Australian drag star Courtney Act will host a special LGBTIQ pride event on the beach of Surfers Paradise.
The “Sparkle in the Sand” event will celebrate the diverse LGBTI community and promises “song, dance, laughter and delight” for Gold Coast partiers, with performers, athletes and other speakers taking part.
The free event will be held on the beach at Surfers Paradise from 7pm on April 9.
Courtney, the drag alter-ego of Brisbane-born performer Shane Jenek, became an Australian household name on the first season of Australian Idol, and she became a worldwide star on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2014.
Last month, she was announced as winner of the UK version of reality TV series Celebrity Big Brother.
The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games will begin on April 4 and will run until April 15.
This year’s Games will also feature Australia’s first “Pride House,” a welcoming space for all LGBTIQ athletes and spectators to meet during the Games.
Rise Bar at Surfers Paradise will be host to the Pride House, celebrating LGBTIQ athletes and highlighting a different community issue every day between March 28 and April 15.
“We’re hoping here on the Gold Coast that every athlete can feel accepted in the Pride House and be a part of this amazing community that we have here in Australia,” Pride House ambassador Natalie Cook said.
More than 6,600 athletes and officials from 70 Commonwealth nations will travel to venues on the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville in April.
The Commonwealth Games’ full arts and cultural program is available online here.
