For the very first time ever World Pride will be held in the Southern Hemisphere and Sydney is planning to make it the biggest and best to date Sydney will be transformed into a Rainbow City for the 17 days of WorldPride with over 300 Events including 30 Official Events. The Mardi Gras Parade will be back out on the Streets; and as well as some totally fabulous parties, there will also be a Human Rights Conference; First Nations Gathering Space; Sissy Ball; in fact over 60 World Pride Arts Events, and 17 Sports Events ….the list seems positively endless. It’s a golden chance to enjoy Australia’s diverse and rich culture and celebrate together with its vibrant queer community.
HERE ARE A JUST A FEW OF QUEERGURU’S PERSONAL CHOICES OF THE BEST OF WORLDPRIDE 2023
KING is a music-dance collaboration between award-winning Australian director/choreographer Shaun Parker, internationally renowned Bulgarian-born vocalist Ivo Dimchev, and nine outstanding dancers..
Tue Feb 28 - Sat Mar 4 https://sydneyworldpride.com/events/king/
Multi-award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, and novelist Nakhane has been hailed as “a real star in the making” (The Observer) who “makes the dancefloor a place of tenderness” (Vice).
Instrumental in challenging the status quo in conversations about gender and sexuality; Nakhane has been steadily building a body of work of cultural importance that hits every dancefloor sweet spot, while garnering the adoration of fans like Madonna and Elton John, and collaborators such as Anohni, Perfume Genius and Nile Rodgers.
Fri Mar 3 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm https://www.cityrecitalhall.com/whats-on/events/switched-on-nakhane/?
Blak & Deadly: The First Nations Gala Concert
, the only WorldPride Official event at the iconic Sydney Opera House, will be hosted by ‘Faboriginal’ comedian Steven Oliver and will feature performances from music duo Electric Fields, award-winning artist Mo’Ju and Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under star Kween Kong.
Pop singers Samuel Gaskin and the Merindas, and Indigenous Canadian tenor and musician, Jeremy Dutcher, will also take part in the evening of festivities.
Alongside this, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will provide a stunning addition to this incredible line-up of First Nations LGBTQIA+ talent and artistry.
Thu Mar 2 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm https://sydneyworldpride.com/events/first-nations-gala-concert/
Day for Night: The Pleasure Arc is a delirious 24-hour-long series of queer ceremonies taking us from brunch to club, to kick-ons and back again. Bringing together queer performers, artists, musicians, DJs and misfits from across Australia and Asia, Day for Night: The Pleasure Arc invites you into a wild ride through queer space and time. Dip in and out across the weekend, or stay the whole 24 hours and lose yourself in the divine pleasures of queer performance and party life.
Day for Night: The Pleasure Arc will lift you into the stratospheres of our dancefloors and collective rituals, and bring you down on a cloud of togetherness and contentment. Also, there will be snacks.
Sat Feb 18 @ 12:00 pm - Sun Feb 19 @ 12:00 pm https://sydneyworldpride.com/events/day-for-night-the-pleasure-arc/
Throw on your best frock and feast your eyes on the campest event of the Festival, Kaftana Pool Party! The glistening ivy Pool becomes the perfect backdrop for an afternoon of pure fabulousness – let your inner diva shine for one of Mardi Gras most-loved events.
Sip on cocktails as drag stars and performers mingle amongst the cabanas, while Charlie Villas, Diva Cups, Jojo Zaho, Miss Katalyna, Sexy Galexy, Tanzer, The Huxleys and Victoria Anthony soundtrack this one-of-a-kind sunset soiree. You’ll be tickled pink as the DJs take you on a disco journey through time.
Wed Mar 1 @ 4:00 pm - 11:00 pm https://sydneyworldpride.com/events/mg-kaftana-pool-party/
Pink Salt
is the signature culinary experience of Sydney WorldPride, served alongside an array of Newcastle entertainment. The Station will be transformed into a long table dinner party where everyone can gather with friends, new and old, to eat, drink, connect and celebrate Sydney WorldPride.
