Whether you’re after sunrise dance floors, underground queer raves, drag competitions, theatre, or a big gay harbour cruise, Sydney’s October long weekend has something for everyone.
Ben Grubb
Ben Grubb
Ben Grubb is the founder and editor of Gay Sydney News, an independent publication covering LGBTQIA+ news. A journalist with more than 15 years' experience, he has reported and edited for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAToday, Brisbane Times, The Australian Financial Review, News.com.au, ZDNet, TelecomTimes and iTnews, primarily on the topic of technology. He previously hosted The Informer, a queer current affairs program on Melbourne’s JOY 94.9 radio station, and contributes to LGBTQIA+ media including Stun Magazine. Ben has also appeared as a technology commentator on Channel Ten's The Project, ABC RN’s Download This Show and commercial radio stations 2UE, 2GB and 6PR. Contact Ben: ben.grubb@gaysydneynews.com.au
American Express has withdrawn sponsorship of the 2026 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, leaving Australia’s most prominent queer organisation with no principal sponsor for 2026 and exposing the cash-strapped non-profit to an estimated $500,000 to $1 million shortfall to fill yearly for future festivals.
Drag performer Etcetera Etcetera was crowned Entertainer of the Year at Sydney’s 2025 Drag Industry Variety Awards (DIVAs) on Monday night.
Oxford Street drag competition Slay 2 Stay will return for its sixth season this October, Universal Sydney has announced.
The son of a publican who owns Sydney queer venues the Imperial Hotel, Universal Sydney and Oxford Hotel – who claimed on LinkedIn to be a “director” of the parent company that owns those pubs – has been charged after allegedly breaking into a woman’s home with two other men to steal her car keys and registration papers.
Rival Mardi Gras factions are preparing to rally supporters, setting up a decisive contest over the future direction of the festival.
Serial Grindr fraudster and catfisher Dong Qiao Li has been sentenced to three months in jail for defrauding his latest victim after a magistrate heard of his decade-long history of scamming victims out of almost $120,000, many of whom he met on the gay dating and hookup app.
A new campaign group seeking to challenge the influence activist collective Pride in Protest hold over Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras says it will support board candidates who align with its views at the non-profit’s annual general meeting later this year.
It may have been only 7 degrees on Monday morning, but that didn’t stop a line-up for the reopening of Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool, the swim spot beloved by Sydney’s gays that had been closed for 16 months for refurbishment.
Flash, the gay Sydney dance party that seems to have beef with Gay Sydney News for reasons that are not fully understood, is moving from its original venue on Oxford Street to new digs at Kings Cross Hotel following a run-in with council over capacity issues.