Sydney WorldPride

Overview

What starts with a progress pride flag-raising ceremony, officially opens with Kylie Minogue and Charli XCX, features Kelly Rowland leading a Domain Dance Party, and ends with MUNA and G Flip? What features the long-awaited return of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade to Oxford Street (with new viewing areas), more than 45 rainbow artworks all around town and a monumental pride march with 50,000-plus people walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, too?

In other words, what'll make Sydney the centre of the queer universe from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5, and make history in the process? Sydney WorldPride, the first WorldPride ever held in the southern hemisphere, and basically a mega Mardi Gras — and your unmissable reason to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community in the New South Wales capital.

The above events are just a taste of this massive event's vivid lineup. In total, more than 300 shows, gigs, exhibitions, parties and more are taking over Sydney over 17 days, making Sydney WorldPride the largest-ever LGBTQIA+ festival ever held in the region. Still on numbers, that hefty total includes 19 official major events, 68 WorldPride Arts experiences, 17 WorldPride Sports events and 192 Pride Amplified community events. That's quite the lineup to sift through, so here's the short version: wherever you are in Sydney during WorldPride, expect the festival to be in the vicinity.

Other standouts include the Bondi Beach Party, which will turn the famed stretch of sand into an openair club for a casual 12,000 people, complete with dancing to Nicole Scherzinger by the water from dusk; the return of Queer Art After Hours at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and its new building; the Mardi Gras Film Festival hosting its 30th fest, including an online program; and the Queer Formal.

There's also the gigs at Sydney WorldPride's at Marri Madung Butbut (Many Brave Hearts): the First Nations Gathering Space — such as the Klub Village party and performance, the Miss First Nation drag contest, and exhibition Bloodlines, which honours artists lost to HIV/AIDS. And, addd lesbian divorce comedy Blessed Union, the Australian premiere of Choir Boy by Moonlight co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney, and installation Eulogy for the Dyke Bar — which will indeed operate as a bar — to your list as well.

Throw in a 24-hour dance piece, a comedy night hosted by Ru Paul's Drag Race Down Under's Coco Jumbo, and  Powerhouse Museum's showcase of Sydney's leading LGBTQIA+ artists, designers, makers and performers as well, and there's just one word for it: stunning.