Sydney WorldPride and Mardi Gras has BEGUN

Let’s recap some of the many moments from Friday night.

WorldPride has officially begun in Sydney!

WorldPride has been around since 2000, and is the largest LGBTQIA+ festival in the world. Many cities compete to host the event, and Sydney came out (hehe) on top, becoming the first city in the southern hemisphere to host the event.

But wait a minute… isn’t Pride month in June? Yes, however because our Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held during the summer, WorldPride is being held from 17 Feb to 5 March.

What makes it even better is the festival also coincides with the 50^th anniversary of the first Australian Gay Pride Week, the 45^th anniversary of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and the fifth anniversary of Marriage Equality. Hell yeah, Australia!

Sydney WorldPride has well and truly kicked off with last week’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. ICYMI, here’s a few key moments from the event.

‘We The People’ – the official theme song for Sydney WorldPride.

Electric-soul duo Electric Fields debuted their official theme song We the People for the festival at the opening party, and I can confirm - it’s a bop.

Vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding explained the catchy electronic track to ABC Radio National, saying “we present people, that is what the whole song is about… I think everybody should have a bit of pride in who they are.”

Treat your ears to a listen below.

Progress Shark becomes an accidental WorldPride icon.

As part of the WorldPride Rainbow City project, 45 projects can now be spotted throughout Sydney – from murals and to Sydney Opera House’s sails, to… a Progress Shark?

Artist George Buchanan said the Progress Shark – found outside the Australian Museum - is about ‘peace, harmony and tolerance’.

“…This big, aggressive shark looks super cute now that it’s got a cozzie on”, she told the Sydney Morning Herald. We agree, it’s pretty darn cute.

There is a bit of competition though, with Taronga Zoo’s bronze gorilla statue King Nyani transforming into Queen Nyani… but the Australian Museum isn’t worried though, commenting on the post 'Oh hey Queen Nyani 👋 Plenty of room for more than one Progress Queen in this city 🌈🦈🦍.'

Rainbow Serpent makes its debut.

After ten years in the making, the First Nations float was led by a magnificent 20-metre-long inflated Rainbow Serpent.

Wiradjuri Walbunja woman Jinny-Jane Smith told NITV, “…we wanted to ensure that we showcased a Dreaming story that represented not only our culture but also our connection to our queerness”.

It looked absolutely incredible.

There’s always at least one disruption…

Senator Lidia Thorpe decided to lay down in front of a float, which momentarily caused the parade to stop.

As you can imagine, no one that was attending was happy about this during a time of celebration – booing her as she argued with two police officers who were trying to move along.

After some radio silence, tweeted yesterday in regards to being part of the Pride in Protest float, to protest against police violence.

Albo becomes first Aussie PM to march in parade.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made history becoming the first sitting PM to join the parade, and tells the ABC that this is – in fact – not his first attendance.

“This is my 35^th Mardi Gras… It’s unfortunate that I am the first [prime minister], but this is a celebration of modern Australia. We’re a diverse, inclusive Australia, and that’s a good thing.”

Onya, Albo.

The Minogue Sisters perform together.

I feel like we can’t talk about WorldPride without mentioning gay icon and Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue, and her sister Dannii making a surprise appearance to perform the hit All The Lovers.

Kylie first performed at the Mardi Gras parade after-party back in 1994, and on Friday night she absolutely treated audiences to tracks like Spinning Around and Can’t Get You Out of My Head (if you don’t know these tracks, please go educate yourself).

Sister Dannii came on stage for the final track All The Lovers in a matching jumpsuit as they sang together side-by-side. Absolutely iconic.

Header Image: Philipp Glanz. Australian Museum. Steven Saphore/AAP.