Salt Shakers Media Release

6 March 2009

Sydney mardi gras

Will the media tell the truth this year or continue to perpetuate the fraud? Asks Peter Stokes CEO of Christian ethics group Salt Shakers.

Remember 2006? 200,000 people are still missing! In 2006, mardi gras organisers REDUCED their crowd estimate by 200,000 OVERNIGHT because the media started asking questions - 500,000 on the Saturday night became 300,000 on Sunday morning! NO SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION WAS GIVEN <http://www.saltshakers.org.au/html/P/9/ B/335/>

The only media person prepared to accurately assess Sydney mardi gras crowd numbers has been homosexual journalist Adam Carr, who said in 2002 that the real attendance figure was between 60,000 and 75,000. <http://www.adam-carr.net/bnews/2002/bnm3.txt> In 2002, the POLICE finally admitted the figures were FALSE and stopped endorsing them. This abandonment came after police forced organisers to reduce their estimate down by 100,000 each year for 3 years (1999 - 2001). The Police had to drag them kicking and screaming down to 400,000 but knew that was still excessive and bailed out. (No pun intended) We have consistently called for honesty from homosexual event organisers but that seems to be a word they do not understand.

This year, Melbourne Pride March organisers claimed 4,000 people participated in their 'march' yet a video recording shows only 1,800 at most! That is a 110% exaggeration!! "If Pride will exaggerate participants by that much, we should not be surprised when they, and mardi gras organisers, grossly exaggerate crowd sizes, but that is unacceptable." Said Peter Stokes 'We ask the media to consider some simple mathematics" Peter Stokes said, "because 500,000 spectators would require at least 65 rows of people on EACH side of the mardi gras parade and it is not difficult to see that that is impossible!" PLEASE CONSIDER - estimating crowd numbers along a defined route is relatively easy.

Using 2 people per metre along the route the equation is < length of route (metres) x 2 x the number of rows > The MD route is 1,800 metres by 2 gives 3,600 people per row.

If there are 10 row (5 on each side) at 3,600 people that gives 36,000. We know that there are people milling around and on balconies, but even if we generously allow a whopping 20,000 we still ONLY have a total of 56,000 people.

Even if we exaggerate the number of rows to 10 on each side for the whole length - and there certainly are not - you get 72,000 plus the additional 20,000 and you still have ONLY 92,000. "Where are all the others people organisers claim to be there?" Asked peter Stokes.

We have consistently stated there are less than 100,000 people at mardi gras and that to quote anything higher is nothing less that promotional fraud because they use the inflated figures for all types financial advantage.

It's time for honesty and accuracy on this issue of crowd attendance from organisers, and accountability by the MEDIA. We will be monitoring the mardi gras and the media reports this weekend to assess that accountability.

See pdf document for pictures of crowds: Pre mardi gras Media Release - 2 pages with photos of the 2008 parade and comparison with an Obama rally - 6 March 2009

For more details or media interviews contact Peter Stokes. CEO, Salt Shakers Inc.

Office: 03 9800 2855 Mbl: 0413 084 145 E: