Let’s Get Ecstatica! Sydney Mardi Gras Promises To Bring Back The Joy In 2026
What is Ecstatica?
“Ecstatica is what happens when you find your people, community and family… In 2026, we’re inviting everyone to shape their Parade floats, events, and gatherings around this shared frequency,” says interim Mardi Gras CEO, Jesse Matheson.
At DNA, we couldn’t be more ecstatic that Mardi Gras has decided to be fun again. To be honest, it’s been a while! Take, for example, 2024’s dry-and-joyless theme: Our Future. It sounded more like a corporate prospectus than a good time. We also wish we could forget (and you probably have) 2020’s theme, What Matters Today. That sounded like a pamphlet you’d pick up at the doctor’s office, rather than an invitation to shimmying down the street in a sparkling G-string and dance ’til dawn!
Even last year’s Free To Be felt like it was generated by a committee using ChatGPT.
Ecstatica – a made-up word, which we love – says celebrate, be joyful, party hard, go crazy, and it alludes to a whole bunch of things we as a community enjoy but which are still considered taboo.
When and where it happens.
The Mardi Gras Parade will be Saturday 28 February. The Parade is the festival’s beating heart, mixing celebration and protest in one huge night on the street. Up to 200 floats and more than 12,000 marchers are expected. Families, elders, allies, and community groups move together to the ECSTATICA beat, making visibility the point and the joy the fuel.
Parade applications opened on Tuesday 23 September 2025. You can apply now at mardigras.org.au. Fair Day stallholder applications opened the same day, with enquiries via fairday.stalls@mardigrasarts.org.au.
Fair Day returns.
Fair Day lands on Sunday 15 February in Victoria Park, bringing markets, food, live performances, and family-friendly activities… and plenty of dogs with better costumes than most of us. It is the relaxed opener for the festival calendar and a good place to meet, reconnect, and plan the rest of your season.
Key dates and links.
The festival runs from 13 February to 1 March 2026. Fair Day is on Sunday 15 February 2026. The Parade rolls on Saturday 28 February 2026 along Oxford Street, Flinders Street, and Anzac Parade. Parade applications and festival information are at mardigras.org.au.
Time to get Ecstatica!
