City Of Sydney Denies Oxtravaganza 2026 Funding Application

Organisers of annual community event Oxtravaganza have not been granted funding from the City of Sydney for their 2026 event.

Established in 2016, Oxtravaganza runs during the Mardi Gras season, showcasing more than 100 local shops, bars, clubs and galleries around Oxford St and the Rainbow Precinct, with art exhibitions, cabaret, drag shows and brunches, retail deals, and a dedicated kids zone.

In response to the Oxtravaganza grant application, the City of Sydney said they wanted to see more “diversity” within the program they can “clearly attribute to Oxtravaganza”, and a lower reliance on council funding, with the expectation that they seek alternative funding and sponsorship. 

“From day one, Oxtravaganza has been a grass-roots, community-led Mardi Gras festival,” organisers said in an email to supporters sighted by this masthead.

“It’s been built on the belief that seed funding from the City allows us to curate programs that we know work for our neighbourhood and for local business.”

The City of Sydney will provide grants of up to $50,000 for festivals and events that will benefit the community, with organisers receiving $25,000 in 2024, and $20,000 in 2025. Although their 2026 application requested $40,000 from the council, they weren’t expecting to be given any more than in previous years.

$10,000 of their funding goes towards reimbursing creators, such as drag queens, performers, and photographers, many of them locally based.

“Over the past 4 years we’ve spent $68,000 of our Oxtravaganza money on performers and creatives,” Lorraine Lock told Star Observer. “We run a tight ship and all the money goes back into our community, including local ads, helping the retailers and running Family Zone and giving performers work wherever and whenever we can.”

By community, for community

Oxtravaganza is a proudly grassroots event, having only taken on limited sponsorship through initiatives such Karma Kegs and advertising in their program, with the income generated invested back into the community through their charitable partners, which include organisations like Twenty10 and The Gender Centre.

“As soon as you sell out to a sponsor, you’re working for the benefit of the sponsor, not the community,” organiser Stephan Győry said.

“If we wanted to do commercial events, we’d be doing commercial events. We are community wanting to do stuff for community.”

However, organisers have decided their 2026 event will still be going ahead, turning to the community they’ve dedicated themselves to for support.

“We are disappointed by the funding decision, absolutely. But we’re also incredibly proud of what Oxtravaganza has become: a local, grass-roots celebration of Mardi Gras shaped by you,” organisers said.

“So, let’s show, once again, what happens when a community comes together, not because a major sponsor tells us to, but because we believe in this place and each other.”

In a statement to Star Observer, the City of Sydney Council said they had supported Oxtravaganza since 2016, providing more than $316,000 in funding.

“Most recently, the Darlinghurst Business Partnership received a two-year, $45,000 cash grant to deliver Oxtravaganza.  This grant ended in April this year,” said a spokesperson.

“In the 2025/26  summer and winter rounds for the festivals and events grants program, the City of Sydney received more than 2,000 requests for funding totalling $6.4 million. We were able to fund 41 of those applicants with cash funding of more than $700,000.

“We provide personalised feedback to organisations who request it. We do not share this feedback with media or other organisations for privacy reasons. The organisation can also reapply for funding in the upcoming winter round of grants, which will open in mid-2026.”