Happy WorldPride! Happy WorldPride!
JACK: Over the weekend, more than 50,000 people marched,
or rather sashayed their way, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge
to mark the end of a massive couple of weeks
celebrating Sydney WorldPride.
To be here, to be out, to be proud, to be part of the community.
It means a lot to be walking across the Harbour Bridge
with all of these people, carrying all of this history,
and standing proud and saying,
"Here we are in all our diverse array."
And the whole of our queer nations from the Pacific
are all here to celebrate this special occasion.
This is a great celebration of unity.
A bridge symbolises bringing people together,
and this is about bringing together the Australian community,
celebrating diversity,
um, but also acknowledging that, around the world, with WorldPride,
many people still suffer
because of who they are, because of their sexuality.
(CHEERING)
Yep, apart from being a really great excuse
to fill the city with rainbows
and wear something with a bit of extra razzle-dazzle,
Sydney WorldPride is an event that promotes and celebrates
the LGBTQIA+ community on an international level.
# You've got it, baby We the people... #
There have been a whole bunch of fabulous events, great and small -
a concert with Aussie pop princess Kylie...
# I just can't get you out of my head... #
..exhibitions telling important queer stories,
stacks of sporting events,
a dedicated First Nations gathering space,
Marri Madung Butbut - a first for WorldPride -
and, of course, right at the heart of it all,
the Sydney Gay and Lesbian...
ALL: Mardi Gras!
..which was hosted on the ABC by ABC queers Mon Schafter,
everyone's favourite weatherman, Nate Byrne,
and, oh, yeah, little old me.
Yes, this is my natural hair.
MON: And Sydney is packed...
This year's Mardi Gras was particularly special
for a number of reasons.
BOTH: Happy Mardi Gras!
For starters, it was back on Oxford Street
for the first time in three years, and this year,
the parade marked its 45th year since the first one in 1978.
(MAN CHANTS)
Back then, it was actually illegal for men and women to be openly gay,
and what started as a way for people to express
and celebrate their identity quickly turned violent
when police took over the lead float and arrested 53 people.
MAN: I watched the police picking people off
and really violently assaulting people,
initially lesbians.
WOMAN: I got a dustbin lid thrown in my back.
I knew 'cause it really, really hurt.
And then some big boofy blokes - police - picked me.
And then I had other people trying to save me
and my glasses got lost
and I got literally thrown into a paddy wagon.
That didn't stop the community from marching every year,
and while, today, things have improved a lot
for the LGBTQIA+ community here in Australia,
there is still a long way to go in the fight for equality.
We have an opportunity to celebrate all of our communities
and all of our people coming together.
We also have an opportunity
to change and challenge the status quo...
..to hear from those that have often been silenced,
to hear from those that are sometimes ignored,
to advocate for community
and demand that our leaders change the laws
so that we are all equal.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
That's actually another really big part of WorldPride,
and this is the first time
it has been hosted by a country in the Southern Hemisphere,
so there has been a lot of representation from Pacific Islands
as well as Asian communities,
some of which don't have the same rights that we have here.
Last week, there was a massive human rights conference
where people spoke about issues faced by the LGBTQIA+ community,
as well as what hopes the community has for the future.
We are told that, because we can get married now,
that everything's fine, and that's a lie.
And as Sydney prepares to pack down
and clear out all the glitter and confetti,
there are many that say Pride doesn't stop here
and that it's important to continue to celebrate and advocate
for the LGBTQIA+ community every day of the year.