(Recasts after parade) BY Jim Thornhill SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, one of the biggest of its kind in the world, went green this year with a message to Australians that they must take action to protect a threatened environment. Centrepiece of the parade on Saturday night was a giant replica of planet Earth, split into two with one half barren and decaying, and the other bright and colourful to symbolise hope. There was also all the usual razzmatazz, with a 250-strong posse of Kylie Minogues, a band of gay Sydney lifesavers, and a six-story high trojan horse all helping to pave the city's streets with glitter. "Kylie is such an inspiration," said Nicholas Hutchings, among a throng of Kylie devotees clad in pink hot pants and tinsel. "We just thought she's been through an awful lot and it's time to celebrate her." The Australian showgirl herself, recently split from French boyfriend Olivier Martinez, wasn't able to take pride of place on the float but sent a message of support, said Hutchings, who is an account manager in his day job. A record 7,500 people took part in this year's parade, with hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the 1.6-km (mile-long) route. "You get so swept away, you've just got to look around and enjoy the moment. It's such a buzz," said gym owner Jeremy Brant, a veteran of 17 Mardi Gras. At the head of the parade was British actor Rupert Everett, star of such films as "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "The Madness of King George", and the voice of Prince Charming in the "Shrek" movies. Adding to the international flavour, '80s pop legend Boy George topped the bill at an exclusive after-party, while a plucky group of boys from the windswept Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic made the trip for the first time. They were here to celebrate their government's extension in December of anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation. "Growing up as a gay male in the Faroe Islands you can't help but feel alienated. Every aspect of homosexuality was taboo and regarded as immoral and sinful," said group leader Redin Husdal Leonsson. Politics is never far from the surface at the parade, now in its 29th year, and Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been a perennial target. "We've got people from over 35 countries attending this year's Mardi Gras, but Howard cannot even bring himself to wish everyone a happy Mardi Gras," said event organiser Marcus Bourget prior to the parade. "So Mr. Howard, where the bloody hell are you?" he added, evoking Australia's recent tourist campaign ad to lure foreign visitors. Although Australia decriminalised homosexuality in 1984, federal law does not recognise same-sex marriage. "That needs to change," said Bourget.
