Big Gay Day
Brisbane’s biggest queer party: an annual street party outside The Wickham in Fortitude Valley, with drag shows, DJs and headline acts on a main stage, raising money for local LGBTQIA+ charities.
It began in 2000 as a block party and charity fundraiser at The Wickham, a heritage pub that has backed Brisbane’s queer community since the 1970s. RuPaul, Boy George, Melanie C, The Veronicas and Lady Bunny have all played the main stage, and more than 3,000 people came through in 2024.
Expect a crowd that’s half reunion, half rave: chosen family who haven’t seen each other since last year, drag acts trading the stage with DJs, and queues at the bar that test everyone’s patience. It’s a daytime party in subtropical Brisbane, so bring sunscreen and pace yourself. The rest of the Valley’s queer bars are a short walk away for anyone not ready to go home when the stage goes dark.
On Hiatus
Big Gay Day was first held the weekend after Sydney Mardi Gras, as one stop on a national party circuit that let it pick up international acts already in the country. It later moved to the May Labour Day long weekend. Organisers now intend to make the October King’s Birthday long weekend its new home. However, the event has taken a break for 2026 with the promise to return bigger and better in 2027
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