The big task to clean up the parade route has begun after a night of celebrations that marked 48 years since the first gay rights parade in 1978.
Among a sea of leather, glitter, sequins and sparkles were keffiyehs and signs calling for a free Palestine.
The 78ers - who took part in the very first parade - held a large banner that read "Stop Police Attacks on Gays, Women and Blacks".
They were cheered on as they marched along streets that have this week been added to Australia's National Heritage List in recognition of queer history and culture.
Among them was 78er Karl Zlotkowski, who has taken part in every Mardi Gras, and said the group had one of the largest contingents in the parade.
"We have about 90 people registered, and so that's about 60 78ers and their partners and friends who march with us," he told AAP.
"Our numbers are starting to drop away - we are at that stage of life - but we're determined to see out the 50th anniversary in 2028 as well."
Sydneysider Stephanie, attending the parade as an onlooker for the first time, said Mardi Gras was a cultural institution.
"We thank the 78ers for their bravery and for paving the way for this beautiful celebration of queerness," she said.
Groups representing rainbow families, transgender people, queer people living with disability, unions, government departments, health organisations and LGBTQI choirs were among the 170 floats that filled the route with colour, music and choreography.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn't march this year but other political faces including Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, NSW independent Alex Greenwich and federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek joined the march along the 1.3km route through Darlinghurst.
NSW Education Minister Prue Car, who has been on personal leave undergoing treatment for breast cancer since June 2025, joined the departmental float. Earlier this month she announced she was cancer free.
Some of the youngest marchers were spotted in the Rainbow Families float, with many small children carried on their parent's shoulders, pushed in prams or doing their best to keep up on little legs.
Dykes on Bikes showed off their love of motorcycles with the crowd matching their revs with screams and roars as they drove past.
The night was not without controversy, with an activist group told its float would be banned from the parade less than 24 hours before the event.
Mardi Gras organisers told the Pride in Protest group it could not participate due to its social media conduct.
Its members have previously marched alongside a float under the banner "No Pride in Genocide" in support of Palestine.
But recent posts on social media directed at a Jewish LGBTQI group were deemed to have breached the parade's code of conduct.
Marchers in other floats carried signs from Pride in Protest that said, "We support protest. We oppose genocide."
NSW police assistant commissioner Stephen Hegarty praised crowd behaviour and said there were no significant arrests made as part of the public safety operation.
"We were pleased to see people celebrating safely and respectfully," he said in a statement.
"Most people were well-behaved, followed the directions of authorities, looked after each other and got home safely."
Four people, who were previously removed from participating in the parade, were arrested for a breach of the peace on Liverpool Street, Sydney.
