WorldPride 2023 Is Headed Down Under
WorldPride is going Down Under.
Sydney, Australia has been announced as the host city for the WorldPride celebration in 2023. This will be the first city in the southern hemisphere to host the world’s largest LGBTQ event.
According to The Guardian, the event will reflect the "history, art and culture of Australia’s First Nations LGBTQI People, including a smoking ceremony to kickstart the parade."
“We have the oldest continuing civilisation on the planet so we wanted the LGBTQI people within that community to tell their own stories in their own voices," said Adrian Phoon, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras’ board director.
“As a person of color, it was so important to me to promote the diversity within our LGBTQI community—to help empower and lift the voices of other people of color, but also to promote body diversity, age diversity and gender diversity,” Phoon continued.
WorldPride will take place across 17 days in February and March 2023, with two parades a week apart: the annual Mardi Gras parade up Oxford Street, and another that specifically celebrates WorldPride.
2023 will also mark the fifth anniversary of marriage equality in Australia, as well as the 45th anniversary of Mardi Gras. It is predicted that the festivities will see a 25-40% growth in visitors and could generate more than $664 million for the Australian economy.
In the final voting for the WorldPride host city, 60% of votes from members of the InterPride network voted for Sydney, beating other contender cities Montreal and Houston.
After surviving WorldPride in New York, we advise Aussies to start preparing for the epic party now.