Grey skies can't deter colourful Mardi Gras crowd

Sydney's Victoria Park has been covered with sequins, glitz and glam to brighten up gloomy skies and mark the first major event of Mardi Gras.

Fair Day returned to celebrate queer culture, entertainment and creativity featuring food, retail and community stalls alongside headline acts, karaoke and a canine pageant.

A wet and muggy start to Sunday failed to dampen the mood as hundreds of people packed the park to see the myriad colourful outfits on display at the fair.

While some performers had to move their make-up and hair preparations under cover, the weather cleared in the afternoon, making for a brilliant spectacle.

The state's leading LGBTQI health organisation, ACON, set up a prominent health information space, with a particular focus on sexual health and cancer screening.

The pop-up allowed revellers to get themselves screened for lung cancer and have their photo displayed on an oversized, inflatable CT machine.

The pop-up was part of a push to promote a new lung cancer screening program for people who have been heavy smokers in the past and have now stopped, ACON chief executive Michael Woodhouse told AAP.

"One of the great things about Fair Day is the huge cross-section of people from across the community, people from a wide range of backgrounds, ages and cultures," he said.

"We want everyone to know about the services that ACON runs and we're hoping to improve visibility for people who may not have accessed them before."

The ACON stall offered bulk-billed GP appointments for revellers to discuss sexual health, particularly information about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medication to prevent HIV.

Cervical and breast cancer screenings were also offered.

"At last year's Fair Day, we met a number of people who had either never been screened or were well overdue, so we see it as a good opportunity to offer that service," Mr Woodhouse said.

Headline acts taking to the main stage included American singer-songwriter Janice Robinson, Melbourne pop band Blusher, Courtney Act, Kath Ebbs and James Alexandr.

This year's Mardi Gras theme is "Ecstatica", a rallying call to gather, connect and march for visibility, inclusion and self-expression.

The 2026 event will mark 48 years since the first gay rights parade in 1978.

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras remains one of the world's biggest LGBTQI festivals.