Fair Day has returned to celebrate queer culture, entertainment and creativity featuring food, retail and community stalls alongside headline acts, karaoke and a canine pageant.
The state's leading LGBTQI health organisation, ACON, has set up a prominent health information space, with a particular focus on sexual health and cancer screening.
The pop-up will allow revellers to get themselves screened for lung cancer and have their photo displayed on an oversize, inflatable CT machine.
It's part of a push to promote a new lung cancer screening program for people who have been heavy smokers in the past and have now stopped, ACON chief executive Michael Woodhouse told AAP.
"One of the great things about Fair Day is the huge cross-section of people from across the community, people from a wide range of backgrounds, ages and cultures," he said.
"We want everyone to know about the services that ACON runs and we're hoping to improve visibility for people who may not have accessed them before."
The ACON stall will also be offering bulk-billed GP appointments for revellers to discuss sexual health, particularly information about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medication to prevent HIV.
Cervical and breast cancer screening will also be offered.
"At last year's Fair Day we met a number of people who had either never been screened or were well overdue, so we see it as a good opportunity to offer that service," Mr Woodhouse said.
ACON rovers will also be on hand to monitor how people are feeling at the Fair Day and offer health support if needed.
"It's really for people who might be a bit under the weather on the day and we like to keep an eye on people across the park to make sure everyone stays safe," Mr Woodhouse said.
Headline acts taking to the main stage include American singer-songwriter Janice Robinson, Melbourne pop band Blusher, Courtney Act, Kath Ebbs and James Alexandr.
This year's Mardi Gras theme is "Ecstatica", a rallying call to gather, connect and march for visibility, inclusion and self-expression.
The 2026 event will mark 48 years since the first gay rights parade in 1978, and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras remains one of the world's biggest LGBTQI festivals.
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