Sydney Mardi Gras Parade Shines Bright For Second Year in Stadium

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAustralian streaming service Stan has struck a television development alliance with Hollywood mini-studio Lionsgate. The deal is in addition to the content supply agreement that the pair hatched last year.Stan and Lionsgate announced the megachurch family drama series “Prosper,” drama series “The Geography of Friendship” and outback comedy crime series “Population: 11” as the first three titles to flow from their development deal.Separately, Stan announced an expansion of its originals-production activity with other partners and suppliers in Australia.

Ed Sheeran gave another emotional tribute to late friend and cricket legend Shane Warne as he appeared on Australian TV show The Project on Wednesday 16 March. Shane tragically died on 4 March aged 52 after suffering a fatal a heart attack while on a trip in Koh Samui, Thailand, fans were devastated to learn along with his family and friends.

Rebel Wilson poked fun at her weight loss on Sunday night as she hosted the 2022 EE BAFTA Film Awards at London's Royal Albert Hall. The Pitch Perfect star, 42, has lost five stone since embarking on her "year of health" in 2020 and is now focused on her "inner siren".

Rebel Wilson has been a fan-favourite actress after capturing hearts as Fat Amy in the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect.

Married At First Sight Australia may have changed many aspects of her life, Martha's still a beauty guru through and through.WATCH: Martha Kalifatidis shares her beauty routineShe's always trying the latest make-up and skin care products, giving her hefty 650,000 Instagram followers regular reviews on her top picks. Among her affordable favourites, Olay products often pop up, with the star being an ambassador for the brand."For a long time I thought of Olay as an affordable pharmacy brand my grandmother uses (and loves)...

Shane Warne vowed to "live less of my life on the edge" before his sudden death at the age of 52.The Australian cricket legend passed away of a suspected heart attack before being found unresponsive in his room at the luxury Samujana Villa resort in Koh Samui, Thailand, on Friday 4 March. Deputy spokesperson of the Thai police, Kritsana Pattanacharoen, said the autopsy report had concluded that Warne had a “natural death”.

Foo Fighters have announced a new Australian and New Zealand stadium tour, set to take place later this year.The new dates across the two countries will mark the band’s first full headline tour in the area since 2018.As teased by frontman Dave Grohl on stage in Geelong on Friday night (March 4), Foo Fighters will make their return to Australia and New Zealand in November and December 2022 for six stadium shows. The run will kick off in Perth on November 30, before continuing on to Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland.Along the way, the US band will be joined by Australian and New Zealand support acts including The Chats, Teenage Joans, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, Amyl And The Sniffers, and Dick Move.

Yesterday, LGBTQI communities and their friends celebrated the 44th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in a supernova of glitter, glitz, and glam.Performers included singer-songwriter Darren Hayes, Vanessa Amorosi, The Wiggles, and Timothy Springs.Darren Hayes, former member of bestselling Australian pop duo Savage Garden, performed The Animal Song, Affirmation, and Do You Remember, and the crowd was ecstatic.Matt Akersten, Pride and Diversity Officer for Sydney WorldPride 2023, tweeted, “What a night! How’s how the 2022 [Sydney Mardi Gras] Parade ended, a dazzling show with [Darren Hayes]”What a night! How’s how the 2022 @sydneymardigras Parade ended, a dazzling show with @darrenhayes!

Defiant Giovanni van Bronckhorst has doubled down on his backing for Rangers’ involvement in the Sydney Super Cup amid fan outrage.

The Weeknd has announced a slew of North American stadium concerts – dubbed the ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ tour – that are set to begin in July and run until early September.The singer will kick off the run in his native Toronto on July 8 before heading to Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and more.He’ll be joined on the road by special guest Doja Cat – the two linked up on ‘You Right’ from Doja’s album ‘Planet Her’ last year. See tour dates below.

Rangers' North American Supporters Group (NARSA) have demanded the club reverse their decision to join the Sydney Super Cup.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd has announced dates for his “After Hours Til Dawn” stadium tour, which launches in his hometown of Toronto on July 8 and heads across North America before wrapping in Los Angeles on Sept. 2 and then moving overseas.

