sydney
How to join Australia’s online Pride celebrations this weekend
COVID-19 may have cancelled Pride festivals worldwide, but Australia will join the online Global Pride celebrations on Saturday (June 27). On Saturday evening, Brisbane Pride are hosting this year’s 59th Annual Queens Ball Virtual Awards online from 7pm. The Queens Ball is the longest-running LGBTIQ event in the world. Brisbane Pride President Rebecca Johnson told …
Gay Brazilian Instagram star pleads guilty in Sydney ‘revenge porn’ case
A Brazilian tourist will plead guilty to “revenge porn” offences after secretly recording sex with his Sydney lover and posting it on OnlyFans without consent. Police charged Fabricio Da Silva Claudino after he filmed the consensual sex with his Sydney boyfriend at their Marrickville home last July. The former Emirates flight attendant also uploaded several …
Here’s what Sydney’s memorial for gay hate crime victims could look like
ACON and Waverley Council have released shortlisted designs for the planned memorial artwork for victims of historical gay hate crimes in Sydney. The permanent memorial, in Marks Park at Tamarama south of Bondi, will honour victims and survivors targeted in homophobic and transphobic attacks in NSW across decades. From the 1970s to 1990s, attackers targeted …
Police charge Sydney man over 1988 murder of Scott Johnson
Police have charged a Lane Cove man with the murder of Scott Johnson in Sydney in 1988. Scott was only 27 years old when found dead near North Head over 30 years ago. On December 10, 1988, the body of the Sydney-based American was found at the base of a cliff at Blue Fish Point, …
Story behind MasterChef star Khanh Ong’s ‘You Are Loved’ shirts
MasterChef contestant Khanh Ong has revealed the meaning behind the “You Are Loved” t-shirts he’s worn in every episode. Ong said the show’s fans have been flooding him with messages about his shirts, which he has worn in different colours during every MasterChef: Back to Win challenge. “I reckon I’ve gotten about 300 comments, and …
Vale Mardi Gras 78er Sandi Banks
Mardi Gras 78er and veteran LGBTIQ activist Sandi Banks passed away this week after battling cancer. Sandi was one of the 53 people arrested by police on the night of the first Mardi Gras parade on June 24, 1978. The event was violently broken up by police, and those arrested were beaten by police and …
Gay venues around Australia react to COVID-19 crowd bans
LGBTIQ nightclubs and bars across Australia have reacted to the federal government’s new coronavirus crowd bans, with some closing their doors indefinitely. On Wednesday (March 18), the federal government banned non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people as Australia responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Brisbane, The Sportsman Hotel said as of Wednesday they …
Scott Johnson: Police make progress in gay-hate death investigation
New South Wales homicide detectives investigating the 1988 suspected gay-hate killing of Scott Johnson have reportedly narrowed in on “a particular individual”. Scott Johnson’s body was found at the base of a cliff in Sydney on December 10, 1988. The Sydney-based American national was just 27 when he died. A coronial inquest initially concluded Johnson …
Open letter to Mardi Gras Board questions governance
An open letter to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Board queries decisions pertaining to both Sydney World Pride 2023 and the recent Mardi Gras festival. The letter from ‘Concerned MG members’ questions what it describes as “declining standards of governance by the Board.” The letter firstly questions the structure in place for Sydney …
Gay sauna taking temperatures on entry as coronavirus precaution
A gay sauna in Sydney has started taking the temperatures of all patrons on entry as a precaution against the risk of coronavirus infection. In a Facebook post last weekend, venue 357 Sydney City Steam quipped it’s the “first sauna in Australia to not allow you entry if you’re too hot.” “At 357 we want …