Mon 12 Apr 2010 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Sydney Mardis Gras organisers have conceded holding this year's parade and party on separate weekends led to loss of around AU$400,000. New Mardis Gras Committee co-chair Steph Sands has admitted the parade/party split was a scheduling mistake which the crew decided to “be as upbeat as possible about,” according to the Samesame.com.au website. The admission came at an Extraordinary General Meeting attended by 65 Mardi Gras members yesterday. "We can talk frankly about it now… things weren't as great as we made them out to be. Anyone who went to the party knew that the attendance figures were down," Sands said. Just 11,500 people attended the official 2010 Mardi Gras Party last month, a drop from 14,000-18,000 in recent years. The decision to separate the parade and party was criticised when it was announced with the Mardi Gras organising committee revealed to have misled Mardi Gras supporters over the reasons for the split. Ref: r
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 12th April 2010 - 8:23am