The 2001 Parade was broadcast on Network Ten and had a theme of gay and lesbian parenting.
The 2002 event saw a loss of A$400,000.
In August the organising company was bankrupt.
In 2003, the festival organisers responded to claims that the event was becoming too commercialised by implemented a scaled-down, grassroots approach.
The 2009 performance figures indicated about 9,500 participants and 134 floats were part of the parade, making it the largest ever.
Up to 300,000 spectators from Australia and overseas turned out in 2011 for the celebrations.

Mardi Gras, at different times, has attracted criticism from its own members, LGBTQI communities, and a variety of religious and political groups.
Some argue Mardi Gras is inherently subversive to traditional Christian, Islamic and Jewish values.
Each year the event is held, Fred Nile, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a former minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, leads a prayer for rain on the event.

In January 2008 Robert Forsyth, the Anglican bishop of South Sydney, condemned Corpus Christi for opening the Mardi Gras because it depicted Judas seducing a gay Jesus as well as Jesus' administration of gay marriage between two apostles.
Director Leigh Rowney accepted that it would generate discussion on Homosexuality and Christianity and stated: "I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering questions about Christianity as a faith system."
Playwright Terrence McNally, a gay man, received death threats when it was played in the United States.
The 2001 Parade was broadcast on Network Ten and had a theme of gay and lesbian parenting. The 2002 event saw a loss of A$400,000. In August the organising company was bankrupt. In 2003, the festival organisers responded to claims that the event was becoming too commercialised by implemented a scaled-down, grassroots approach. The 2009 performance figures indicated about 9,500 participants and 134 floats were part of the parade, making it the largest ever. Up to 300,000 spectators from Australia and overseas turned out in 2011 for the celebrations.
Mardi Gras, at different times, has attracted criticism from its own members, LGBTQI communities, and a variety of religious and political groups. Some argue Mardi Gras is inherently subversive to traditional Christian, Islamic and Jewish values. Each year the event is held, Fred Nile, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a former minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, leads a prayer for rain on the event.
In January 2008 Robert Forsyth, the Anglican bishop of South Sydney, condemned Corpus Christi for opening the Mardi Gras because it depicted Judas seducing a gay Jesus as well as Jesus' administration of gay marriage between two apostles. Director Leigh Rowney accepted that it would generate discussion on Homosexuality and Christianity and stated: "I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering questions about Christianity as a faith system." Playwright Terrence McNally, a gay man, received death threats when it was played in the United States.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras