The 2026 Mardi Gras post-parade Party has been cancelled and the community is shocked, disappointed and angry.  In an announcement made only weeks before the scheduled event, Mardi Gras CEO Jesse Matheson confirmed long-circulating rumours that the Mardi Gras Party would not be held this year.  The cancellation of one of Mardi Gras’ most popular signature events has left many in Sydney’s LGBTQI+ community bewildered and saddened, while others are cynical and unimpressed.  Mat

It’s loud, it’s shiny, it’s proud, and the Mardi Gras Parade Is also one of Sydney’s largest open air events.   The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade will snake up Oxford Street on February 28, marking a tradition of spectacle, light, music and glamour that has continued for some 48 odd (sometimes very odd) years.   At the heart of this year’s festivities is the official theme, “ECSTATICA”,  a celebration of joy, movement, connection and queer identity.  Organisations,

After cresting the wave of literary success, gay author Holden Sheppard is riding high.  By Rita Bratovich His acclaimed debut novel, Invisible Boys (2019), was adapted into a 10-episode Stan Original Series last year. His follow-up novels, The Brink (2022) , and King of Dirt (2025)  have received critical and popular praise. He is now adding finishing touches to the much anticipated sequel to Invisible Boys; titled Yeah The Boys, it is due for release in May this year.  Shep

The climax Is just beginning as Afterglow arrives in Australia. By Gerii Pleitez The heat is rising as S. Asher Gelman’s internationally acclaimed play AFTERGLOW prepares to make its long-awaited Australian premiere. Following major success Off-Broadway and in productions around the world, the intimate and emotionally charged work now makes its way to Australian stages. Raw, funny, and deeply sensual, AFTERGLOW offers audiences a contemporary and honest exploration of love,

From the mid-1990s on, Mardi Gras would experience significant changes, some beneficial, some that threatened its very existence.  The televised broadcast of the Mardi Gras parade in 1994 did not necessarily signify a universal acceptance of the LGBTQI+ community. A vocal minority was loud enough in its displeasure that it coaxed large companies like Cadbury-Schweppes to withdraw its advertising with the TV network. In response, the LGBTQI+ community and its supporters boycot

Much loved pillar of Sydney's LGBTQI+ community, The Bookshop, is closing after more than four decades on Oxford Street. By Rita Bratovich Since it first opened its queer friendly doors in 1982, The Bookshop has been a sanctuary, a hub, and a veritable treasure chest for the LGBTQ+ community and book-lovers as a whole. It began after founders Les McDonald and his partner, Wayne Harrison, took a trip to the US and saw enough demand for LGBTQ+ literature to create a viable busi

It’s the end of an era for Cyndi Lauper fans as the pop icon announces her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Australian Farewell Tour.