EXCLUSIVE: Australia’s Stan and 9Network have commenced production on Bali 2002, based on the terrorist attacks on the nation’s tourist hotspots 20 years ago, with distributor Banijay Rights launching at yesterday’s London Screenings showcase.

Celebs Go Dating stars Chloe Brockett and Nikita Jasmine are embroiled in a furious row, with Nikita branding her former co-star a “lying little witch”. TOWIE ’s Chloe, 21, and MAFS star Nikita, 26, filmed the latest series of Celebs Go Dating together alongside The Apprentice's Ryan-Mark Parsons, MAF Australia's Jessika Power, Made In Chelsea's Miles Nazaire, TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson and Geordie Shore's Marty McKenna. But it’s been revealed the two women have now blocked each other on social media after an “altercation” a few weeks ago.

March 5,  Sydney Cricket Ground at 6pmIn his first live performance in Australia for a decade, singer-songwriter Darren Hayes returns home to head up a superstar line-up for the 2022 Mardi Gras Parade at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday 5 March 2022. Fresh off the back of the release of his new track ‘Let’s Try Being In Love’, Hayes’ Mardi Gras performance will mark his 20th year as a solo recording artist, as well the 25th anniversary of Savage Garden’s acclaimed debut, self-titled album.The Parade will also feature a special performance from Australian music legend Vanessa Amorosi, presented by Principal Partner, American Express.

It’s not every day that Natalie Portman takes the whole family out for an outing, so fans in Sydney were treated to such a sight on Thursday (Feb. 24). Natalie, 40, and her husband, Benjamin Millepied, escorted their two kids – son Aleph, 10, and 5-year-old daughter Amalia – to dinner at Sydney’s Coogee. In photos of the outing, Natalie kept it casual in a striped black and white t-shirt and high-waisted, oversized jeans that seemed to be in the chic spirit of the ’90s fashion revival. Benjamin, 44, also went for a comfortable look, opting for black pants, a black shirt, and a navy-blue jacket. The kids, Amalia in particular, brought the energy, with the young girl even striking a pose with her first raised triumphantly in the air.

February 25 – March 6Sydney Fringe Sideshow is a new event making its debut this year.The program is a smorgasbord of over 100 shows, art displays, installations, immersions, and performances spread across four venues in the Rocks.Nine amazing nights of theatre, comedy, music, visual art, projections, food, drink, and permissible merriment, ticketed and free, all happening at the harbour end of George Street. The venues are a short walk away from each other in one of Sydney’s premier tourist districts.

“I think it’s the fun, the camaraderie, and what we’re doing for the community, and being part of that community spirit,” says O’Riordan.Volunteers have varying qualifications: consultants, interns, registrars, specialist and enrolled nurses, paramedics, first aiders, and occasionally, physiotherapists and social workers.They all require first aid training at a minimum, but there are other less tangible requisites.“Can you chat with someone, can you socially engage with someone? Can you have fun on the night? Those other skills are vitally important,” says O’Riordan.“I remember using all my first aid equipment to put stilettos back on for one of the drag queens,” laughs O’Riordan.Another time, someone was coming out for the first time and was completely overwhelmed.“Nothing wrong with them medically. They just needed a hug.”Every year, after the parade and party, Mardi Gras gathers feedback on the types of injuries treated by medical volunteers.

Months before the 21-year-prison term of Sydney serial killer dubbed ‘The Mutilator’ is due to expire, the NSW Supreme Court has ordered Damien Anthony Peters to undergo a mandatory psychiatric and psychological examination. Peters was held guilty of murdering and dismembering the bodies of two of his ex boy friends. Trigger Warning: This story has details of a violent murder, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.The judge agreed to the state’s request to subject Peters to an interim detention order of 28 days and committed him to a correctional home for that period. “Safety and protection of the community is the paramount consideration (under the law),” said the judge. The court said that it was “satisfied that the risk (Peters) presents of committing a serious violent offence is unacceptable in that the seriousness of the potential harm is high given his proven capacity for extreme violence”.The state had applied for a continuing detention order of one year for Peters, whose 21-year-prison term expires in September 2022, followed by a five year extended supervision order. Peters had stabbed his boyfriend of four years Akai in the neck before cutting up his body at their apartment in Northcott in Surry Hills, Sydney around January or February 2001.