Sydney Mardi Gras has cancelled its flagship post-parade party, citing mounting cost pressures and financial losses.
Sydney Mardi Gras has cancelled its flagship post-parade party, citing mounting cost pressures and financial losses.
Sydney’s Mardi Gras PARTY, scheduled for 28 February, has been cancelled after years of operating at a loss.
The event, one of the festival’s traditional highlights, typically attracts crowds of about 10,000 people following the annual parade.
In a statement posted on the festival’s website, Mardi Gras chief executive Jesse Matheson said the party had been “paused” due to rising delivery costs and the loss of this year’s headline act.
Matheson said the PARTY had run at a deficit every year since 2020 and had become the festival’s biggest financial challenge.
He said the event cost about $2m to deliver and was no longer sustainable in its traditional format.
Matheson said changing demographics, capacity constraints and community feedback showed the event was no longer aligned with Mardi Gras’s future direction.
He said the decision was compounded by the withdrawal of the headline act over the Christmas break.
Instead, Mardi Gras will focus on supporting community-led events taking place across Sydney on parade night.
Matheson apologised to those disappointed, saying the decision was necessary for the long-term future of the festival.
