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Magda to co-host Mardi Gras broadcast for SBS ONE

Mardi Gras parade returns to a primary channel for the first time in 13 years, with Magda as host.

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The 2015 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras returns to a primary channel broadcast for the first time in 13 years.

After screening on SBS 2 last year, it has been upgraded to SBS ONE at 8.30pm, Sunday 8th March hosted by Magda Szubanski, Tom Ballard and The Feed’s Patrick Abboud, commemorating a message of diversity, equal rights, pride and inclusion.

Mardi Gras is a wonderful way for all kinds of people to come together in a friendly, accessible celebration of diversity. It’s the party to end all parties and everyone is welcome to join in. So get your bedazzlers ready, pop on your sequined onesies – Australia, it’s time to get your gay on . . . I know I will. I’m thrilled to be a part of the sparkle and magic of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on SBS,” she said.

Tom Ballard added: “I couldn’t be happier to be returning to the SBS family for this year’s Mardi Gras coverage. I’ve got my sequins sorted, I’ve got my Grindr subscription updated, I’ve got the journalistic nous of Patrick Abboud and I’m co-hosting with one of the funniest people ever, Magda Szubanski. Con-drag-ulations to us all!”

SBS will once again have a float in the parade joining in the theme of this year’s Parade, passion.

SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said: “Last year we were incredibly proud to return Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to free-to-air television for the first time in twelve years, and are thrilled to build on the success of the broadcast to bring this iconic event to all Australians on SBS ONE in 2015. Mardi Gras is a celebration of the LGBTQI community, which goes straight to the core of SBS’s purpose – to explore, appreciate and celebrate diversity and by doing so, contribute to a more cohesive society. SBS’s Mardi Gras coverage is the perfect opportunity to give a voice to unique Australian stories and experiences.”

SBS’s exclusive television broadcast will be streamed online at the same time at www.sbs.com.au/mardigras and will include the best of the spectacular floats and costumes in the parade with commentary from Magda Szubanski, Tom Ballard and Patrick Abboud live on the streets, as well as interviews with celebrity guests. The coverage will also include stories from the parade participants exploring the messages behind the floats, covering issues of sexuality, equality and discrimination that affect the LGBTQI community.

Viewer tweets will be displayed on screen throughout the television and online broadcasts, using the official event hashtag #sydneymardigras

The street parade is the spectacular sequinned centrepiece bringing to a close the three-week long calendar of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festivities and events. Hundreds of thousands of spectators from all over the world bring Sydney to a standstill as they party alongside the street parade of 10,000 people. Decorated floats, pumping tunes, glitter, banners, elaborate costumes and dancers wind their way through Oxford and Flinders streets in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, creating an outrageous river of colour.

SBS Radio will also broadcast live from the parade in conjunction with JoyFM.

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