The world-famous Sydney Opera House was lit up in the colours of the Pride Progress Flag to mark the opening night of WorldPride 2023.
Sydney is expecting to welcome more than 78,000 visitors throughout the festival, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and highlights the issues facing it.
The landmark was lit up in rainbow colours as part of Sydney WorldPride’s Rainbow City activation, which will see 45 pieces of public art installed across the city – including rainbows on Bondi Beach, Coogee Beach and at the Royal Botanic Gardens, as well as within the Blue Mountains.
Prior to being lit up publicly at 8:30pm AEST on 17 February, a dress rehearsal took place under the cover of darkness to ensure everything was ready.
It was previously announced that Kylie Minogue would headline WorldPride’s opening ceremony, which is set to take place at The Domain on 24 February.
READ MORE: Here’s everything you need to know about Sydney WorldPride 2023
Hosted by Courtney Act and Casey Donovan, the opening will be broadcast nationally on ABC TV.
Nicole Scherzinger will headline one of Sydney WorldPride’s most highly anticipated events, the Bondi Beach Party, on 4 March.
The singer will perform in a line-up which features all-Australian DJs including dameeeela, Jarred Baker, Jacqui Cunningham, DJ Charlie Villas and DJ Dan Murphy.
The event will see 12,000 people take to the beach for one day only as it essentially becomes a club for the global LGBTQ+ community.
READ MORE: Sydney WorldPride 2023: What to expect from the “party with purpose”
Speaking to GAY TIMES ahead of the festivities getting underway, Sydney WorldPride CEO Kate Wickett said the 17-day-long celebrations are “about bringing a multiplicity of voices together from across the world and both celebrating and advocating.”
“And so, yes, we celebrate, but we unite, and we’re also going to be advocating and discussing some pretty difficult issues and challenges and I don’t think those two things are mutually exclusive,” she explained in July last year.
Sydney WorldPride 2023 runs from 17 February to 5 March 2023.
You can learn more about the highly anticipated event by reading GAY TIMES’ interview with Kate Wickett and Courtney Act here.
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