5200 Strip in Sydney

More than 5,200 people gathered at the Sydney Opera House in Australia today and stripped down to take part in a photographic installation by renowned artist Spencer Tunick, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The installation, titled "Mardi Gras: The Base," was a part of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and was intended to be a demonstration of diversity. "Gay men and women lay naked next to their straight neighbors and this delivered a very strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society," said Tunick, who asked subjects to pose with their hands by their sides, up above their heads, and even asked all couples in the crowd to embrace before moving everyone inside to pose in the theater.

Organizers said they were thrilled at the turnout, which was originally expected to about 2,000.

Read the full Sydney Morning Herald story here. Watch a video of the installation, which includes nudity, below.