The sight of young love helped nudge Jonathan Watcham out of the closet.
It was during a COVID lockdown. The Sydneysider had entered his 60s and was lonely.
He was on a run at leafy Cremorne Point, when he had an epiphany.
"I saw these two gay guys coming down the stairs, young gay guys, holding hands," Mr Watcham said.
"Something said to me, 'you can have that if you have the courage to be true to yourself'."
Mr Watcham found that courage early last year and came out to his family and friends.
"I wrote a very long letter. It was a 15-page letter, the poor things that had to grind through," he said.
"Family and friends were amazing. They all were like, 'well, we love you anyway. It doesn't matter'.
"Some family said, 'we kind of knew anyway'."
Not only will Mr Watcham glitter up for his first Mardi Gras tonight, but he will also be marching in the parade.
He has learned a punchy dance routine, which he will perform in light-up shoes, with his LGBT boxing club, the Sydney Hookers.
"I want to be standing next to them proudly, because they've supported me, welcomed me, affirmed me, been kind to me," Mr Watcham said.
He said he does not regret coming out later in life.
"People have said to me, 'don't you wish you'd done this 30 years ago?' And I think the timing was right now.
"I'm in my self-worth now. Whereas I wasn't that confident when I was in my 30s."
This year is the first that Mardi Gras will be held at its spiritual home of Oxford Street since 2020.
It's also the 45th anniversary of the first march, when a few hundred people now known as the "78ers" took part in a parade which became a seminal moment in Australia's LGBT rights movement.
The event's chief executive, Albert Kruger, said there would be 12,000 people and 208 floats in this year's parade, with hundreds of thousands expected to line the streets.
"Mardi Gras has finally come back home to Oxford Street and we couldn't be more excited," he said.
"Forty five years ago, a few hundred brave members of our community fought for visibility and equality.
"And that is indeed what Mardi Gras still stands for today."
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the event's coupling with WorldPride brought an international flavour this year.
The former Sydney MP said the parade was a celebration but also served as a reminder of struggles faced in the past.
"Mardi Gras is about serious glamour and serious fun, but it's also about serious purpose," she said.
"We have had a lot of wins in this country, but we still have ... a way to go.
"And of course we will be hosting people from other countries who have been persecuted because of their homosexuality."
- Read more about Sydney WorldPride and pride across Australia on our event website.
