Gay Pride celebrations in Australia take a decidedly different tack than those in many parts of the world. In the country's largest cities, the premier GLBT annual event is actually a major queer cultural festival lasting two to three weeks, with Gay Mardi Gras in Sydney being the most famous of these. Melbourne's beloved Midsumma Festival, which takes place from mid-January through early February (the dates this year are January 15 through February 5, 2012), is one of the most popular of these events, drawing tens of thousands of participants from within metro Melbourne's sizable GLBT community as well as from all over Australia and - increasingly - from throughout the world. The festival was begun in 1988 by the city's Gay Business Association, and it comprises three weeks of high-caliber, engaging arts events and parties. A "Gay Pride" component was added in 1996, in the form of Pride March Victoria, which takes place the last day of Midsumma, on February 5.
Book rooms and compare rates on hotels in Melbourne during Midsumma.
Events during Midsumma consist of a wide range of diverse programming - films, spoken word, live music, theater, cabaret, stand-up comedy, community-group gatherings, sporting events, and visual arts exhibitions. The official website provides an interactive program detailing all the different events and their venues, as well as a link to purchasing tickets to various activities.
Another prominent facet of Midsumma are the many parties, several of which bump and grind well into the morning of the following day - these fetes take place at a variety of venues throughout the city, from traditional gay clubs to civic spaces and performance halls, and the names of these parties generally give a nice hint of what you can expect (from the pervy, men-only Foam-A-Sexual to the women-oriented Girl & Eve to plenty of mixed events.
A pair of key, must-see events kick off Midsumma: Midsumma Carnival and T Dance, which both take place at Birrarung Marr, on the north bank of the Yarra River.
Midsumma culminates with yet another major event, the 17th Annual Pride March Victoria, which begins at noon, Sunday, February 5, and ends with an all-day festival at Catani Gardens in the lovely bay-side community of St. Kilda - one of Melbourne's most gay-popular neighborhoods.
To figure out where everything is and how to find it, download a full Midsumma Festival Guide in PDF format from the website.
Of course, additionally, numerous gay bars as well as gay-popular restaurants, hotels, and shops have special events and parties throughout Midsumma in Melbourne. Check local gay papers, such as Melbourne Community Voice, for details, as well as such useful online resources as SameSame.com's Melbourne section. Also take a look at the excellent the city's official tourism organization, Visit Melbourne.
