Hot Trans Mardi Gras will place trans and gender-diverse artists, performers and communities at the centre of the 2026 festival across a powerful suite of signature and community-led events. These events are created by and for trans and gender-diverse communities.

The events include the return of fan-favourite, ‘Sissy Ball’, as well as the debut of the uncompromising new event ‘Black Cherry’. Hot Trans Mardi Gras is a celebration, a platform, and a statement:

Visibility is political. Community is protective. Celebration is an act of defiance. Trans joy is resistance.

Hot Trans Mardi Gras provides free access for events created by and for trans and gender-diverse communities to enter the Mardi Gras Festival programme. It centres trans leadership, culture, and creativity across ballroom, performance, markets, cabaret and community spaces. It affirms that trans people belong everywhere. . . And they definitely belong at Mardi Gras.

'Black Cherry'

“Hot Trans Mardi Gras is a bold and necessary programme that centres trans and gender-diverse people at a moment when their lives, rights and identities are being openly questioned in public debate and policy,” Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO Jesse Matheson says.

“This programme is about more than performance – it’s about power, safety, visibility and pride. From the return of ‘Sissy Ball’ to the debut of ‘Black Cherry’, alongside events including ‘Queens Of Colour’, ‘Summer Spandex’, ‘Drag For Good’ and the Sock Drawer Heroes & Friends Laneway Market, Hot Trans Mardi Gras reflects the depth, diversity and resilience of trans communities, and our unwavering commitment to standing with them – loudly, publicly and without compromise.”

The full Hot Trans Mardi Gras programme can be accessed on the Mardi Gras App.

Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras 2026 is on from 13 February-1 March.