No one takes the motto of “Pride is a protest” to heart like Sydney. The 47th Annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in Australia, which takes place every March, is unlike any other LGBTQ+ celebration in the world – and it offers valuable lessons to visitors. While American lawmakers are actively attempting to erase transgender people from history (an impossible task), Sydney’s LGBTQ+ community has taken honoring its people and history into its own hands as an example to the world.
Hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ people (and their allies) hug the rails of Sydney’s Rainbow Precinct in anticipation of the Saturday evening parade, impatiently waiting for 200 floats and 12,000 participants. A bike ride and a blessing kick off the 2025 festivities. The historic protectors of the local community, Dykes on Bikes, rev up the crowd by wheeling up and down the parade lines of Taylor Square. Then, the LGBTQIA+SB First Nations community honors the original inhabitants of the land and offers a blessing. At last, around 6:15 p.m., the parade kicks off with the 78ers, the LGBTQ+ activists who participated in the city’s first Pride march in 1978.
Taylor Henderson for Out Magazine
The energy is electric in that square. Onlookers in costumes, many from the local shop, House of Priscilla, push to the front to wave to their friends in the parade. Lady Gaga and Rihanna blast from the speakers, and perceptive eyes spot Troye Sivan watching from the second floor of a nearby bar. There’s an innate sense of humor and play about the city. One organizer tells me that the DNA of Mardi Gras was born out of theater — so naturally, the community is just so camp.
If the four-hour parade is the main course, the massive street party in Sydney’s Rainbow Precinct that follows is the cherry on top. It seems like the entire population goes gay for Mardi Gras. Pride flags are spotted at venues around the city, the progress flag covers entire crosswalks, and even the Royal Botanic Gardens paints an enormous rainbow on its lawn.
Don’t Miss This Museum
Just behind Taylor Square is QTOPIA, the largest center for queer history and culture in the world. The site is an old police station that once terrorized the local LGBTQ+ community. It’s also where the original Pride parade began in 1978. Today, the center honors Sydney’s history with care. Organizers kept a few of the original cells intact so visitors could feel the conditions those jailed for homosexuality felt. The cell tiles are lined with the site’s painful history, a touching memorial to the many people who suffered for us to celebrate today.
A striking AIDS memorial is at its entrance, where QTOPIA has invited the community to add names of people who died in the crisis and share photos, videos, and stories of their lives. Another exhibit recreates an AIDS-era room from the nearby St. Vincent's Hospital. I can’t help but tear up as I look down at the hospital bed and consider the thousands of gay men who died and the caretakers who looked after them.
Taylor Henderson for Out Magazine
Cheer up, it’s not all depressing! QTOPIA lifts up many local artists and poets, archives magazines like Lesbians on the Loose that united the community, displays a dress from RuPaul’s Drag Race star Courtney Act, and has two full rooms dedicated to the queer impact of Kylie Minogue – a shrine to a true pop diva.
QTOPIA also boasts a surprising nod to the sexy part of LGBTQ+ history. An old subway station entrance has been converted into a theater space, and a projection of 2000s era DNA magazine covers with hunky men in Speedos plays as we walk in. Another building is an old metro station restroom that was once a well-known cruising ground. Complete with a mature content warning out front, the exhibit has kept everything intact (including the smell and the gloryholes), providing a rare glimpse into Sydney’s hookup culture today and of yore. Handling these erotic stories not as a joke, but as a part of our humanity and history, legitimizes pleasure and sex as the revolutionary acts they are.
While You’re There
Of course, Mardi Gras isn’t the only attraction in New South Wales. Take a dip in the W Hotel’s rooftop pool. The gorgeous views from Bondi Beach are well worth your time, and the Matcha Margarita at nearby restaurant Icebergs is one of the most delicious cocktails I’ve ever had. You could catch a train from Sydney up to the Blue Mountains in the small town of Katoomba to see the Three Sisters rock formation. Or travel south to Merimbula to try the freshest Sydney rock oysters you’ve ever tasted while on Captain Sponge’s Magical Oyster Tour. Or learn about the original inhabitants of the land with the Jiguma Track Aboriginal Culture Experience on a walk down the awe-inspiring Pambula Beach.
The beauty of this country’s nature is gobsmacking, whether you’re floating next to the Sydney Opera House with Sydney Kayak or stumbling upon one of the region's many hidden gems. You can take an otherworldly dip at the Bermagui Blue Pool, an ocean-fed rock pool. Or get up close and personal with the seals over at the picturesque Narooma Beach. Or stumble upon Bournda National Park’s jaw-dropping secluded beaches. Try feeding the kangaroos over Symbio Wildlife Park, birdwatching from your balcony at the charming Hillcrest Motel, taking a sip of wine at Cupitt’s Estate, or stargazing from the breathtaking Oaks Ranch in Mossy Point while kangaroos hop in the distance.
Taylor Henderson for Out Magazine
This press trip was coordinated and funded by The Keown Company and Destination NSW PR.
