no rest for homophobes. In a shocking incident ABC Sydney crime reporter Mark Reddie and his gay friends were targeted by homophobic hoons just hours after the parade. “We were leaving a Mardi Gras party and there was a group of four of us.

and exceed the current cap of 500 people at protests.

event for the protest almost 1,000 people have said they will attend and a further 3,000 have clicked ‘interested’.

event for the protest almost 1,000 people have said they will attend and a further 3,000 have clicked interested.

The Iconic gym City Gym in Darlinghurst, which has been operating in the same location for over 40 years, and recently underwent a major 7-month, $1.5 million renovation, is holding a FREE Mardi Gras themed Fair Day on February 27 in support of mental health charity Beyond Blue.Beyond Blue is a charity particularly close to City Gym’s heart, having tragically lost three of their members due to depression in recent months, so the gym decided to take action and hold a special day to bring

If you feel like you need something a bit more high brow this Mardi Gras season, away from the drama and debauchery of the parties and the portaloos, The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is hosting for the third time, An Evening with 500 Queer Scientists, a soirée which presents an opportunity to hear the stories and experiences of LGBTQI scientists who are out and proud “in the lab”.This Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras event will “provoke positive debate and help promote science as an inclusive,

Randwick City Council are planning to install a rainbow walkway along the promenade at Coogee Beach in the coming weeks. The 47 metre long rainbow is part of Council’s partnership with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, as well as a celebration of diversity, inclusivity, and equality.The initiative was unanimously supported at the Council Meeting in early December, with Mayor Danny Said saying that it would be a strong statement of support for the local LGBTQI  community.

Oxford Street is one of the world’s most renowned gay districts. For half a century the strip has been Australia’s queer capital, providing the LGBTQI community with a safe space in which to express our fabulous, colourful and diverse identities. Since 1979 the Star Observer has chronicled, celebrated and championed our glittering gaybourhood. This year we are redoubling our commitment to the once Golden Mile.

DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style, Guas’ twist has earned plaudits from top media outlets including The Washington Post, which crowned it “One of the Top 5 King Cakes in the Country.”This year, the “BB King Cake” — which provides 14 to 16 servings and is priced at $39.95 — comes with a DIY decorating kit featuring packets of white icing as well as packets of purple, green, and gold-colored sugar to allow customers to top their cake however they choose.The King

Mardi Gras and have teamed up to offer venues across Australia a COVID-safe solution to restricted crowd numbers at this year’s parade event at the SCG.Mardi Gras announced today the launch of the Mardi Gras Parade Viewing Events Grants program which will provide sponsorship for 30 viewing events nationwide.The program is designed to help support hospitality venues, small businesses, and LGBTQI artists and performers around Australia.Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger said,

Following their recent failed attempt to ban police from marching in the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, the people behind Pride In Protest have scheduled a controversial march down Oxford Street on the same day as the annual Mardi Gras Parade. Scheduled for March 6, 2021, the Mardi Gras parade was forced to relocate from its traditional route along Oxford Street because of COVID-19 regulations.

Darlinghurst will soon lose another of its famed venues, with the Green Park Hotel after some 127 years of pulling beers now set to close on December 20. The news comes after venue owners Solotel Hospitality Group sold the premises for between $5-10 million to the trustees of neighbouring St Vincent’s Hospital on Monday.The much-loved venue will of course be sorely missed by Sydney’s LGBTQI communities, with St Vincent’s deciding not to extend the venue’s existing liquor and gaming licences, it

As Mark Latham continues to promote his harmful Education Amendment Bill, the LGBTQI community is rallying together to protest this harmful bill at the Protect Trans Kids, Kill Latham’s Bills protest.This event has been organised by Community Action for Rainbow Rights (CARR), a grassroots campaign group for LGBTQI rights.Nationals state MP Mark Latham’s Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020 seeks to ban any possibility for the recognition of transgender and gender diverse

With former Prime Minister Tony Abbott being appointed as the President of the UK Board Of Trade in recent weeks questions have been raised about his suitability for the role, particularly in regards to questions around homophobia.In light of these questions an interesting document from the past has surfaced in Sydney.

Take a stroll down Oxford Street and immerse yourself in a window-display installation that celebrates the centre of LGBTQI history and community. WITH LOVE is a shop-front exhibition displaying fabulous Mardi Gras Parade costumes by the late Ron Muncaster, and heartwarming LGBTQI community portraits by Richard Hedger.Photographer Richard Hedger said he’s fortunate enough to cross paths with people from all walks of life. He added that the shots show a remarkable group of individuals from all

Two years ago, one brave woman decided to set the wheels in motion for Wagga’s first-ever Mardi Gras. It was a massive success with more than 10,000 people filling the main street and gardens for the parade and after-party. But, in a heartbreaking decision the organiser Holly Conroy decided to cancel the 2020 event due to public safety as the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout Australia. Ms Conroy, however, as a proud trans woman refused to let that get her down and is already looking to the

It was Mardi Gras night 1990 or could’ve been 1991. I was so sick. I planned to be in the parade with friends as Stepford wives, drugged to the eyeballs on barbiturates, just bashing into the crowd with shopping trolleys all the way up the route.But I was so sick.

NEW ORLEANS -- Blaine Kern Sr., a float builder who was often credited with helping expand New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebration into a giant event known worldwide, has died. News outlets reported that Blaine Kern Sr., known as “Mr.

Australia and New Zealand are geared up to kick off this year’s Global Pride event.While hundreds of Pride festivals from across the globe were cancelled due to Covid-19, the Pride spirit lives on this year with the Global Pride 24-hour online broadcast.Coordinated by InterPride and Mardi Gras, Global Pride 2020 will attract up to 300 million viewers around the world, with Australia and New Zealand set to start the show with two and a half hours of footage from Australia and the Asia-Pacific

“The week that everything shut down I myself lost $10,000 right then and there.” The album, entitled 1998, is as much a collection of iconic 90s duets as it is a moving tribute, with Greg having lost his mother during the recording.“In 2018, halfway through making the album, I had to put it on hold as we found out my mum had stage four cancer and only three months to live.“I came back at the end of last year to finish the album and dedicate it in her honour, with the proceeds of the album going

Pink Loerie co-founder Juan Lerm-Hoffman

The Married At First Sight star conducted the chat with a large, pink, glittery sex toy - using the dildo as a microphone.

Sydneysiders are being urged to take a staycation over Mardi Gras, with hotel bookings currently down 10% due to COVID-19 travel bans.

Mardi Gras is a time for celebration, remembrance, and a whole heap of fun. Yet so many of us go to extreme and ridiculous lengths to ‘prepare’ for this week.

Mardi Gras is a time for celebration, remembrance, and a whole heap of fun. Yet so many of us go to extreme and ridiculous lengths to ‘prepare’ for this week.

Sydney leading ladies Hanna Conda and Maxi Shield are preparing to set a new world record for the largest Drag Queen Story Time event at this weekend’s Oxtravaganza.

Star Observer sat down with Mardi Gras co-chair and Sydney Pride Interim CEO, Kate Wicket. 

By Mike Hitch

By Jessi Lewis