‘It feels like we lost brothers’: Sydney Mardi Gras preparations take on sombre tone after alleged murders

Upset that police are now marching in the Mardi Gras parade, Jojo Hall plans to spend Saturday at home with friends. ‘It has been a wake-up call,’ she says. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

When Sydney transformed into a queer-utopia as the host of World Pride last year, Jojo Hall felt full of optimism.

“It felt like a new era in terms of the [LGBTQ+] community’s place in the wider community,” she says.