Load up the confetti guns and stock up on your glitter because World Pride is coming down under!
Sydney has won the bid to host the international World Pride event, strutting way ahead of Montreal and Houston in a worldwide InterPride network vote.
This is the moment Sydney found out we won the vote for #WorldPride2023 host city! 🏳️🌈🌏 pic.twitter.com/XNiRUdgBem
— Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (@sydneymardigras) October 20, 2019
YASSS! 🌈🎉
The event will coincide with the 45th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. So you know this is going to be the party of the century.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras shared the news on their Twitter this morning, thanking their supporters.
❤️#WorldPride2023 is a major win for Sydney, Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
Bringing #WorldPride Down Under means we can celebrate and shine a spotlight on the unique challenges faced by the #LGBTQI community in our region.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED US!
— Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (@sydneymardigras) October 20, 2019
After a long campaign by LGBTQI+ activists and Aussie acts like The Veronicas, Delta Goodrem, Alfie Arcuri, and Samantha Jade, World Pride will finally be making its southern hemisphere debut.
It has previously been held in Rome, Jerusalem, Toronto, London, Madrid. And earlier this year New York hosted five million people, making it the largest pride event in the world. Ever.
Mardi Gras organisers, according to Time Out, are planning to expand the parade, giving 80,000 LGBTIQ+ community-members the chance to march, dance, hop, skip, and jump down Oxford Street.
But wait, there’s more.
They’re also planning a massive – as in, 30,000 people, massive – concert on Bondi Beach, and an international conference on queer health and human rights across the Asia Pacific and the world.
So you can understand why pollies (and, like, everyone else) are stoked to get the gig.
Alex Greenwich, New South Wales MP, said World Pride is “the Olympics of LGBTI events”, and Sydney’s Mayor, Clover Moore took to Twitter to congratulate Sydney Mardi Gras for the win.
Congratulations @SydneyMardiGras on your successful bid to bring #WorldPride to Australia.
We can’t wait to invite the world to Sydney in 2023! 🌈 pic.twitter.com/tSIdLIRUsu
— Clover Moore (@CloverMoore) October 20, 2019
It’s already been estimated that Mardi Gras attendance will jump from 700,000 to over 1 million, bringing between $600 million and $1.1 billion to the state.
Although it’s a fabulously epic party, WorldPride is an event to shine a light on and tackle issues affecting LGBTQIA people around the world.
Block out your calendars and start planning your outfits. I’ll see you on Oxford Street in 2023!
Image Sources: Twitter (@CloverMoore)
