Qtopia has launched the full line-up for its 2026 Pride Fest, its biggest program to date.
It’s the third annual Pride Fest by Qtopia, the world’s largest centre for queer history and culture, and this year features over 300 events.
From 1 June to 30 June, the entire Oxford St precinct will celebrate International Pride Month, with events staged across Qtopia, the Eternity Playhouse, Universal, the Oxford Hotel and more.
Festival Director Carly Fisher told Gay Sydney Daily that the festival was expanding beyond Qtopia due to demand.
“Last year we started to have venues on Oxford St say, ‘Let’s grow it and include us, please,’ and so we have,” she said.
“We’ve got something in the program this year, I hope, for the whole community to really be able to celebrate and show their pride.”
From cabaret to theatre, art to gym classes, Fisher said Qtopia had always wanted to hold the festival in June to recognise the significance of the month.
“It’s really important to us that everyone knows the history of this month and why it is globally regarded,” she said.
Fisher said Sydney had the largest queer population in the country and deserved to celebrate that more.
“People are queer all year round, right… and there’s so much queer talent around this country and globally.”
The festival will kick off with the inaugural Pride Fest Gala on 2 June at the Eternity Playhouse, which Fisher said will act as both a fundraiser and a taster of the festival to come.
“We’re asking the community to really come together and secure the future of queer storytelling with us,” she said.
“It is a fundraiser, but also a taster of the incredible month ahead.”
The festival features two headliners: the award-winning cabaret sensation Skank Sinatra in The Name on Everybody’s Lips, from 10 to 14 June, and Kala Gare and Victoria Falconer’s Juicy Riot on 29 June.
“My top tip is to get in early for those because there are only so many seats, and we expect they will go quickly.”
This year, the festival will also bring the community together in different ways, Fisher said, with separate programming streams.
“So we have a mini festival called Pride Fest Intersections; it’s a celebration of one’s intersectionality between their multicultural background and their queerness,” she said.
“The other programming stream is called Fit and Proud, where we are filling the month with everything from ’80s-style aerobics classes to historical sword fencing, through to big gay boxing and line dancing.”
There will also be a variety of events, including dinner parties and performances from queer talent, all with the aim of bringing the community together.
“There is so much diversity in the program this year that however you choose to show your pride or engage with your community, I hope there is something for you.”
The full festival program is available on the Qtopia website, with tickets on sale now.
