Written by Tim Snell
Hello to my fellow Charles Sturt students. We are all part of a wide variety of Charles Sturt communities. Community is very important to me and is one of my reasons for volunteering for the medical team at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
I am Tim Snell; I have resumed my studies this year, and I am excited to be closer to completing my Graduate Diploma of Clinical Practice (Paramedicine). I am currently a Registered Nurse, or as a male, a Registered Murse (male nurse).
There is something that is very special about the Mardi Gras festival, which this year was held from Friday, 13th February to Sunday 01st March. The parade, considered the highlight of the festival, was held on Saturday, 28th February.
The medical team is an important part of the parade. We are there to ensure those in the parade are safe, that those who are in the crowd to experience the parade are safe, and to ensure volunteers are safe. If required, appropriate first aid is applied, and to make a clinical decision if a patient should be treated at a higher level by those who have been contracted by Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Those that provided this were St. John Ambulance and NSW Ambulance.
“Ecstatica” was the motto for the 2026 Mardi Gras Festival. I, other volunteers, and spectators were ecstatic (definition of the word ecstatic per Britannica Dictionary is very happy or excited: feeling or showing ecstasy). It was a special night, and to experience that feeling of love was an absolute feeling of pure joy.
The parade was led by the Dykes on Bikes, followed by Boys on Bikes, the 78ers (those original gay rights demonstrators who created the now world-famous Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade), and gay First Nations people. This was followed by 170 floats and 10,000 marchers. Spectator numbers were estimated at 250,000.
My team consisted of a first-year medical student, a psychiatrist, and myself. We were positioned at the end of the parade route at Flinders Street, which then becomes Moore Park Road. This area is Darlinghurst and Moore Park; well-known landmarks are Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
It was with a strong commitment to ensure people are safe, and my high priority to be part of something very close to my heart. I am fortunately now finding a wider acceptance of being part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I am an out there, loud and proud gay man. I am part of our wide Charles Sturt community and one of two student representatives for Charles Sturt Ally.
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