The Australian annual ‘Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade’ on Saturday witnessed tens and thousands of people dancing and carousing their way through the streets of Sydney – some attired in classy costumes; while others ‘clothed’ merely in body paint and barest-minimum leaves.

The parade – which began in 1978 essentially as a protest march by homosexual and transsexual men and women – is currently one of the world’s biggest and most glitzy gay pride events.

This year’s event featured the theme, “History of the World” - a peek at gay history; and boasted the involvement of as many as 9,400 participants. The nearly 135 floats, which rolled out from William Square, were led by the well-known transsexual Amanda Lepore, who was scantily-dressed in a diamante G-string, and seated in an open-top Mercedes.

Also a part of the festivities were look-alikes of various celebrities, marching pharaohs, and a crowd favorite - the dykes on bikes! The entire route of the parade was swarmed with spectators, holding rainbow banners and Aussie flags. Jewelry-covered dancers showed off their trimmings and twisted LED hula hoops with captivating variations.

Meanwhile, noting that the significance of the parade had increased manifold after the voting down of a same-sex marriage bill in the Senate earlier this week, Katrina Marton - chief of events at Mardi Gras - said: “Under the glitz and glamour it's still a political march.”