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Maxi Shield poses inside The Oxford Hotel on February 27, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Maxi states that “kindness has no colour, religion, sexual preference or gender. With just one smile we could change the world and with the love you get from the Mardi Gras parade you could heal the world”. The Sydney Mardi Gras parade started following a protest march over 1969 Stonewall Riots of New York on 24 June, 1978. The Sydney march ended with the arrests of 53 people, many who were held at Darlinghurst Police Station. Following criticisms over what many believed to be excessive and unwarranted actions by police and authorities, the NSW parliament repealed the Summary Offences Act, under which most of the arrests to be made. The following year the first official Sydney Mardi Gras parade was held on 30 June, 1979 involving 3000 people. The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is now an annual event promoting awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues and themes. (Photo by Don Arnold/Getty Images)
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