IDAHO seeks to raise awareness of gay and lesbian issues, celebrate sexual and gender diversity, and bring an end to homophobia around the world. The theme this year was ‘homosexuality knows no borders’.

IDAHO occurs every year on May 17th because on this date in 1990 the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses.

Events were held around the world including in Sydney where Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) held a rally aptly beneath the ‘I have a dream’ mural in Newtown. The main aims of the rally were to call for the legalisation of same sex marriage in Australia, highlight the need to tackle transphobia and continue working towards an end to homophobia globally.

The rally was opened by Freedom Fighters with lead singer Conor Montgomery performing a cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and closing the rally with Tracy Chapman’s “Talking ‘bout a Revolution”. A range of speakers came together to speak out against homophobia and discrimination against gays and lesbians. People called upon the Australian government to legalise same sex marriage and governments around the world to decriminalise homosexuality.

Eighty-six member states of the United Nations still criminalise homosexuality. Among these states, at least five have legal provisions with the death penalty as punishment.

To raise awareness for the plight of gay and lesbian refugees all over the world, Ben Cooper, a CAAH activist, completed a four-day hunger strike in 2008. He was motivated to do this by the tragic story of a 14-year-old boy and his 16-year-old boyfriend in Iraq. The police arrested them, charged them both and seven months later, publicly hanged them. Their corpses were hung in the street to remind people homosexuality is an abomination.

In many countries homophobia is a part of everyday life, even in Sydney Australia, the home of Mardi Gras. This is why events such as IDAHO are important to raise awareness of these issues and combat this discrimination.

Conor Montgomery told PinkNews.co.uk: “It is important to stand up and speak out here in Sydney to put pressure on countries where homosexuality is illegal. We must show solidarity with people around the world as it is an international day.”

Emma Cullingford is PinkNews.co.uk’s Australia Correspondent

The government is proposing a law that requires internet service providers to filter and block inappropriate content, such as that related to terrorism and abusive images of children. It has drawn up a list of sites to be blacklisted.

However, webpages such as gay and straight porn sites, YouTube links and certain Wikipedia entries have been included in its scope.

The blacklist of about 2,395 banned sites was obtained by Wikileaks, a website which allows anonymous whistleblowers to leak official documents.

Wikileaks plans to publish the list on its website, having previously revealed the blacklists from Denmark, Norway and Thailand.

The Sydney Morning Herald also gained access to the list and stated about half of the banned websites are not associated with child pornography.

The sites include online poker portals, YouTube links, gay and straight porn sites, Wikipedia entries, euthanasia pages and the homepages of private companies and medical practitioners.

The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, told the newspaper that secret censorship systems were “invariably corrupted.”

He pointed to the example of more than 1,200 sites criticising the Thai royal family which were on the Thailand censorship list, originally created to prevent child pornography.

Mr Assange obtained the blacklist after ACMA added Wikileaks to its blacklist following the site’s decision to publish the Danish blacklist.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is investigating the leak of the blacklist and considering a range of actions including possible criminal prosecution.

Senator Stephen Conroy, the communications minister, told the Sydney Morning Herald the leak and publication of the blacklist would be “grossly irresponsible” and undermine efforts to improve cyber safety.

Senator Conroy said: “Under existing laws the ACMA blacklist includes URLs relating to child sexual abuse, rape, incest, bestiality, sexual violence and detailed instruction in crime. No one interested in cyber safety would condone the leaking of this list.”

The blacklist is provided to makers of internet filtering software that parents are able to install on their PCs. However, if the government proceeds with its proposed internet filtering scheme, sites on the blacklist will be blocked for all Australians. 

The 18,000 capacity area welcomed revellers who were in great spirits after watching the parade. Many partygoers dressed up for the occasion in an array of costumes; from Scottish kilts to bondage outfits, lady boys to camp fairies: no theme was left untouched. It was the place to be on the biggest night of the Mardi Gras calendar after the glamour and glitz of the parade.

This much hyped party did not disappoint with the 7 venues, combined with the outdoor space, creating a village feel to the event. There were surprise acts, spectacular shows and an enthusiastic crowd ready to celebrate being gay. The ‘Nations United’ theme was a prominent fixture throughout the venues in the décor and the costumes. Key elements of the parade were also incorporated into the party area.

