It’s a momentous spectacle to watch the iconic Sydney Opera House’s ‘sails’ light up in the colours of the LGBTQIA+ progress flag, marking the opening of Sydney WorldPride. The Experientialist® reports live from the ‘Emerald City’, as over the next two weeks, an estimated half a million revellers will participate in over three hundred events to celebrate the queerest fortnight in the world.
You’d have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard that WorldPride is happening in the southern hemisphere for the first time in history. It’s taking place in Sydney, Australia’s most inclusive LGBTQIA+ city, where the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival (now in its 45th year) has drawn millions of people here for decades. And what a way to welcome the world this year, with the city’s symbolic landmarks lighting up in rainbow colours, in celebration and solidarity.
Alongside the Opera House, the ‘Rainbow City’ activation will see 45 pieces of public art (one for each year of Pride in the city) installed across Sydney, including Bondi Beach, the Royal Botanic Gardens and even all the way out in the Blue Mountains. The city loves its illuminations, as later this year, for two weeks in June, the tradition of lighting up landmarks continues as Vivid Sydney gathers some of the brightest minds and fearless storytellers to create a truly futuristic festival of light.
Watching the Opera House light up is a heart-fluttering sight. It has also been heartwarming to see this beautiful beachside urbanity pull together in readiness for the event. Australia has a lot to celebrate when it comes to queer rights. And even though they came to the marriage equality game rather late, it has been five years now. With the Sydney WorldPride theme this year being ‘GATHER, DREAM, AMPLIFY’, the festival is going further than before to be inclusive of the pan-Australian Aboriginal Peoples, in full acknowledgement of the traditional custodians of Australia, representing the country’s ongoing commitment to reparation, equality and inclusion.
Walking through Sydney, it’s reassuring to see so much diversity and an inherent sense of belonging… not just for LGBTQIA+ people, but for all people. The city is clearly rooted in the intersectionality of its residents, it’s obvious to the eye but even more so to the mouth. They say that Sydney has some 20,000 restaurants and the diversity of its cuisine is mindblowing. Over our time here, we have enjoyed a world of flavours, including the new nightlife spot in Darling Square, Honey, where K-Pop vibes and Seoul-food are on the menu. At culture-forward Radio Cairo in Cremorne, we sampled authentic pan-African, Indian and Caribbean eats. And on a post-party, sunrise jaunt to Juan Montagu in Woollomooloo, we not only found more rainbows, but Colombian breakfast delicacies as well.
It feels fantastic to be in an environment where our hard-fought LGBTQIA+ rights have been granted and respected. But Pride celebrations themselves can be a divisive issue. There are those within the community who bemoan the over-capitalisation of Pride. Then there are others, particularly those in the mainstream, that feel that we no longer need Pride as we now have all the rights we seek.
But we must also remember that what we call Pride parades today were once Pride marches, protests in fact. And Pride (and protest) is important, it still needs to happen as a reminder never to go backwards and as a protest for the continued advancement of the community’s rights. Sydney (and Australia, perhaps) can be a bit of a bubble, but we must realise that in many – actually if we’re talking statistically, most – places elsewhere in the world, queer rights are still not a reality.
Moreover, a different, less queer-friendly world, for Australia isn’t something that is in its distant past. We’re reminded of this as we visit Qtopia, Sydney’s first queer museum. A transformative experience, the museum is a hub for learning and education, as well as the celebration of and support for the LGBTQIA+ community. Some of the exhibits are humbling too, showcasing local stories from the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as of those who fought long and hard for marriage equality in Australia. Qtopia’s first exhibition space is in the Bandstand in Green Square Park, located close to ‘Ward 17’ at St Vincent’s Hospital, the first ward dedicated to HIV/AIDS in Australia.
Sydney WorldPride culminates in what is going to be Australia’s biggest Pride March on 5th March, but there are hundreds (although mostly sold out) of events happening as well. The Human Rights Conference (that runs from 1-3rd March) will shine a spotlight on human rights issues facing people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and variations in sex characteristics.
The opening concert on 24th February at The Domain will feature Kylie Minogue and Charli XCX, hosted by international drag superstar Courtney Act. The Domain will also host a dance party on 26th February, headlined by Kelly Rowland. On 4th March, the Bondi Beach Party will feature the global pop phenomenon, Nicole Scherzinger. Bondi Beach is no stranger to LGBTQIA+ life, but for one day only, it will be transformed into the hottest club for 12,000 revellers. The closing concert, billed as Rainbow Republic, will be a festival within a festival, featuring Kim Petras, Ava Max and other brilliant acts. Here the baton will also be handed on to WorldPride Washington D.C. 2025.
Other Sydney WorldPride events that have caught our eye include ‘Marri Madung Butbut’: First Nations Gathering Space. It runs between 22-28th February and is the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and global First Nation LGBTQIA+SB (Sistergirl and Brotherboy) programme to take place in Australia. It will be a non-stop party and celebration of the art, culture and voices of Australia’s queer First Nation people, showcasing the rainbow heart of the oldest surviving culture on the planet. Within this programming, there is also the Miss First Nation pageant, which has become a permanent and much-loved fixture on the Australian drag circuit. Here, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander queens will battle it out to be crowned Sydney WorldPride First Nation royalty.
Sydney WorldPride will take place on the lands of the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, Bidjigal, Darug, Dharawal people who are the Traditional Custodians of the Sydney Basin. The event ensures to respect their Elders past and present, acknowledging that this always was and always will be Aboriginal Land. Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people come from many different clans and communities across Australia and it is powerful to see that over the next few weeks, people from all walks of life will come together as one, to celebrate them and to enjoy Pride.
Where to stay?
Crown Towers Sydney
The Experientialist® was a guest of Sydney’s first six-star hotel that is redefining luxury hospitality in Australia’s most visited city. Its developers and experience-makers have surpassed all expectations (including literally, as it is housed in Sydney’s highest building) in this ultra-glitzy, contemporary, Las Vegas-like luxury property that has quickly risen in infamy as the playground of Asia-Pacific’s jet-set glitterati. Read more >
One to watch: Capella Sydney
Sydney’s old Department of Education building will be officially reborn as the luxurious Capella Sydney just after WorldPride concludes. The building has been meticulously restored and will feature 192 guestrooms and suites, anchored by three ground-level food and beverage outlets: Aperture, Brasserie 1930 and McRae Bar.
Featured photography of artist Marie Schultz’s illuminations by Philipp Glanz. Sydney Worldpride photography by Jeffrey Feng, Cassandra Hannagan and courtesy of Destination NSW. Other photography courtesy of WorldPride Sydney, Crown Towers Sydney and Capella Sydney
