Sydney WorldPride is kicking off festivities with the Live and Proud: Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert, presented on Friday, 24 February at 7.30pm, broadcasting from the Domain on ABC TV, ABC iview, and live crosses on triple j.
Hosting the event is songwriter-actress-author-presenter Casey Donovan and international drag icon Courtney Act.
They will be joined by the ABCs’ Jeremy Fernandez and award-winning comedian Rhys Nicholson, while reporting on the ground is entertainer Brihony Dawson.
The night will be a major celebration as the world is welcomed to Sydney in a concert featuring headline performances from Kylie Minogue, Charli XCX , Jessica Mauboy, plus a huge array of Australia’s queer performers.
Kylie Minogue
WorldPride is a global LGBTQIA+ festival that has been staged since 2000, with cities competing to host the event.
Sydney was chosen by InterPride members to be the host of WorldPride in 2023, marking the first time a city in the southern hemisphere had been selected.
Mediaweek recently spoke to Courtney Act, aka Shane Jenke, about their hosting duties and involvement in the event.
“I think everybody coming to Sydney from all around the world after years of not being able to travel, and being able to celebrate and experience the northern hemisphere for all the people escaping to summer, It’s exciting. It’s a celebration. And already, you’re starting to feel that little buzz around the place,” they said.
Courtney Act
When asked what it would have meant growing up knowing they’d be hosting such WorldPride, Act said: “Brisbane in the 80s and 90s felt like you had to try and squeeze yourself into a box, and watching the Mardi Gras on television felt like that the walls of that box had been knocked down and everybody was dancing on top of it. And that was something that definitely spoke to me.
“So to know that 30 years later that it’s so celebrated, the whole city is covered in rainbows, and the whole country is aware that Sydney WorldPride is on and that we’re celebrating with so many more rights and so much more visibility is such an amazing thing.”
See also: Courtney Act on celebrating the queer community and hosting Sydney’s WorldPride concert
–
Top image: ABC WorldPride presenters