Bust out the glitter, prep those fabulous falsies, and secure your leather chaps – tight – because Australia’s biggest celebration of love and diversity is kicking off with a bang – as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2014 offers its members a new range of exclusive benefits to make the festival experience bigger and better than ever before

For the very first time in the festival’s 36-year history, Friends with Benefits members will be given first dibs on Mardi Gras’ hottest events and best seats, with flexible payment options and special ticket bundle discounts to boot!

But “friends with benefits” are all about non-commitment. No! Not in this case, says Mardi Gras Festival Producer James Rongen-Hall, explaining that the new range of member perks is geared towards rewarding the festival’s most valued supporters.

“We wanted to create something for our members to acknowledge their support and contribution to making Mardi Gras what it is today – one of the most famous and treasured expressions of LGBTQI pride, love and diversity around the world,” he says.

“With this in mind, we are developing a range of new benefits to make the festival experience more accessible and cost-efficient for members.”

Never has it been better to be in a committed relationship.

Until November 20 (unless sold out earlier), members can purchase tickets to multiple Mardi Gras events in one go – three weeks ahead of the general public. And if you’re not a current member and want to join, you can purchase your membership and bundle it in one transaction. How easy is that?

By buying tickets, members can secure presale access to sell-out events like Harbour Party and The Laneway, ensuring that no big-ticket experience goes unattended by the festival’s most committed partygoers.

What’s more, members have access to the best seats in the house for Women Say Something’s gala event at Sydney Town Hall and can take advantage of a payment plan option with monthly instalments from now until February. Layby, your Mardi Gras wish list and pay as you go!

However, the biggest win for members is the pricing benefit that comes with bundle ticket purchases. As in previous years, members will get the heftiest discount on ticket prices across the board, but bundle tickets offer the best bang for the buck.

A range of special bundles are available for purchase including:

• Party + Laneway (Youth/concession bundles available);
• Party + Laneway + Harbour (Youth/concession bundles available);
• Party + Women Say Something (including A Reserve Dinner ticket);
• Party + Women Say Something* + Harbour;
• Party + Women Say Something* + Laneway;

Members best get in quick, though. A limited allotment of bundles is available, and tickets are expected to sell quickly. Single tickets will also be purchasable from November 21 for the Mardi Gras Party and November 28 for The Mardi Gras Festival.

For more information, including pricing, head to: http://www.mardigras.org.au/member-bundles