Community & events

Your guide to what’s happening in Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community. From major gatherings like Sydney Mardi Gras and Fair Day & weekly open-mic events like Clapback at Ching-a-Lings, to profiles of inspiring locals like Fairah Nuff and her drag competition win, we celebrate the people and events that make our city vibrant. Find festival previews, community funding, and opportunities to connect.

A full-time Sydney Mardi Gras employee asked members of the charity's volunteer network to work unpaid shifts for two commercial LGBTQIA+ festivals while also being paid by one of those events, prompting questions about conflict-of-interest management at one of Australia's most high-profile queer organisations and whether those workers should have been paid employees.

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has signalled its desire to move away from producing all of its events in-house, announcing it is inviting external promoters, community partners and creatives to co-produce “signature” celebrations while it focuses its energy on producing “hallmark” events alone.

Sydney queer history and cultural centre Qtopia is one of the federal budget winners after the Albanese government agreed to allocate $1.5 million to it in the 2024-25 federal budget.