In Case You Missed It: The Winners Of The 2026 DIVA Awards
Image: Image: Mark Dickson, Deep Field Photography
In case you missed it, the 2026 DIVA Awards — the Oscars for Sydney drag, queer nightlife, and entertainment — were on Monday night, commemorating a host of sparkling new winners.
Held at Juniors Kingsford, the event, now in its fourth decade, continued the tradition of honouring the venues, entertainers, shows, drag queens, costume designers, wig makers, choreographers, and technical talents that make Sydney’s LGBTQ+ nightlife the world-class experience that it is.
Two New Queens Inducted Into The DIVA Hall of Fame
The event also saw two very special queens inducted into the DIVA Hall of Fame. The first was Maxi Shield, a drag queen posthumously recognised for her stewardship of Oxford Street and Sydney’s wider LGBTQ+ community.
Maxi performed in the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic games, starred in the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, was an Oxford Street Safety Ambassador for the City of Sydney, and was, most notably, loved by many for her unwavering dedication to her friends and to drag.
The second queen inducted into the DIVA Hall of Fame was Vanity. The Australian drag queen and master wig stylist emerged on the Sydney drag scene in the late 1990s, defining a new aesthetic of hyper-feminine, polished “supermodel” drag that departed from the traditional camp styles championed by older queens.
Though at the time, competitors dismissed her as just another “pretty face”, Vanity went on to win Sydney’s Favourite Drag Queen and Entertainer of the Year in the 2001 DIVA awards, and today, she is widely known as the mastermind behind “Wigs by Vanity”.
The 2026 DIVA Winners
Now, without further ado, the winners of the 2026 DIVA Awards:
Sydney’s Favourite DJ: Dan Murphy
Outstanding Technical Contribution in Artwork, Choreography, Lighting, or Sound Production: Bettie Blackheart
Sydney’s Favourite Male Performer: Eli Crawford
Sydney’s Favourite Pub Event: Bingay (ACON x The Beresford)
Sydney’s Favourite Drag Show: Painted, Hung and On Display (Imperial Hotel)
Outstanding Technical Contribution in Costuming or Wigs (Tied): Jacqui St. Hyde & Aunty Tamara
Sydney’s Favourite Drag Host: Jackie Daniels
Sydney’s Favourite Drag King: Sexy Galexy
DIVA Moment: Faux Fur – Give My All in the Rain
Sydney’s Favourite Drag Queen: Mynx Moscato
Sydney’s Favourite Venue: Palms on Oxford
DIVA Show of the Year: Painted, Hung and On Display (Imperial Hotel)
DIVA Rising Star: Charlamaine
DIVA Entertainer of the Year: Conchita Grande
Belle of the Ball: Mynx Moscato
Beau of the Ball: Brett Griffin
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