'Brutality': Hundreds of Australians have signed a petition protesting against the treatment of 18-year-old Jamie Jackson who was arrested by police at Sydney's Mardi Gras. This year's festival marked 35 years since Sydney Mardi Gras' inception, when a group of 2000 protestors clashed with police in a brutal attack in 1978. We found every Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras poster since 1978 The first Mardi Gras march started at 10.30am from Sydney Town Hall, followed by a festival at Taylor Square at 10pm. Police actually broke up the very first Mardi Gras with violence and arrest. With Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras coming up we warn attendees to be mindful of police activities. A Mardi Gras reveller who claims he was the victim of police brutality following the parade five years ago has lost his legal battle against the NSW Government. Despite NSW seeing zero COVID-19 transmissions for over a month, NSW police have cited coronavirus concerns in an attempt to shut down a planned Pride protest set to go ahead on the day of Mardi Gras. A splinter group will press ahead with plans to hold a Mardi Gras march despite police saying it breaches public health orders. In the video above, a … "Mardi Gras was born out of police brutality 35 … This year's Mardi Gras theme is "rise" celebrating resilience and strength in a year of challenge and hardship. #BlackLivesMatter #pridemonth The 1978 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was a march against homophobia and police brutality. 1979 Incident-free Mardi Gras in Sydney (about 3,000 people) 1980 Post-parade party introduced. Mardi Gras protesters have hit Sydney’s streets protesting against rape, the police, the lack of the usual parade, and demanding rights for transgender people. There’s a really long history from the very first Mardi Gras of police brutality. The co-chair of the Mardi Gras, Peter Urmson, said the footage was "disgusting" and welcomed the investigation. And a lot of people feel that the way Indigenous people are currently treated by police is shocking. But this year, on the 35th anniversary of that first demonstration, it appears that not much has changed. Pride in Protest to go ahead with alternative Sydney Mardi Gras parade. The first Sydney Mardi Gras in 1978 ended in extreme police brutality, with 53 people arrested and bashed by police. 178 arrested in total (inc. first Mardi Gras) 1979 NSW Summary Offences Act legislation repealed. The 2021 parade begun with a welcome to country and rousing performance from Electric Fields, which pumped […] Sydney's annual Mardi Gras celebration will look very different to previous years, but even in a global pandemic the city's most colourful show must go on. The Mardi Gras 2020 parade was the city's last major event before coronavirus lockdowns began. Video involving participant Jamie Jackson at the iconic Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on March 2, 2013 has sparked claims of police brutality. The following year, 3,000 people marched peacefully in the parade and more have joined every year in solidarity with Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community. To the Board of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Amongst the global upheaval of 2020, Black Lives Matter protests, both here in Australia and in the USA, have shone a light on police brutality and deaths in custody. Homosexuality was still a crime and the cops were violent enforcers of the law. In Kings cross, the police descended on activists – even though they had a march permit – beating and arresting them. According to Australian media outlets, New South Wales police have been accused of using extreme and forceful methods during the city's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. Police drag away a protester at the court appearance of the 53 people arrested affter the first gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade in 1978. The New South Wales Police Force has apologised for historical violence against the LGBTIQ community on the 40th anniversary of the first Sydney Mardi Gras march in 1978. A coalition of LGBTIQ groups, community members and supporters released an open letter on 21 October calling on the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to reconsider the participation of NSW police and Corrective Services NSW, as a sign of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.. Thousands of revellers have flocked to the Sydney Cricket Ground for a Mardi Gras parade like never before. 1981-1984 Numbers double every year In 2019, then-police commissioner Michael Fuller gave an official apology on behalf of the force for the actions of police on that night. 1978 Further protests. It turned violent. The Stonewall riots that began in the early hours of 28 June 1969 in New York City were the result of a police raid on a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. Over the past three years Pride in Protest, a grassroots group, has moved motions at the AGM calling for the removal of the cops. The original 1978 demonstration that became Mardi Gras was organised in response to police violence and brutality against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LBGTI) people. Sydney's Mardi Gras celebrations kick off with a major protest as thousands gather in technicolour costumes to march down Oxford StreetBy aap Publishe Saturday , 6 March 2021 Breaking News The Pride parade in Sydney, called Mardi Gras, has had one of the most visible campaigns in the country to have police and corrective services removed from the Parade. First Nations activists and Mardi Gras 78ers have condemned police behaviour following the second Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney, earlier in June. The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney Mardi Gras, or Mardi Gras, is an annual LGBT pride parade and festival in Sydney, Australia, attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. The first Mardi Gras marchers from 1978 at the 30th march in Sydney, Saturday in 2008. ... joined the Mardi Gras parade in Sydney for the first time in 2017. The apology will be aimed at the 78ers, those who took part in the first eve Mardi Gras, many of who were subjected to police brutality, and 53 of who were arrested. The Mardi Gras in 2013 was particularly prone to police using excessive force against attendees. While hundreds of thousands of revelers had a grand old time at the Sydney Mardi Gras this weekend, there have also been reports of police brutality and excessive force. The first Sydney Mardi Gras in 1978 ended in extreme police brutality, with 53 people arrested and bashed by police. While attempting to break up the parade violence and police brutality ensued with the night ending in 53 arrests. The rainbow flag symbolising LGBTIQ pride is flying over Sydney Town Hall signalling the beginning of the city's 2021 Mardi Gras season. Photograph: Jane Dempster/AAP T he steam had gone out of Mardi Gras … This year is especially unique as the usual roaming floats have been replaced with seated celebrations because of the Covid pandemic. The 1969 Stonewall riots were against homophobia and police brutality. By continuing to allow the police to march as a float, the Mardi Gras board continues to stand by their record of racial violence. That night, their celebratory Mardi Gras parade was violently broken up by police and 53 of the marchers were arrested, beaten and publicly shamed in the media. It is one of the largest such festivals in the world, and the largest Pride event in Oceania. The first Mardi Gras in 1978 was a peaceful protest against police brutality. 2012 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Lead-up to Mardi Gras. Police brutality is unfortunately a common occurrence at large scale and busy events such as the Mardi Gras. 1981 Moved forward into summer for better weather, 700 people at after-party. On the very first Sydney Mardi Gras, motivated by the police brutality experienced by Queer and trans comrades in New York, over fifty people were arrested and many more violently assaulted by police, outed in newspapers, fired from their jobs, all with … In allowing the police to march, Mardi Gras tells every Aboriginal family who’s had someone they love killed by a cop or died in their custody that it’s the police who they prefer to celebrate.