New Mardi Gras had already decided last year to shift its parade to the Sydney Cricket Ground. Oxford Street is where the original 1978 gay and lesbian pride parade was attacked by police: 53 people were arrested and many were assaulted while in custody. This year’s rally had demands: it called on the NSW government to stop the transphobic bill being pushed by One Nation NSW MP Mark Latham; to decriminalise sex work; and to end the war on drugs. Showing solidarity with other struggles, participants called for all refugees to be freed from detention and for justice for First Nations peoples.