This year the famous Sydney Mardi Gras Parade returns to to its traditional Oxford Street route after two years in which it has been held at the SCG Stadium due to COVID prevention measures.

The route will be the same – however symbolically, it will have extra significance, because the New South Wales government has added the Oxford Street parade route to the state’s heritage register, in commemoration of its 45th anniversary and just before what will be the city’s biggest Mardi Gras with Sydney also hosting the WorldPride festival.

The listing includes parts of Oxford Street, Flinders Street, Anzac Parade and Darlinghurst Road, as well as the Darlinghurst Police Station, where LGBTQ+ protesters were hauled to and detained in 1978, sparking the annual protest and pride parade that is now known as Mardi Gras.

The only building included in the listing is the former Darlinghurst Police Station, which the City of Sydney plans to turn into an LGBTQ museum.