The Australian annual "Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade" on Saturday witnessed tens and thousands of people dancing and carousing their way through the streets of Sydney - some attired in classy costumes; while others 'clothed' merely in body paint and barest-minimum leaves.
The parade - which began in 1978 essentially as a protest march by homosexual and transsexual men and women - is currently one of the world’s biggest and most glitzy gay pride events.
This year's event featured the theme, "History of the World" - a peek at gay history; and boasted the involvement of as many as 9,400 participants. The nearly 135 floats, which rolled out from William Square, were led by the well-known transsexual Amanda Lepore, who was scantily-dressed in a diamante G-string, and seated in an open-top Mercedes.