This sumptuous 3 course culinary experience will be prepared by our talented queer chefs – Christine Manfield, Nornie Bero & Newcastle local, Reece Hignell. On arrival be delighted by Curious Legends who will make you embrace laughter, magic, and the mysterious world of our imaginations teaming with local drag talent who will take you to your seats. Dinner is accompanied with a beverage package of beer, wine and soft drinks, and paired with a non-stop fabulous show with queer art, music, DJ’s and performances by some of Newcastle’s finest talent featuring Molly Poppinz, Jojo Zaho, Cockington Black & Orlando Gloom (just to name a few), curated by First Nations drag artist Timberlina.
Sat Feb 18 @ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm https://sydneyworldpride.com/events/pink-salt/
The world’s first accredited amateur boxing championships for the LGBTQIA+ community and allies sanctioned by Boxing NSW. 2 days of courageous boxers fighting to win a world title coupled with the adrenaline rush of great entertainment and the cheering crowd. We are holding the best boxing event on the planet!
This is a 2-day amateur boxing competition conducted under Boxing Australia rules with safe participation the number one priority.
Boxing has always been a popular sport capturing the attention of fans and inspiring a wealth of great stories. Now is the time for the LGBTQIA+ community to show boxing is for everyone and we belong in the ring!
Sat Feb 18 - Sun Feb 19 https://sydneyworldpride.com/events/world-gay-boxing-championships/
Jane Austen’s drawing rooms and country estates are switched out for the sweaty dancefloors and leafy avenues of post-plebiscite Sydney in Lewis Treston’s outrageously funny Hubris & Humiliation. This laugh-out-loud comedy combines a kaleidoscopic pastiche of Jane Austen’s writing with an outrageous satire of life in the Emerald City’s pumping gay scene.
Elliott, a naive wallflower from the Sunshine Coast, spends all his time pining for his best friend until he’s unexpectedly packed up and shipped off to his fabulously wealthy uncle’s Kirribilli mansion to pick up a few dating tips and bag the man of his (mother’s) dreams. A series of increasingly ludicrous and high-stakes events takes Elliott and his stowaway sister Paige from the rainbow mile, all the way to Berlin, and back again, in this high-camp exploration of love, family and commitment.
Helpmann Award-winning director Dean Bryant returns to STC with a hilarious cast for this fantastic and boisterous tale of one man’s search for his other half, and himself. It’s Muriel’s Wedding meets Kath & Kim with all the queer fabulousness of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, topped off with a charming nineteenth-century twist.
Fri Jan 20 - Sat Mar 4 https://sydneyworldpride.com/events/hubris-and-humiliation/
In 1993, a group of queer Sydney filmmakers, students, and supporters approached Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to establish an independent organization whose focus would be queer film and screen culture. This organization was Queer Screen. (One of those pioneer filmmakers was Stephen Cummins who died in 1994, and now is the subject of a well-deserved Retrospective in this year’s Festival)
The Mardi Gras Film Festival has grown considerably since 1993. It is now one of Australia’s largest film festivals of any kind, and one of the top five queer film festivals in the world. It is highly regarded by filmmakers all over the world and is the most important platform for promoting LGBTIQ titles to distributors and exhibitors in this territory. It says a lot for the commonality of the global queer community that the Festival’s diverse program includes several excellent movies that have already proved to be critical smash hits in other parts of the world.
The year Queer Screen celebrates its 30th year and judging by its programming has stepped up its game to ensure this is another one for the record books As usual from our home over 9000 miles away the Queerguru Team of reviewers has gone through the entire schedule for
OUR LIST OF MUST-SEE TOP PICKS OF MOVIES :-
https://queerguru.com/queergurus-top-picks-of-must-see-movies-queer-screen-mardi-gras-film-festival-sydney/
