On Sunday evening, the first world land in the Southern Hemisphere, concluded in Sydney, with an outdoor closure concert and dance party discovered by singers Kim Petras and Ava Max.
The packed festival concluded a 17-day celebration of over 300 events, including over 300 events (parades, exhibitions, workshops, sports, film festivals, competitive voging, and more).
Earlier on Sunday, 50,000 marchers, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, participated in an early morning march across the city’s precious Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“I’m a black trans woman, so it was important to come in March, so I felt I should march in solidarity with the community,” said Taj Tian, ​​an American foreigner who recently moved from Tokyo to Sydney.
“It was important to convey a message from Korea to the world, so we came to World Pride,” said Seung So, who raised the flag with her husband Yong Min Kim in support of marriage equality in Korea.
To coincide with Australian summer and Sydney’s iconic Mardi Gras celebrations, the World Pride Calendar began on February 17th with a series of strange parties and performances, kicking overdrive at the official February 24th opening concert discovered by the Aussie Pop Darling Kylie Minogue. 2023 marks the 45th anniversary of the first Sydney Mardi Gras and the 50th anniversary of Australia’s first Gay Pride Week.
The political highlight of Sydney World Pride was the largest LGBTQ and intersex human rights conference ever held in the Asia-Pacific region.
Approximately 1,800 people attended the three-day meeting. It served as the centerpiece for WorldPride and featured over 60 presenters and panelists. Jessica Stern, a special envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights, Jessica Stern is the first openly lesbian American ambassador, Ambassador Chantale Wong, US Director of the Asian Development Bank, and Victor Madrigal-Borloz, an independent UN expert for LGBTQ and an independent UN expert on intersex issues.
“This Human Rights Conference was one of the largest gatherings of global LGBTQ activists to date, so it was important to represent Oram and pay attention to the challenges facing LGBTQ displaced people around the world,” Ross said. “I was inspired to hear more about all the great activities happening globally and share the important work Oram is doing, including bringing economic empowerment programs to queer refugees in places like Kenya.”
WorldPride 2025, handing over of the meeting reins to DC for the US AMB. To Australia, Caroline Kennedy congratulated the Sydney organizers. It especially gave the people of First Nations a central role.
“We all leave here and with a deeper understanding of the work we have to do,” Kennedy said. “You have shown the world that empowered diverse communities are at the heart of a more peaceful and prosperous world. I look forward to sharing that happens with the people of First Nations in the United States.”
Representatives of the First Nations were a recurring theme throughout the main event of Sydney World Pride. All of these were opened in the acknowledgments of the original Gadigar owners of the land where Sydney is currently sitting.
The popular Aboriginal Sydney Drug Queen Nanamis Couri helped launch several important events, including the opening concert at the famous Sydney Opera House on March 2nd, the Mardi Gras Parade, and the gorgeous Black and Fatal First Nations Gala concert. Performers there included Aboriginal Australian electronic music duo Electric Field and Canadian indigenous musician Jeremy Dutcher.
Sydney’s Top Museum also jumped on the World Pride bandwagon, including art galleries in New South Wales. This featured the Powerhouse Museum, which hosted a permanent new “Queering the Collection” tour and a “Absolutely Queer” exhibition celebrating the strange creativity of Australia.
Through festivals around the world, there was a cavalry of Australia’s top LGBTQ celebrities, including singer Troy Sivan, actor Magda Svansky and the versatile drug entertainer Courtney Act. Many American queer celebrities, including television personalities Carson Cresley and Andy Cohen, were also spotted at the WorldPride event.
The Sydney version, the eighth world land, was projected by organizers to inject around $75 million into the Australian economy.
The next WorldPride will be held in DC from May 23rd to June 8th, 2025.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
