Get Ready Sydney. From the 17th of February Until the 5th of March Sydney Will Come Alive with Colour, Culture and Community.
The 2023 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) will be the biggest and most exciting one yet. To align with their 45th anniversary they will join forces with WorldPride to bring the city streets alive for 17 consecutive days.
WorldPride began in Rome in the year 2000 and is a global festival that celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community. Cities all around the world compete with each other to be the next city to host the event and this year is Sydney’s turn.
The alignment will be an important milestone for Sydney's LGBTQIA+ community as it will be the first time in history that WordPride has been held in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite WorldPride receiving backlash when it first began, it continues to gain momentum each year and is the biggest organisation of its kind.
During the festival, the Sydney Region will host over 300 events and activities, ranging from arts, sports, theatre, concerts, parties and a human rights conference. These events will be held all around the Sydney Basin and will proudly gather on the land of the Gadigal, Cammerayagal, Bidjigal, Darug and Dharawal people.
The main event of WorldPride is the Human Rights Conference that will be held from the 1st to the 3rd of March at Sydney’s International Convention Centre. The focus will be on LGBTQIA+ Human Rights, both in the present moment, the goals for the future and where the movement is headed. It will be the largest conference of its kind to take place in the Asia-Pacific region. There will be over 1500 experts and thought leaders, ranging from LGBTQIA+ activists, campaigners, government officials, First Nation Elders, policymakers and many other stakeholders who will gather here from all over the globe. During this time there will be presentations, workshops and panels designed for reflection and to initiate change.
Although there will be plenty of parties during WorldPride it will also be a time for reflection and learning. We must never forget where the roots of the movement began and the injustices that have occurred. It will become a time in history that will create an important pause to focus on what is still left to be done and bring about change for those still facing discrimination.
If you would like to be a part of history, check out WorldPride online and see how you and your family and friends, both young and old can get involved.