Now in its second year, Pride Fest is a month-long, multi-genre celebration of identity, creativity, inclusion and empowerment. It’s a festival built not just for the LGBTQIA+ community, but for allies, audiences and artists of all backgrounds to come together in a spirit of celebration and connection.
With more than 150 events and over 400 participating artists, Pride Fest offers extensive opportunities for those working across the Art and Cultural sectors. From performers and creatives to producers, technicians, curators and educators, the festival creates real pathways for collaboration, visibility and career development.
This is Sydney’s dedicated, curated Queer arts festival, a vital addition to NSW’s major events calendar. Joining the likes of Midsumma in Victoria, MELT in Queensland and FEAST in South Australia, which collectively inject tens of millions of dollars into their local economies, Prides Fest is NSW’s bold, creative response. In 2025, it is expected to attract more than 7,000 attendees across a jam-packed June
“Pride Fest is a platform where storytelling and community are front and centre, and it’s only growing. Right now, the world is in a tumultuous place. In a month that has historically been defined by protest, Pride Fest invites people from all communities to come together to celebrate, converse and connect,” said Carly Fisher, Qtopia Sydney’s Artistic & Programs Director. The program spans theatre, cabaret, visual art, music, comedy, drag, literature, burlesque and more. Pride Fest also includes new exhibitions, community partnerships, corporate teambuilding workshops and educational programming – all designed to reflect Qtopia Sydney’s standing as a world-class cultural institution. “Our goal isn’t just to host a festival, it’s to lead one that matches the global standard of Queer cultural programming. Qtopia Sydney is the largest centre of its kind in the world, and Pride Fest reflects that ambition,” said Ms Fisher.
Community organisations including the 78ers, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association, Rainbow Families, the Pride History Group and The Bookshop Darlinghurst will present events throughout the month, reinforcing the festival’s deep local connections. This year’s Pride Fest program features a stellar lineup of international festival highlights and award winners from major Fringe and arts festivals around the world.
The 2025 Headliners bring global acclaim and high-energy flair:
• A Friend of Dorothy: Anthems of Pride – Weekly Winner: Best Music at Adelaide Fringe 2025. A joyous homage to resilience, fabulousness and the power of music, this Sydney premiere celebrates the hit-makers who sparked historic change with unforgettable anthems. Think Judy, Elton, Gaga, Dolly and more, wrapped in profound vocals and sequins.
• Skank Sinatra – Weekly Winner: Best Cabaret at Adelaide Fringe two years running. This powerhouse diva belts, banters and bedazzles with her electrifying live vocals, international glamour and camp big-band bangers, reinventing Sinatra with spicy, show-stopping twists! With her razor-sharp wit, explosive stage presence and jaw-dropping costumes, Skank Sinatra unveils her whirlwind journey from the smoky jazz clubs of New York to the flamboyant streets of Sydney, from the underground cabarets of Berlin to the savannas of South Africa.
• The Platonic Human Centipede – Winner of Critic’s Choice Award at Perth Fringe, Best Original Songs at the Green Room Awards and Weekly Winner of Best Cabaret at Adelaide Fringe. Musical sketch chaos meets glitter fuelled co-dependency. Equal parts hilarious and horrifying, this award-winning cabaret from Queer comedy duo Mel & Sam is a turbo charged hour of bizarro characters, synth anthems and absurdist brilliance.
Irresistible 2025 top picks are:
- MVPFAFF++ is an acronym coined by Phylesha Brown-Acton – a Niuean fakafifine. Māhū (Hawai’i and Tahiti) | Vaka sa lewa lewa (Fiji) | Palopa (Papua New Guinea) | Fa’afafine (Samoa) | Akava’ine (Rarotonga) | Fakaleiti (Tonga) | Fakafifine (Niue) | ++ for all remaining identities, gender diverse expressions and roles within the Pacific. Across the Pacific – Stories of Queer Resilience is a curated lineup of storytelling through the lens and lived experience of the queer Pasifika diaspora living in Sydney Australia.
- A Night with the 78ers: The 47th anniversary of the first Mardi Gras – On June 24th, 1978, over 500 people participated in a protest march that is now known as the First Mardi Gras. What started as a peaceful march, descended into an ugly battle between protestors and police that ended with 58 people being arrested and taken to the Darlinghurst Police Station. Join us to honour those that took to the streets as we mark the 47th anniversary of the First Mardi Gras and importantly, show our deep gratitude to the 78ers for their incredible fight back then, and service since, in raising awareness to help secure the rights and freedoms the LGBTQIA+ community has today.
In addition to theatre and exhibitions, festivals’ program includes The Pride Literary Series, film nights, live podcast recordings and workshops. EnQueer, Sydney’s only Queer Literary Festival, returns to Qtopia Sydney for Pride Fest, while the Kings of Joy give audiences an opportunity to be a Drag King for a day. Corporate and educational offerings also run throughout the month, including 75% tax-deductible workshops on Queer history, culture and allyship, offering organisations a more meaningful way to engage with Pride Month beyond rainbow logos. “Pride Fest is set to inject real energy into Sydney’s cultural and economic life,” said Qtopia Sydney CEO Greg Fisher. “From the artists and venues involved to the local cafes, bars and hotels across the city, this festival will draw thousands back to the Rainbow Precinct – a key priority for both Local and State Governments, and something we’re proud to support.
Oxford Street, long seen as the spiritual heart of Sydney’s Queer community, will be at the centre of the action. Qtopia Sydney is working closely with local businesses to ensure the festival leaves a lasting footprint beyond June. Pride Fest 2025 is a celebration of creativity, community and courage. It invites everyone – Queer and allied – to show up, take part and be part of something bigger than themselves.
Drag, theatre, comedy, cabaret, live podcasts, exhibitions and workshops every day and night from 1 – 30 June.
