The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras kicks off this weekend with a festival line-up that is all about evolution.

The City of Sydney will host the official start of the 48th Mardi Gras with the raising of the Progress Pride Flag at Town Hall tomorrow night.

That kicks off a busy weekend with femme-charged Ultra Violet, the trans-diverse Black Cherry and community-focused Fair Day.

“This is where we get really pumped and begin to deliver what we’ve been working on for the entire year,” said Mardi Gras CEO Jesse Matheson.

“People don’t realise that it does take an entire year to plan, not just Fair Day and the Parade but the whole two-week festival.”

In that two-week festival are over 120 events that cover pool parties, comedy events, film festivals, balls, sporting events and, of course, plenty of glitter and glam.

Of course, the focus has turned to what it doesn’t cover, after last week’s cancellation of the official after party, typically held following the parade.

The backlash from the community was swift following the cancellation, with calls for Matheson to stand down and for the board to dissolve.

Matheson told Gay Sydney Daily that he shares in the community disappointment, saying it was a difficult call but he hoped people would get around the hundreds of events happening that night.

“I really encourage people to go out and support these community producers as well, if we’re doing it tough they are as well,” he said.

“These are producers that we work closely with, these are producers that are friends of ours, that work throughout the entire year to provide spaces for our community to come together.”

The 2026 festival has come a long way from what it might have been, with Matheson’s update last week revealing all usual Mardi Gras events except for a select few were facing the chop.

Matheson acknowledged that it had been a year of change but he was proud of what the smaller team had been able to produce.

“This year we’ve had to really rethink how we work, reimagine what the festival will look like, and a really big part of that has been about engaging more with community producers,” he said.

“I’m really proud to say that, all bar one, has been able to proceed through this new collaboration model.”

Some of the producers involved in that collaborative effort were DJs like Dan Murphy, Sveta and Estee Louder, as well as the Sydney Comedy Festival and Sydney Writers Festival.

“This new collaboration model really sets us up for success, not just for 2026, but also looking forward to 2027,” said Matheson.

“We’ll free up some time for us to also think more about what does Mardi Gras actually want to deliver for the community, what does the community really want from Mardi Gras?”

It’s a big question, particularly when the divides in the community have begun to show since the AGM campaign last year.

The two groups, representing those competing wants, are Pride in Protest and Protect Mardi Gras.

PiP has been vocal in their opposition to police marching in Mardi Gras, as well as politicians who they say do not support the community, while advocating for trans rights.

Protect Mardi Gras, meanwhile, has campaigned for an inclusive Mardi Gras, saying it must remain a place where people from all backgrounds are welcome.

This division has reared its head a few times, with the Liberal Party using it most recently to call for the government to review its funding of Mardi Gras due to “left-wing extremists”.

There are also calls from PiP for an EGM and a vote to remove the board’s co-chairs Mits Delisle and Kathy Pavlich.

This stems from the board’s decision to not implement certain non-binding motions that were voted on at last year’s AGM.

The action resulted in the censure of the two PiP members on the board, with one of them, Luna Choo, misgendered in the correspondence.

The co-chairs issued a public apology for the misgendering but that was rejected by Choo.

There has been no update to the EGM but sources tell GSD that it is coming and could land itself in the middle of the festival.

However, despite all the external noise, Matheson said the team was laser-focused on delivering the festival.

“We can’t slow down the task at hand, the team is extremely passionate, caring people who truly love this community and truly love delivering Mardi Gras for the community, so we are full steam ahead.”

Matheson said it had been a tough couple of years for the organisation but he hoped the community would come around it to celebrate this year.

“We are one of the 1st Prides of the year and we work to really set that tone of what is the agenda for our community for the rest of the year,” he said.

“This is a platform that is created for our community to use, to express themselves, and share their message with the world, and I could think of no greater reason than to get behind Mardi Gras this year.”