The Hordern Pavilion blended house and progressive house music in an impressive environment. Headlining DJ Paul Oakenfold opened his set to a rapturous crowd. His two hour set was packed full with crowd pleasing tracks, demonstrating his status as a world class DJ. He played to a backdrop of spectacular visual effects including an acrobat and laser show. Also playing were DJs Brent Nicholls and Alan Thompson from the UK.

The Freemasons also headlined last night’s event in the Royal Hall of Industries. The main room’s centre stage was transformed into the theme ‘it’s a gay world after all’; also the theme for the lead float at the parade. The atmosphere was high energy with an array of exuberant live performances, including Natalie Bassingthwaighte, lead singer with Rogue Traders, who closed the show.

Other venues included The Forum which featured live music from young and exciting bands such as Miami Horror who are touted as being the next big thing in Australia and Fuse Bar which was the women’s space; a new edition due to popular demand.

Emma Cullingford is PinkNews.co.uk’s Australia Correspondent

Sydney’s streets were lined with approximately 300,000 spectators on Saturday night for the 31st annual Mardi Gras Parade. Almost 10,000 participants and 135 floats took part in the parade, led by Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham.

The celebration of pride and diversity began with the tradition of Dykes on Bikes racing around the parade route before the main event began. The 135 floats represented a variety of causes from Surf Life Saving Australia to assassinated Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California.

The one and a half mile long parade saw streets packed with some parts ten people deep. The crowd was full of local and International visitors and people were animated and in enthusiastic spirits. The energy of the participants was also high, even towards the end of the parade route. The crowds cheered as the colourful floats passed by, with the biggest cheers going to the emergency services. Organisers describe the parade as ‘the jewel in our crown.’ New Mardi Gras Chair David Imrie said: “I love every minute of the parade. The atmosphere is electric.”

This year’s political theme was Nations United. This was represented in the floats and amongst participants, several of whom were carrying flags from around the world. To further illustrate the theme, the parade was divided into seven sections to represent each of the earth’s continents.The key message was the importance of human rights for gay and lesbian people everywhere in the world.

Mardi Gras began as a protest in 1978 when homosexuality was illegal and 56 arrests were made. This year 100 police participated in the parade and they commanded some of the biggest cheers from the crowds.

Oxford Street was declared an alcohol-free zone during the parade. Despite Oxford Street usually being an alcohol-free zone, exemption had been granted for the past two years. Police say despite the large crowds, people were generally well behaved.

The parade was televised for the first time since 2002 on Australia’s Foxtel network. 

Nations United is the theme for the 31st annual Sydney Mardi Gras. The aim this year is to highlight the importance of human rights for gay and lesbian people worldwide.

David Imrie, Chair of New Mardi Gras told PinkNews.co.uk: “There is still a long way to go as gay and lesbian rights still aren’t equal. One of the reasons the theme is Nations United is to highlight inequalities all over the world.”

Mardi Gras has evolved a great deal since the first parade in 1978 when homosexuality was illegal in Australia and 56 people were arrested during the protest.

Although times have moved on since then, extreme inequality still exists in countries where homosexuality is illegal. In some countries, like Afghanistan and Iran, it can even lead to the death penalty. There is also some way to go in more liberal countries such as Australia where inequalities do remain; for example with adoption and marriage rights.

This is the issue Mr Imrie wants to address this year, to ensure everyone in the world unites for equal rights. He said: “Mardi Gras is possibly the most visible lesbian and gay event on the planet. The key aim is to use Sydney as a world stage to highlight the injustices around the world.”

Despite the potential for the global economic crisis to have a negative impact, this year’s events have been a success. Last year, the Mardi Gras was estimated at generating £13.3m for the Sydney and the state of New South Wales. In 2008 the event received government funding for the first time.

Mr Imrie says Mardi Gras has surpassed last year in every way and expects this weekend’s Parade to be the most successful yet. The event is a major tourist attraction that draws an International crowd and this year will be no different.

“There is less money out there but all our events have sold really well, in fact better than expected. We’ve sold tickets to people from well over 20 countries,” Mr Imrie promised.

Mardi Gras culminates this Saturday 7th March with the spectacular Mardi Gras Parade. Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham is the Chief of Parade and is the first Australian to head the Parade for some time.

The Parade will end at Moore Park, ready for the official Mardi Gras Party at the Royal Hall of Industries. The Party will be headlined by world renowned DJs Paul Oakenfold and the Freemasons.