New Mardi Gras (NMG) today announced that its Board had approved the key dates for the 2011 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, putting the Parade and Party back on the same night after a one-off split in 2010.
Next year's key dates are:
Queer Thinking February 19th
Fair Day February 20th
Harbour ’11 February 27th 2011
Parade March 5th 2011 Party March 5th 2011
This follows a General Meeting on 11th April at which NMG announced that a survey of over two thousand NMG and community members had delivered a substantial majority in favour of putting the Parade and Party back on the same night (59% to 22%). At that meeting NMG also announced that it would make a loss for the 2009-10 financial year due to reduced ticket sales to Mardi Gras Party as a result of the split.
“It’s with no small measure of relief that we return to the traditional Mardi Gras format,” said NMG CEO Michael Rolik. “It is a formula that delivered us four strong profitable seasons prior to this year and we’re confident of a return to profit in the coming year.
“2010 was uniquely challenging for the organisation, but in the end NMG delivered a star-studded season with great high points, such as Spencer Tunick and George Michael, Adam Lambert and Kelly Rowland at Mardi Gras Party. We upped our game in many ways and we’ll be building on that momentum in 2011.”
