Simplicity a success for Launch

New Mardi Gras’ bid to avoid a repeat of last year’s widely panned Launch paid off last Saturday when about 1,000 people enthusiastically welcomed the 2007 season at a back-to-basics flash mob event at Circular Quay.

After receiving several clues sent by mobile phone text message, about 1,000 people gathered for the Flash Mob Launch at the Sydney Opera House forecourt last Saturday.

The same venue hosted the widely criticised 2006 season Launch, prompting New Mardi Gras to opt for a shorter, free event this year.

Organisers distributed maracas and New Mardi Gras banners, props for a huge conga line headed by exuberant host Bob Downe.

With City of Sydney rainbow flags in place along East Circular Quay, Downe led the conga line past bemused observers to Customs House. There, speakers including lord mayor Clover Moore and New Mardi Gras chair Marcus Bourget officially opened the season.

We’ve all come a long way since 1978 when Mardi Gras played a major role in addressing the whole issue of prejudice and homophobia, Moore said.

Mardi Gras must continue to play this role -¦ with wit, satire and glamour.

Then came what the crowd had been expecting after weeks of rumours. Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams -“ playing Daffyd, the only gay in the village, and towering transvestite Emily Howard -“ appeared briefly to cut a rainbow ribbon and launch the 2007 season.

And then they were gone, barely an hour after revellers had arrived at the Opera House. It had been short and sharp, with none of the gripes from last year’s Launch in evidence.

Marcus Bourget told Sydney Star Observer the season opener last weekend couldn’t have gone better.

We took Launch back to basics, we kept it simple, we kept it short, we kept it to the point. I think people appreciated that.

[There is] a message to be learned about what Launch is in terms of keeping it simple and making it a very visible thing.

On Friday night cabaret stars including Caroline O’Connor and Paul Capsis helped usher in the Mardi Gras season at a Red Carpet Opening party at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Mardi Gras season ends on 3 March with the Oxford Street parade and party.