A decadent four-hour dinner hosted by queer chefs and a curated art exhibit are just part of what's in store for Newcastle's leg of Sydney world pride.
"We're really pleased that of the relatively small number of official events, Newcastle is the opening official event," deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen said.
Sydney bid to host WorldPride several years ago and won, with Newcastle named among a tiny number of regional places on the event map.
The Pink Salt dinner, to be held at The Station on February 18, is the official opener for this year's celebration. The 3-course meal is expected to amass international attention as guests fly into Newcastle to attend before continuing onto Sydney.
It will be the first WorldPride event hosted in the southern hemisphere.
"It's been really positive that Newcastle as a regional city has been included in the official programming," Cr Clausen said. "Newcastle's got a long history of being a progressive city."
Matt Endacott, Lower Hunter Greater Newcastle city commissioner pitched to have official events in the area.
"As city commissioner, I'm delighted that the first signature event for World Pride is right here in Greater Newcastle," he said.
"I knew the Hunter would embrace hosting a major event in the WorldPride program, and I would like to thank City of Newcastle for working with all stakeholders to get this event off the ground."
Newcastle had the highest 'yes' vote of any non-capital city in the country in the marriage equality plebiscite and last year hosted a pride event in Gregson Park.
"Newcastle Pride as a charity organisation does an incredible job each year with our own local pride festival," he said. "It [is] really impressive to see just how many Novocastrian turn out to support it. I know that each of the events that have been put together to coincide with Sydney WorldPride will be really well-attended."
A curated exhibit Inside Out will kick off on Friday 17 February, showcasing the work of LGBTQIA artists outdoors at Kuwumi Place. Vietnamese street food, performers and market stalls will also feature.
The exhibit, run by Newcastle Art Gallery, will showcase four local artists and five works from the gallery's collection.
Jasmine Fletcher, curator and founder of Queer and Now said the event will celebrate the works in a format not previously seen.
"It's public and it's featuring local artists ... I'm not sure how often [the gallery] exhibits these types of works in this context in terms of having a LGBTQIA focus.
"It's really exciting to have such a renowned festival so close to us. It gives us a chance to celebrate sexual and gender diversity on a large scale. It allows our regional communities to also be a part of that and make our mark," they said.
And Cr Clausen said events further into the weekend, including a parade along the foreshore from 10am on Saturday 18 February, will show Newcastle's support.
"We've put together a series of other events around WorldPride so that we can celebrate diversity in all of its forms alongside that enormous festival that'll take place in Sydney," Cr Clausen said.
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