Pride

Name
Website	brisbanepride.org.au
Time	September
Major Events	Fair Day, Queen’s Ball, Parade
First Parade	1990
Parade Route	Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley

Brisbane Pride festival takes place in spring - before the full force of the Brisbane summer - and includes a month of parties and events. The festival is smaller in scale than other cities of a similar size, however, it has been revamped in recent years and has grown from a protest march in the middle of winter to a spring-time festival full of colour and energy. Attendance is growing year on year as more of the city gets behind the festival.

Parade

The parade starts in Fortitude Valley and proceeds the length of Brunswick street to New Farm Park. The parade has more of a community feel that other pride parades and is primarily made up of marchers rather than floats. Fair day takes place at New Farm Park where the parade terminates. The crowd is entertained by a lineup of drag, music and dance performers. Rows of stalls feature community groups, businesses and services.

Queen's Ball

The Queen’s Ball is a lavish awards night honouring achievements of individuals, organisations and groups in the local LGBTIQ community. The event is held at City Hall during the Queen’s birthday long weekend (hence the name) and is now the longest continuously running LGBTIQA+ event in the world^[5]. Each event has a theme and attendees go all-out with costumes for the evening.

The first Brisbane Pride took place in 1990 at a time when “sodomy” was still a crime in Queensland. While other states started decriminalising homosexuality in the 1970s and 1980s, the seemingly endless era of conservatism under premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen meant that decriminalization did not arrive in Queensland until late 1990^[3].

Change was in the air with the newly-elected Labor government and organisers felt inspired to take the next step with Brisbane’s pride movement.

The parade came about thanks to the efforts of a group of activists known as the Lesbian and Gay Pride Collective. The group was committed to the equal participation of women, so Dykes on Bikes led the first parade, and they have ever since^[4].

After a rally at Roma Street forum, the parade worked its way across Victoria Bridge to Musgrave Park in West End. The march was protested heavily. Religious protesters hurled not only insults, but also rocks, and a man drove a ute into marchers. Thankfully no-one was seriously injured.

The parade route and date were later changed to a springtime march down Brunswick Street from Fortitude Valley to New Farm Park - closer to Brisbane’s beating gay heart. The festival continues to grow each year as acceptance increases and more of the city gets behind this colourful festival.

Nightlife

Events

	Neighbourhoods	9 Fortitude Valley Queer-interest Neighbourhood Brisbane's entertainment district Brisbane City Brisbane's beating heart New Farm Queer-interest Neighbourhood Leafy riverside living Paddington Charming queenslander architecture with vibrant cafes, shopping and dining South Bank Public parklands, cultural institutions and restaurants overlooking the river South Brisbane Thriving, buzzing neighbourhood south of the river Spring Hill Queer-interest Neighbourhood Inner-city neighbourhood full of heritage charm. Teneriffe Queer-interest Neighbourhood Inner-city industrial chic West End Bohemian and multi-cultural Brisbane
	Bars & Nightclubs	4 Cloudland Hosts queer events Lavish and stylish venue with great cocktails The Beat Mostly queer crowd Sprawling mega-club with multiple bars and dance-floors Sportsman Hotel Mostly queer crowd Old-school gay bar with strong community feel The Wickham Mostly queer crowd Refurbished character pub with huge beer garden
	Dance Parties	2 Fluffy Mostly queer crowd Brisbane’s biggest sunday gay club night Shandy Mostly queer crowd Regular queer dance party
	Events	7 Big Gay Day Queer Event Massive LGBT street party Brunch with Bite Queer-interest Event Weekly drag brunch In the Dark Events Queer Event Nation-wide drag and LGBT+ tours Melt Festival Queer Event Festival of Queer Arts and Culture Queen's Ball Queer Event LGBT+ awards ceremony Queer Film Festival Queer Event Celebrating queer cinema Rumble Queer-interest Event On-stage battle between drag, burlesque, cabaret, and theatre
	Attractions	6 Howard Smith Wharves Waterside precinct under the Story Bridge Mount Coot-Tha Lookout and restaurant perched atop the highest peak in Brisbane New Farm Park Queer-interest Attraction Riverside park in charming New Farm Riverwalk Floating walking connecting New Farm to the CBD Story Bridge Adventure Climb Bird's eye view of Brisbane Wheel of Brisbane Observation wheel with 360 degree views of Brisbane
	Cultural Venues	5 Brisbane Powerhouse Hosts queer events Arts and culture institution by the river GOMA Gallery of Modern Art Judith Wright Arts Centre Hosts queer events Visual and performing arts centre QPAC Hosts queer events Queensland Performing Arts Centre The Tivoli Hosts queer events Mid-sized theatre hosting music gigs, dance parties and performing arts