It’s official! Sydney is getting gayer.
Organisations across Greater Sydney including the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, and the Scenic Skyway in Katoomba will be installing free, public artworks to celebrate the 17-day LGBTQIA+ festival that is World Pride 2023 – complete with Kylie Minogue – to welcome to world to Sydney.
What can you expect? Here’s a run-down…
The installations include a 50-metre-long abstract floral rainbow wall made up of around 18,000 colourful plants at The Calyx inside the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney – one of the largest living green walls in the Southern Hemisphere.
The floral rainbow wall forms part of the Garden’s new Love Your Nature horticultural exhibition, which fittingly celebrates the diverse world of plant-love with a kaleidoscope of colour, plants and passion.
The City of Sydney will install its own floral installations, including planter boxes and a floral wall, which will be created using hundreds of plants and foliage in the colours of the rainbow flag.
Randwick Council will also update its famous 27-metre-long rainbow walkway at Coogee Beach to add the colours of the Progress Flag, a version of the traditional rainbow flag that includes additional stripes to represent people of colour and the trans community.
In the Blue Mountains, Katoomba’s famous Scenic Skyway will be transformed into a giant progress flag, a dramatic vision set against the World Heritage landscapes of the Three Sisters and the Jamison Valley.
Meanwhile, the University of Sydney will showcase a night-time rainbow mural throughout the festival at its Footbridge Gallery at the University’s Camperdown campus. Made of rainbow LED lights, the mural will mark the 45th anniversary of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 2023. Designed by award-winning interactive designer and diversity advocate, Dr Xavier Ho, the mural will be unveiled to coincide with the University’s inaugural Hunt-Simes Institute in Sexuality Studies, which is being launched to coincide with Sydney WorldPride 2023.
Want more? You’ll have to wait for now. There’s a rainbow map coming in February 2023 to help guide you around town to see it all.
For now, head to the Sydney World Pride website for more