The usual melee of costume, s-xuality and politics was out at Saturday’s Mardi Gras in Sydney. Colourful displays included a float of lifesavers, drag queens with metre-high wigs, dykes on bikes (and each other), men in leather straps, Kylie Minogues, Vicky Pollards and John Howards. A seemingly infinite number of gay community groups and organisations had floats. As did services such as the cops and ambos.

There were also, interestingly, quite a lot of churches – I counted around ten. Corporates were out partying too. ANZ had a sea of blue umbrellas and IKEA paraded with kitchen utensils.

Mardi Gras ahs been corporatised — and politicised.

The Mardi Gras parade started as a gay rights march in 1978, which was halted by police intervention. Over the years it become bolder and bigger, fighting for acceptance of homos-xuality, civil rights for gays and support in the fight against AIDS.

Now, however, many of these have been achieved – gays and straights still aren’t equal but for many gays in the city there aren’t many incentives to join the political fight. Tolerance is spreading and “gay” is cool – as evidenced by gay characters on TV show and the large number of young, straight spectators at the Mardi Gras parade.

Has Mardi Gras become more party than politics? More humour than activism?

Politics certainly were involved in the parade, but increasingly of a mainstream bent. The Greens, Democrats and Clover Moore had floats. As did the Your Rights at Work campaign, Amnesty International and the Free David Hicks movement.

Yet it must be asked: Who’s listening to the gay political messages? Have they been drowned out in the festival atmosphere and the street partying?

While plenty of gay political fights remain, perhaps Mardi Gras isn’t the most effective way to achieve them. But despite all the commercialisation and marketing, it speaks volumes about our society that this parade has become so popular. It’s an annual ritual that Sydney loves.