Sydney’s WorldPride will have something for everyone, organisers say, as the city gears up for 17 days of festivities surrounding the 45th anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
The festival – which will include more than 300 events – kicks off on Friday, and will end with an expected 50,000 people walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday 5 March.
The event, which is running in partnership with the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, is expected to bring more than half a million people to Sydney and inject $112m in to the state’s economy. It will coincide with the 45th anniversary of the first Mardi Gras protest and party in 1978.
“It is an LGBTQA festival and it’s been curated that way, but it is absolutely an event for everyone,” Sydney WorldPride’s CEO, Kate Wickett, said.
“I always say invite your mum and your dad, your brothers, your sisters. There’s something there for everyone, and it’s really important to have allies with us as well.”
WorldPride has been held every few years in different cities around the world since 2000. This year will be the first time the event has been held in the southern hemisphere.
For many making the lengthy trek to Australia from the northern hemisphere, it will be about ticking Sydney Mardi Gras off the bucket list, Wickett said.
“It’s kind of almost a perfect storm after what was been a really difficult time … Mardi Gras is 45 years of age and such a bucket-list destination,” she said. “It’s really exciting for people to come and see it.”
The festival is being held at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack in many parts of the world, including restrictive “don’t say gay” laws in the US and attacks on LGBTQ+ events from far-right extremists.
The independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, said the festival will also serve as a reminder of the work still needed to be done.
“It was the chant ‘out of the bars and into the streets’ [and] this year the government is closing the streets for our community to celebrate on and to move us forward,” Greenwich said.
“I urge everybody to consider what they are marching for and who they are marching for. We know that WorldPride will also shed a light on the fact that here in New South Wales in Australia and also regionally, there is still more work to do when it comes to LGBTQ rights and equality.”
Oxford Street, the “spiritual home” of the LGBTQ+ community in Sydney and the longterm home of many gay bars and the city’s queer nightlife, has been decked out in rainbows from light posts to shopfronts, with the Taylor Square rainbow crossing also getting a touch-up before the big event.
The event’s lineup includes headliners such as Kylie Minogue, Charlie XCX, the recent Grammy winner Kim Petras, Kelly Rowland, UK pop group the Sugababes and more. There are will also be performing arts, comedy, cabaret parties and a human rights conference; as Wickett puts it, “there’s something for everyone”.
“I often get asked ‘what does success look like for me for WorldPride?’ And then my response is always that someone can pick up that guide and see themselves in at least one event.”
Wickett said she was most looking forward to events at the First Nations Gathering Space at Carriageworks, as well as Ultra Violet, an event for LGBTQ+ women.
“I think there’s a real gap in the market for women’s events like that, and it’s sold out within a couple of weeks of being announced”
The NSW government also announced the Pride Villages around the Oxford Street precinct this week which will have performers and events on for free during the festival.
Those thinking about a last-minute trip for WorldPride might struggle to find affordable accommodation. Prices for three nights in hotels in the CBD area were averaging between $1500 for the three nights for the Mardi Gras weekend, with some places charging over $5,000, according to searches conducted by Guardian Australia.
Expedia, the company behind travel booking sites Wotif and Stayz, has reported accommodation over the festival in Sydney is “highly sought after”. Expedia Brands managing director Daniel Finch said interest in accommodation from domestic travellers had gone up 125% compared with the same time last year, while searches on Expedia sites indicated 65% of Sydney accommodation interest is from international travellers.
He said the majority were coming from the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea and Japan.
