Sydney Set To Host WorldPride 2023

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) has finalised its bid to host WorldPride in 2023, and in doing so has established the Sydney WorldPride organisation.

Announced on Friday last week, the day before Australia and New Zealand kicked off the 2020 digital Global Pride celebrations, Sydney WorldPride confirmed that they had signed the agreement with InterPride (International Association of LGBTI Pride Organisations) to host Sydney 2023 WorldPride.

Sydney WorldPride CEO, Kate Wickett, emphasised to Star Observer the importance of this finalisation.

“We’ve signed our agreement with InterPride, which paves our way to deliver WorldPride 2023 in Sydney. It is vital that Sydney WorldPride strengthen the Pride movement and leave a lasting legacy,” she said.

“We are thrilled to be bringing WorldPride to Sydney and to welcome visitors here from across the globe.

Wickett also noted that Sydney’s entire LGBTQI community will be needed to help make Australia’s first WorldPride, its best one.

“We’re signed, sealed, and now will deliver. Planning has already begun. To help us understand our LGBTQI+ communities’ hopes for making WorldPride 2023 the very best, most inclusive and diverse festival it can be, over the next 6-12 months we will be calling on people to join consultations, workshops and engagement groups. We’re so excited to inspire our communities with what we can create together.”

CEO of Mardi Gras, Albert Kruger, confirmed the fantastic news and thanked those who had thrown their support behind Sydney’s biggest (and gayest) celebration to date.

“Today marks a momentous occasion one day before Global Pride in celebration of Pride month, Sydney WorldPride has officially signed the InterPride License agreement to host Sydney WorldPride 2023!” he said in a statement.

“Thank you to the overwhelming support from Mayor Clover Moore, The City of Sydney, Alex Greenwich MP and the NSW Government for the support to get this phenomenal project to this stage.”

 The Habour City was announced as the successful bidder at a ceremony in Athens in October last year, against stiff competition from two other candidate cities, Houston and Montreal.

However, Sydney won after 60 per cent of members of the InterPride network voted for the NSW capital. Montreal came in second, scoring 36 per cent of delegates’ vote.

The finalisation this year means that Sydney will become the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to host WorldPride.

Sydney’s WorldPride 2023 will also coincide with the 45th anniversary of the first Mardi Gras Parade, and the 50th Anniversary of the first Australian Gay Pride Week.

While Sydney will host WorldPride 2023, the decision also aims to highlight the diversity of the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to 60 per cent of the world’s population, yet often unnoticed.

More importantly, while Australia’s LGBTQI community enjoys gradual progression and acceptance, many LGBTQI communities in the Asia-Pacific region are still denied fundamental human rights as a result.

 2023 aims to provide an opportunity to listen and learn from the most isolated LGBTQI community-members in the world and celebrate as one.

Lord Mayor for the City of Sydney, Clover Moore, said that herself, Mardi Gras and InterPride leaders, and First Nations Drag Superstar, Nana Miss Koori had come together at Sydney Opera House to officiate the license agreement with InterPride.

“The City strongly supports WorldPride coming to Sydney in 2023. We were really pleased to support the bid, and we’ve been really pleased to support the bridging funding, to help it get up, to reach this fantastic point today,” she said in a video on Facebook.

“We were proud to support Mardi Gras with $50,000 toward their successful bid and $250,000 to help Sydney WorldPride get started.

“We look forward to welcoming LGBTQI communities and allies from all around the world to our beautiful city in three years time.”

Nana Miss Koori shared the sentiment while noting the importance of remembering the lands we plan to gather on in 2023.

“We can’t wait for you to come here and be a part of us, this beautiful country and be a part of us here in Sydney on Gadigal country – Come on board!” she said in the video.