Mardi Gras Snubs Interstate Visitors

The New Mardi Gras Board have this week announced that the 2010 Mardi Gras Parade and Party will be held on separate weekends and that the once 6 week long festival has been cut back to just 2 weeks.

The new format will be punctuated by three major events - Launch at Fair Day, Parade and Party - held on three successive weekends

The move has stunned many of Sydney's original Mardi Gras organisers and left many potential interstate and overseas visitors questioning if New Mardi Gras is serious about attracting people from outside of Sydney.

Speaking about the separation of the parade and the party, New Mardi Gras CEO Anna McInerney explained that the decision was based on practices taken from other similar events from around the world.

“We've looked at how other major festival-type events are produced around the world and one of the clear lessons is that they run as a series of parties. Rio and New Orleans are not just a single parade - though they have that as their core. They encompass many small parades and parties and go on for days. That is what we want to bring to Sydney at Mardi Gras and in particular that final week.”

The initial reaction from interstate visitors has been one of disbelief, with many Mardi Gras regulars concerned that they can not afford or not be able to take the time to spend a whole week in Sydney to attend both events.

These opinions fly in the face of New Mardi Gras' stated aim of encouraging locals as well as visitors to “take time off work to enjoy as much as possible of the amazing festival taking place on their doorstep.”

Whilst supportive of the separation of the party and parade, original 1978 participant and former Mardi Gras Board member Di Minnis has expressed concern about the changes to the festival's structure, telling QNews,

“I am very concerned about the shortening of the (Mardi Gras) Arts Festival to two weeks. It is very hard to fit an entire festival plus Film Festival into two weeks and also the timing of the festival encroaching on International Women's Day March is just poor form. This event has been held on March 8th for nearly 100 years, the festival needs to back off into February.”