“Dear Community,

I hope you’re well and getting ready for what will be an ECSTATICA 2026 Mardi Gras Festival.

I’m writing to share an update on the Mardi Gras PARTY.

Last year, I was appointed CEO and tasked with renewing and reimagining the festival following two years of significant financial loss. A major contributor to that loss has been the Mardi Gras PARTY, which has run at a deficit every year since 2020 following the loss of the Royal Hall of Industries (RHI).

As part of stabilising the organisation, the decision was made to cancel all events except Parade, Fair Day, Laneway and the Glitter Club viewing area, and to create Black Cherry and a new celebration event for the First Nations community, After Party with Blak Joy. This meant cancelling all other events, including the Mardi Gras PARTY.

This decision was not taken lightly. Facing an existential threat to the future of Mardi Gras, and with new sponsorship uncertain, it was absolutely the right decision.

Since then, community producers and cultural institutions have stepped in to bring these events back to life. I’m extremely thankful to them and proud to see them thriving and selling out. The Mardi Gras PARTY, however, was always going to be the biggest challenge.

For those unfamiliar with its scale, the Mardi Gras PARTY is an approximately $2 million event - effectively a festival within a festival. At times, it has cost more to deliver than the Parade and Fair Day, while also being our most expensive ticketed event for the community. It has always been a significant undertaking.

Over the years, the context for Mardi Gras PARTY, and indeed the Festival community, has changed dramatically. It is now far more expensive to deliver, and increasingly difficult to guarantee the kind of high-quality, shared community experience people expect.

After reviewing the Mardi Gras PARTY’s financial performance, capacity constraints following the loss of the RHI, community feedback, and changing demographics of attendees, it became clear that the event in its traditional format was no longer fit for purpose or aligned with our future vision to be a celebration event for our entire LGBTIQA+ community. 

As CEO, I could not continue to sell expensive tickets to an event I did not believe offered value for our community, honoured the Mardi Gras PARTY’s legacy, or protected the organisation’s financial future.

For 2026, we pursued a new vision: a post-Parade celebration in a single space large enough to bring our whole community together, complemented by additional venues delivered with outstanding community producers. We made real progress, including unlocking extended trading hours for an outside event, and designing moments to celebrate Parade entrants and offer lower-cost access to those historically excluded from the Mardi Gras PARTY.

However, significant setbacks followed. Over the Christmas break, we lost our headline artist. Despite tireless efforts to secure a replacement, this also fell through just before the recent long weekend. While Mardi Gras PARTY has always been about more than a big-name headliner, at the same time, delivery costs continued to rise across production, infrastructure, staffing and compliance.

We were again faced with the same choice as last year: push ahead with an event we did not believe met the standards of our community, or pause, reassess and plan for the future.

Today, I have made the difficult decision to pause the Mardi Gras PARTY for 2026.

Instead, we will focus on supporting the incredible community-led events taking place across the city on Parade night. Many of these producers are facing their own pressures, and I strongly encourage our community to get behind them. We will explore whether a small-scale celebration at the end of Parade is possible and will let our community know by the end of the week.

This has been heartbreaking - but I believe it is the right decision for our community and for the future of Mardi Gras. 

I want to sincerely thank the Mardi Gras team for their extraordinary work under increasingly difficult circumstances, as well as GiRLTHING and Extra Dirty, Bizarro, Kicks, and our government and corporate partners. Each worked incredibly hard to bring this new vision to life in a very short timeframe.

I am proud of the 2026 season we are about to deliver. We have partnered with exceptional community producers and cultural institutions to build a more sustainable festival with community at its heart, lowered ticket prices in recognition of cost-of-living pressures and removed barriers for First Nations and Trans and Gender Diverse producers to be a part of the Mardi Gras festival - all while balancing the financial needs of Mardi Gras.

We enter February with Paradiso Pool Party, Ultra Violet and Laneway sold out, and Glitter Club, Kaftana and Laugh Out Proud close behind. Black Cherry continues to sell with Sissy Ball and our new First Nations Parade After Party with Blak Joy on sale now, and there are some very special Parade announcements coming soon.

We have also launched our new Mardi Gras App featuring more than 120 events taking place between 13 February to 1 March, and we will be rolling out new features for the app ahead of Fair Day to improve safety and connection during our major events. There is so much to be ECSTATICA about, and that is where our focus now lies.

Thank you to everyone who held faith in us - and in what the Mardi Gras PARTY can become. For those disappointed, from the bottom of my heart, please accept my heartfelt apology.

Mardi Gras PARTY will return.

Until then, I encourage you to support the incredible community events and have a happy Mardi Gras. In pride,

Jesse Matheson

Chief Executive Officer, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras”