Sydney’s big gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade will take place next year, but it will be confined to a stadium due to the threat of the coronavirus, rather than brightening up the streets of Australia’s largest city as it does every year. , announced Thursday its organizers.
The event, which normally draws tens of thousands of people to the city’s gay district, will this time be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
“The 2021 parade may look different from what it has been in the past, but we feel lucky to be able to offer this opportunity to our communities at this time,” said the general manager of Mardi Gras in a statement, Albert Kruger.
The parade scheduled for March 6 should not feature the usual giant floats, in order to accommodate an enclosure that can accommodate 23,000 seated spectators, he said.
“The SCG is not only close to our historic spiritual heart, Oxford Street, but it is also the safest venue to host the event,” he added.
The first march ended with violent police repression. But the parade has since institutionalized to become one of the biggest events in the city.
Australia managed to contain the second wave of the epidemic, which was largely focused on Melbourne, the country’s second city. And most of the restrictions have been lifted.
The country, which has 25 million inhabitants, has a total of just over 27,500 cases of coronavirus, and 907 deaths have been formally attributed to Covid-19.