City of Sydney backs Mardi Gras’ WorldPride bid with $50,000 grant

The City of Sydney Council voted on Monday to provide financial support for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras’ bid to host WorldPride 2023 in Sydney – which if successful, would be the first time the event is held in the Southern Hemisphere.
 
The City is providing a cash contribution of $50,000 to cover the costs of travel and accommodation for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to send staff, volunteers and performers to Athens in October where the member organisations of InterPride will decide which city will host the event.

Sydney is competing against Montreal, Canada, and Houston, USA to be the hosts in 2023.
 
Organisers say WorldPride will provide opportunities to celebrate, strengthen and empower diverse communities to participate in a global celebration of pride.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she was hopeful that her city would be successful in its bid to host the event.
 
“The City of Sydney is proud to support the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras with $50,000 toward its bid to host the globally significant WorldPride event in 2023,” Moore said.
 
“Becoming a host city of WorldPride would bring enormous social and economic benefits to Sydney, with previous host cities like Madrid experiencing up to a 100% increase in visitation during the event compared to previous years. 
 
“More importantly though, hosting WorldPride would send a strong message around the globe that Sydney is a welcoming and inclusive destination for LGBTIQ communities.
 
“Sydney WorldPride would also turn the spotlight on the Asia Pacific region, where LGBTIQ communities continue to experience some of the worst human rights abuses in the world.”

Sometimes described as the “Olympic Games of LGBTQI Pride,” WorldPride is held every two years and is not just a global pride festival but the Sydney bid also includes a major human rights conference for the Asia Pacific region where homosexuality is still widely criminalised outside Australia and New Zealand.