They’ve painted a rainbow pedestrian crossing at Sydney’s Taylor Square to celebrathe Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Apparently it cost a lot of money, and thus it’s been controversial according to the newspapers today. I have no idea if the story is true or not, and therefore have no valid opinions on the matter.
But I will say it was rather charming to walk across a rainbow pedestrian crossing tonight, and I rather enjoyed watching other people do the same thing, even if I did worry for a moment about the possibility of accidents, as people seemed to spend far too much time pausing and having their photograph taken, and not enough time crossing the street.
The reason I wandered to Oxford Street tonight was the hope for a brief glimpse of Swedish singer, Loreen. She won the Eurovision Song Contest last year, and is in Sydney for Mardi Gras. Late this afternoon I received an email indicating she would be at the Mardi Gras pop-up shop tonight, and would be signing autographs etc. On closer inspection, I noticed it was only possible if you had a ticket to the Mardi Gras Party.
Frankly, I’d rather poke a blunt stick in my own eye than go to Mardi Gras, these days. Although I was once an active participant in all the Mardi Gras festivities, and still support them strongly “in principle”, I feel that most of what’s on offer now is “just not my thing”. I find both the parade and party too crowded, and also dislike the party drug culture. It’s a decade since I’ve been to the party, and I only occasionally wander down to the parade now, so maybe things have changed? I suspect not.
Even tonight as I wandered down to Oxford Street, I was a little overwhelmed by the crowd. And it’s the night BEFORE Mardi Gras, not the actual night itself.
But the possibility of seeing a brief glimpse of Loreen tonight got me out of the house. I didn’t see her, because there’s absolutely no way I was going to pay a huge amount of money for a Mardi Gras ticket, even if I could have resold it later. Just too much effort, I thought, and at the end of the day I concluded I’d rather see her at Melodifestivalen in Stockholm next week. My flight leaves Monday at 9.00pm.
This, by the way, is my favourite all time performance by her at last year’s Gay Gala in Stockholm. This looks like much more my kind of scene…
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