Amsterdam Rainbow Dress Arrives In Australia Ahead Of Sydney WorldPride 2023

Amsterdam Rainbow Dress Arrives In Australia Ahead Of Sydney WorldPride 2023
Image: Image: Cassandra Hannagan

The stunning Amsterdam Rainbow Dress has arrived in Australia for the first time, in the lead-up to Sydney WorldPride 2023 and Human Rights Conference.

Created by Arnout van Krimpen in 2016 to highlight the ongoing fight for global LGBTQIA+ rights, the dress travels the world to raise awareness. 

Made from the national flags of 71 countries where being LGBTQIA+ is still illegal, the dress is over three metres tall and has a diameter of 16 metres. 

When a country changes its laws, its flag is replaced by a rainbow flag.

Fight For LGBTQI Rights

According to van Krimpen, “For 71 more flags, we will continue to inform people and call on policymakers to fight for LGBTQI+ human rights and call on civil societies to fight against injustice, discrimination, and violence. It concerns all societies and it concerns all of society.”

The dress was modelled on Wednesday morning at the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden by actor, theatre critic and trans woman Suzy Wrong.

Wrong spoke to Star Observer about how she felt modelling such a dress.

 “It’s an immense honour. At the moment I feel really powerful… just just the majesty of it gives you a sense of power,” she explained.

“It is about defiance… I was born in the 70s. So through the 80s, 90s, you know, there was an element of defiance that accompanies survival and I guess, wearing this dress, reminds me of that.”

Shining A Light On Inequality

Sydney WorldPride CEO Kate Wickett, in an interview with Star Observer, said the dress “shines a light on the work that we still need to do globally. We’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a long way to go, particularly for people in countries that criminalize homosexuality.” 

“The Human Rights Conference,” Wickett continued, “is about shining a light on where there is inequality and how we can have processes and policies to ensure that all of our LGBTQ+ communities are safe, protected, and represented equally.”

Since the creation of the dress, rainbow flags have replaced the national flags of Angola, Belize, India, Trinidad and Tobago and Botswana, while the national flag of Chad has been added. 

Last month, Singapore announced that it would repeal section 377A of its penal code and decriminalise sex between men.

Human Rights Conference

Up to 60 speakers, panellists and presenters are set to attend the Human Rights Conference which goes from March 1 – March 3 at the Sydney International Conference Centre (ICC).

Sydney WorldPride 2023 takes place from February 17 to March 5, 2023 with over 500,000 people expected to take part in the 17-day celebration.

WorldPride started in 2000 in Rome. Since then it has been held in London, Toronto, Madrid, New York, and, most recently, Copenhagen.

For information on Sydney WorldPride 2023 go to sydneyworldpride.com

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