5 THINGS TO KNOW

Sydney’s gay pride street parade celebrates same-sex marriage, honors early activists.

About half a million people are expected to line Sydney’s streets on Saturday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the first time the annual parade has taken place since Australia legalized same-sex marriage. The event started in 1978 as a protest march for gay rights and the decriminalization of homosexuality but has since grown into a major tourist spectacle featuring leather, sequins, glitter, lasers and dance music.

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Jacinda Ardern is the first Prime Minister to walk in Auckland’s Pride Parade.

Jacinda Ardern is set to become the first Prime Minister to join the colourful line-up in Auckland’s Pride Parade. Ardern will cut the last of several rainbow ribbons to mark the start of tonight’s event, before hitting Ponsonby Rd alongside the Labour Party’s red caravan.  

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Winter Pride Festival takes place in Reykjavik in February.

February may be one of the coldest months of the year in Iceland, but the LGBT travel company Pink Iceland hopes to warm things up with their winter pride festival. Pink Iceland’s seventh annual Rainbow Reykjavík festival will take place from February 8-11, with an exciting program that includes social events in the city, tours outside the city, the legendary Pink Masquerade Ball at Iðnó Theatre on February 10, and much more.

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Government okays LGBT festival in Myanmar, where homosexuality is still a crime.

The government of Myanmar gave approval for an LGBT gathering for the first time this weekend, allowing the &Proud festival to be held in a public park in Yangon. Organizers have historically held the film and culture series in secret, given the nation’s ban on homosexuality, a holdover from British colonial rule.

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Pride in Melbourne kicks off with the Pride March.

A sea of colour has lined the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda this afternoon for the annual Pride March, celebrating gender and sexual diversity. Actor and LGBTQI advocate Magda Szubanski was among 8000 people who made their way along Fitzroy Street for the Midsumma Pride March. “We’re all fully equal, there are no discrepancies,” Szubanski told the crowd.

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This ally helped turn Atlanta into a black gay mecca.

Black queer kids growing up in southwest Atlanta, like in many other places, see ourselves as alone. Much later, after we survive childhood, we learn about the army outside the gates: how they were there all along fighting for us to be free. Read the full article HERE.

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Cher is set to headline the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras…well maybe.

American singer and icon, Cher, is tipped to headline the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras next year. The 71-year-old – who is known for hits including Believe and I Got You Babe – is reportedly close to being locked in to perform at one of the biggest parties of the year. Read the full article HERE.