Sydney 'gay and lesbian mardi gras'
The Sydney mardi gras parade started
as a small political demonstration in 1978.
Since then it has been promoted
as a major Sydney event that is said to attract record crowds at the parade.
During that time it also expanded into a month-long festival.
The parade has
focused on satirising politicians, church leaders and anyone who dares
to oppose the homosexual lifestyle.
In 2002, the mardi gras organisation went
bankrupt - 'New mardi gras' was formed to continue the events but the
festival is now much smaller. Major commercial sponsors have deserted mardi gras
and TV stations no longer broadcast the event.
Police deserted mardi
gras in 2002
The Inflated
Crowd Figures
By 1998 the crowd estimation had grown to an
exorbitant 700,000 (having supposedly jumped an astronomical 200,000 per year
for the previous three years). The NSW Police told us that they obtained the
figures from mardi gras organisers!
After being challenged about the size of the crowd (by us) they
started reducing the crowd estimations - by 100,000 per year for
three years. Since 2002, the NSW Police have refused to endorse the gross
over-estimation of crowd figures.
In 2005 the 'organisers' estimate was 450,000 - the viewing route was shortened to
approx. 1,500 metres. At two people per metre, it would
require 74 rows of people on EACH side of the parade
(444,000) plus 6,000 on balconies & roofs to reach this figure.
Despite the impossibility of this, the organisers continue to
claim that their figures are correct.
However, in an article titled “Mardi Gras crowd puzzle”,
Adam Carr states that there were ONLY 60-70,000 people at the mardi gras in
2002 when he walked the whole route.
He appears to be MUCH closer to the truth than the organisers that
year, who claimed 500,000 people... Adam Carr is a homosexual
journalist.
(Melbourne Star
, a homosexual newspaper - March 7, p. 6).
How many people were really there?
We were at the mardi gras in 2002 - we took photographs
(see below)
and video and walked the length of the route during the parade.
Our overall estimate confirmed our previous calculations that there are in fact
far less than 100,000 people watching the parade.
In Liverpool St, at the start of the parade, there were about 10 rows on the
south side of Hyde Park, where there is an embankment, and about 6 rows on the
south side;
in Oxford St there were about 7 to 8 rows in some places, 4 to 6
rows in others;
in Taylor Square there were 7-10 rows. The Square itself was
not crammed with people. Once past Taylor Square in Flinders St, there were
between 4 and 6 rows of people.
Even if there had been an average of 10 rows along the whole route that night,
at 2 people per metre for the then 2km route, this only
gives 40,000 people - double that for each side and add a huge 20,000 for those
on balconies, rooves and moving around behind the parade (and in side streets!) - at the absolute most you
have 100,000 people
.
Yes, there were a lot of people, but NO, there were not 500,000 as estimated by the organisers that night.
Given that the Financial Impact Study, suggesting mardi gras
was worth $100 million to Sydney, was done in 1998 when organizers said they had a ludicrous 700,000 attendance (more
than 172 rows of people on each side?), one could question just how much mardi
gras is really worth to Sydney.
The media need to conduct an independent assessment of the crowd figures using the
above appropriate mathematical techniques instead of repeating the figures given
by the mardi gras organisers.
***Please write 'letters to the editor'
challenging the media reporting of this event.
TV Broadcasts disappear -Praise God that NO TV company has shown the mardi gras - either live or
at a later date for several years.
The Photographs - taken in 2002
1
. Oxford Street:
The parade passes between the two traffic lights. It can be seen that on both
sides of the parade there are only 4-6 rows of people.
2. Taylor Square:
the Square is not over-crowded with spectators.
3. Flinders St:Looking across the road,
over the heads of 3-4 rows of people, it can be seen that there are only 4-5 rows of people on
the other side - and few people on the balconies.
4. Street Space: Flinders St, showing the empty
space behind just a few rows of people.
5. Flinders St and Moore Park
Corner. Again, just a
few rows of people watching the parade.
Author: Jenny Stokes | Modified: 4 April 2005 |
