The day began as Cunard¡¯s majestic Queen Elizabeth entered Sydney Harbourwith a performer poised on a giant stiletto, her 126-metre long cape billowingbehind, and ended as thousands of revellers filled the iconic Oxford Street,welcoming the centrepiece of the parade – a Strictly Ballroom themed megafloat.
Sydneysiders rose early and flocked to the harbour¡¯s foreshore to see the"Queen of the Harbour" arrival as well known Mardi Gras performer Vanity Fairestood on a 2.2 metre high glittering stiletto at the front of the liner.Carrying 1,900 guests, the 90,900-tonne Queen Elizabeth¡¯s arrival extended theMardi Gras Festival to the harbour.
That evening the Mardi Gras parade concluded with an impressive finale – aStrictly Ballroom themed Mardi Gras float. One of the largest displays everbuilt for the Oxford Street parade, measuring nine metres long and 4.2 metreshigh, the float featured 98 dancers, six drag queens and mountains of glitter.The float was created in collaboration with Baz Lurhmann, Ignatius Jones andDestination NSW.
Please see attached photos. Photo credit – Destination NSW.
About Destination NSW:Destination NSW is the lead Government agency for the New South Wales (NSW)tourism and major events sectors. Our role is to market Sydney and NSW as oneof the world¡¯s premier tourism and major events destinations; to secure majorsporting and cultural events; to work in partnership with Business EventsSydney to win major international conventions and incentive travel rewardprograms; to develop and deliver initiatives that will drive visitor growththroughout the State; to achieve the NSW Government¡¯s goal of doublingovernight visitor expenditure within the State by the year 2020.
From food and wine festivals to surf competitions, world class sporting eventsto celebrations of arts and culture, New South Wales has an Annual Calendar ofEvents that celebrates the diverse facets of Australian contemporary life.Sydney is unrivalled in Australia in its capacity to stage exclusive eventsthat have the whole world tuning in. Destination NSW has been at the forefrontin creating and winning world-class events that put Sydney on the global frontpage. These events deliver in excess of 6 million visitors to Sydney everyyear, and generate spending by those visitors of around $6.4 billion.For a full list of events in Sydney go to sydney.com