In 1980, after the third successful Mardi Gras parade, at community consultations, decisions were made to move the parade to the summer.
In 1981, the parade was shifted to February, with the name changed to the "Sydney Gay Mardi Gras".
An increasingly large number of people not only participated in the now summertime event, but a crowd of 5,000 came to watch it.
1981's event saw a split develop between lesbian and gays over the inclusion of floats representing businesses.
For most of the decade many lesbians excluded themselves from the event.
A large post-parade party was held in 1982, which 4,000 people attended.
This would continue to become an integral part of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
1983 saw 44 floats participate with 20,000 onlookers.
Footage of the 1984 event appeared in the music video for the Cold Chisel song "Saturday Night".
In 1987, an estimated 100,000 people came to watch the parade.
The mid-1980s saw considerable pressure placed to the Mardi Gras Committee following media controversy regarding AIDS.
Despite calls for the parade and the party to be banned, the 1985 parade went ahead with the theme Fighting for Our Lives.
In 1988 the parade was renamed the "Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras" at an Extraordinary General Meeting.

1991 saw the eighth annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Film festival, a Mardi Gras event, included in a national film festival for the first time.
In this year the parade had become the largest ever held in Australia.
In 1992, the festival lasted for four weeks, making it the largest gay and lesbian festival in the world.
Also in 1992, Fiona Cunningham-Reid filmed a documentary about the history of the Mardi Gras called "Feed Them to the Cannibals!".
By 1993, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade had become the largest night time outdoor parade in the world.
Mardi Gras' Economic Impact Study found that the total Mardi Gras impact into the Australian economy was around A$38 million.
In February 1993 an Umbrella Event of the festival was the play "Nothing Personal" designed by Arthur Dicks.
In 1994, Mardi Gras Festival adopted the theme We are Family, a nod to it being International Year of the Family.
That year there were 137 floats in the parade with 600,000 spectators.
For the first time, the parade was filmed by the ABC TV and shown on Sunday 6 March at 8.30 pm.
It won its time slot and earned ABC TV its highest ratings in history.
The 1997 parade was covered by Libbi Gorr's current affairs show McFeast on ABC TV.

An Aboriginal man dressed as Captain Cook and Aboriginal float led the parade in 1988, 218 years after Cook's landing and claim on the land.
The State Library of NSW holds an extensive collection of material related to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras including posters, clippings, photographs and the personal papers of people active in the event and festival over many years.

Criticism of the Sydney Mardi Gras was perhaps at its strongest during the early years of the AIDS crisis, and flared again when in 1994 the national broadcaster ABC telecast the parade for the first time.

In 1996 there was criticism over the inclusion of bisexuals and heterosexuals as members of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
It was claimed that the subsequent requirement for those people to correctly answer specific questions, created two classes of membership – namely (1) gays, lesbians and transgender people and (2) bisexuals and heterosexuals.

In 1997 a small group of people who were part of the 1978 events contributed to planning the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Mardi Gras parade in 1998.
This group became known as the 78ers and has led each year's Mardi Gras parade since 1998.
In 1980, after the third successful Mardi Gras parade, at community consultations, decisions were made to move the parade to the summer. In 1981, the parade was shifted to February, with the name changed to the "Sydney Gay Mardi Gras". An increasingly large number of people not only participated in the now summertime event, but a crowd of 5,000 came to watch it. 1981's event saw a split develop between lesbian and gays over the inclusion of floats representing businesses. For most of the decade many lesbians excluded themselves from the event. A large post-parade party was held in 1982, which 4,000 people attended. This would continue to become an integral part of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. 1983 saw 44 floats participate with 20,000 onlookers. Footage of the 1984 event appeared in the music video for the Cold Chisel song "Saturday Night". In 1987, an estimated 100,000 people came to watch the parade. The mid-1980s saw considerable pressure placed to the Mardi Gras Committee following media controversy regarding AIDS. Despite calls for the parade and the party to be banned, the 1985 parade went ahead with the theme Fighting for Our Lives. In 1988 the parade was renamed the "Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras" at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
1991 saw the eighth annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Film festival, a Mardi Gras event, included in a national film festival for the first time. In this year the parade had become the largest ever held in Australia. In 1992, the festival lasted for four weeks, making it the largest gay and lesbian festival in the world. Also in 1992, Fiona Cunningham-Reid filmed a documentary about the history of the Mardi Gras called "Feed Them to the Cannibals!". By 1993, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade had become the largest night time outdoor parade in the world. Mardi Gras' Economic Impact Study found that the total Mardi Gras impact into the Australian economy was around A$38 million. In February 1993 an Umbrella Event of the festival was the play "Nothing Personal" designed by Arthur Dicks. In 1994, Mardi Gras Festival adopted the theme We are Family, a nod to it being International Year of the Family. That year there were 137 floats in the parade with 600,000 spectators. For the first time, the parade was filmed by the ABC TV and shown on Sunday 6 March at 8.30 pm. It won its time slot and earned ABC TV its highest ratings in history. The 1997 parade was covered by Libbi Gorr's current affairs show McFeast on ABC TV.
An Aboriginal man dressed as Captain Cook and Aboriginal float led the parade in 1988, 218 years after Cook's landing and claim on the land. The State Library of NSW holds an extensive collection of material related to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras including posters, clippings, photographs and the personal papers of people active in the event and festival over many years.
Criticism of the Sydney Mardi Gras was perhaps at its strongest during the early years of the AIDS crisis, and flared again when in 1994 the national broadcaster ABC telecast the parade for the first time.
In 1996 there was criticism over the inclusion of bisexuals and heterosexuals as members of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. It was claimed that the subsequent requirement for those people to correctly answer specific questions, created two classes of membership – namely (1) gays, lesbians and transgender people and (2) bisexuals and heterosexuals.
In 1997 a small group of people who were part of the 1978 events contributed to planning the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Mardi Gras parade in 1998. This group became known as the 78ers and has led each year's Mardi Gras parade since 1998.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras