Sydney is gearing up to host this year’s World Pride Festival. The international festival began in 2000, with cities competing to host each year’s event. Sydney is the first southern hemisphere city to host the festival. It will incorporate the usual Mardi Gras festival events, with an increased offering across visual and performing arts, sports, as well as First Nations planning sessions and a human rights conference.
Beginning on February 17, the festival will culminate with the Mardi Gras Parade on March 5. A highlight is the concert in the Domain on February 24, featuring performances from Kylie Minogue, Jessica Mauboy, Casey Donovan and Courtney Act.
There is a wide array of sporting events on offer during the festival. These include the Rainbow Golf Tournament at Moore Park Golf Club, the World Pride Tennis Tournament at Rockdale, the Rainbow Racquets Squash Tournament at Hiscoe’s in Surry Hills, the World Pride Ice Hockey Cup at Macquarie Ice Rink, the LGBTI Soccer World Championships at Tempe Recreation Reserve, the World Gay Boxing Championships in the Winx Stand at Randwick Racecourse, the Sydney World Pride Martial Arts Championships at KGV Convention Centre in The Rocks, and more.
People who wish to compete in sporting events can register through the World Pride website. Likewise, people who wish to attend any of the events can buy tickets online.
Australian Open results
The Australian Open in Melbourne has concluded. After an eventful two weeks, the final results were:
Men’s singles champion: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Women’s singles champion: Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
Men’s doubles champions: Jason Kubler/Rinky Hijikata (Australia)
Women’s doubles champions: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)
Mixed doubles champions: Rafael Matos/Luisa Stefani (Brazil)
Men’s wheelchair champion: Alfie Hewett (Great Britain)
Women’s wheelchair champion: Diede de Groot (Netherlands)
The next grand slam of the year is the French Open in May.
