The ABC has announced the group of presenters who will host the Live and Proud: Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert and the 45th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, all set to celebrate community and pride in back-to-back events.
Friday, 24 February at 7.30pm the Live and Proud: Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert will get the party started as the ABC broadcasts from the Domain on ABC TV, ABC iview, and live crosses on triple j.
The event will be hosted by songwriter-actress-author-presenter Casey Donovan and international drag icon Courtney Act, joined by the ABCs’ Jeremy Fernandez and award-winning comedian, Rhys Nicholson. Feeling the vibes on ground will be entertainer Brihony Dawson.
The night will be a major celebration as the world is welcomed to to Sydney in a concert featuring headline performances from Kylie Minogue, Charli XCX , Jessica Mauboy, plus a huge array of Australia’s queer performers.
The following evening, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is back on Oxford Street, bigger and better than ever. Tune in Saturday, 25 February at 7.30pm as the ABC broadcasts across ABC TV, ABC iview and triple j.
Anchoring the parade will be ABC News Breakfast’s Nate Byrne, Behind The News presenter Jack Evans and ABCQueer’s Mon Schafter. They will be supported by on-the-ground hosts including ABC NEWS’ Jeremy Fernandez, Actor-Musician-Director, Zindzi Okenyo and comedian Mel Buttle.
Presenters Tyrone Pynor, Abby Butler, and Latifa Tee, will all be at the helm of triple j’s broadcast covering the floats, the fanfare and all the fun.
Marking 45 Years, with over 200 floats and the biggest international presence the parade has ever seen, the ABC will showcase the dazzling and diverse community coming together for this world-famous event.
Host, creator and advocate Rudy Jean Rigg will be covering Sydney WorldPride across social as the ABC’s first Queerespondent. They will be on ground sharing LGBTQIA+ histories, festival top picks, handy how-to’s and much more across ABCQueer.
The ABC has a long history of supporting LGBTQIA+ Australians and it reaffirms its role in connecting queer communities across Australia, as the proud broadcast partner for the line-up of events across Sydney WorldPride.