Qtopia Sydney Concludes PRIDE FEST 2026 with Record-Breaking Turnout
Kabuku Public Relations
Key facts:
- Qtopia Sydney’s Pride Fest 2026 concluded its biggest festival to date, doubling its programming to 312 events featuring 250 artists across 33 days, with audience numbers rising 150% from 8,000 to over 20,000 compared to 2025.
- The festival expanded beyond its usual venues to take over the entire Oxford Street precinct, including The Eternity Playhouse, Ginger’s at the Oxford, and Universal Upstairs and Downstairs.
- Festival Director Carly Fisher praised the community’s support, highlighting the importance of audience engagement in making Queer storytelling, education, commemoration, and celebration possible.
- The NSW Government and Destination NSW supported the festival as Strategic Sponsor
With the conlusion of International Pride Month, Qtopia Sydney have officially wrapped up Pride Fest 2026 with a bang, bringing to a close their biggest festival yet! Firmly cementing its place as a mainstay in the Australian LGBTQIA+ cultural calendar, this year’s festival delivered a beautiful celebration of community, culture and conversation.
Now in it’s third year, Pride Fest saw record growth in 2026, doubling its programming to 312 events and 250 artists over 33 days, receiving a 150% rise in audience numbers from 8,000 in 2025 to over 20,000 in 2026.
This year saw the festival expand from outside the walls of Qtopia Sydney’s The Loading Dock Theatre and The BWYASSS Substation, to take over the entire Oxford Street precinct, including to The Eternity Playhouse, Ginger’s at the Oxford, Universal Upstairs and Downstairs.
Festival Director Carly Fisher said, “I’m so proud of the work we’ve been able to do at Qtopia Sydney to have made this momental festival possible. With record-breaking audience numbers, we’re very happy that the community showed up to make this year’s Pride Fest the success that it was. A festival like this only works when the community supports it and we are extremely grateful to our incredible community for truly showing up for Queer storytelling, education, commemoration and more than anything, celebration.”
“We would also like to thank our amazing partners at the NSW Government & Destination NSW who supported us this year as Strategic Sponsors.”
Featuring drag, comedy, cabaret, book launches, panel discussions, workshops, fitness classes, dance, film, parties, restaurant activations, Pride Fest 2026 also introduced Pride Fest: Intersections, a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity through an intersectional Queer lens, Pride Fest: New Voices, showcasing works in development and Fit N’ Proud (sponsored by Bupa), a dynamic program of sport, fitness and dance events.
Qtopia Sydney is the largest cultural centre for queer history and culture in the world, with four different buildings within the campus, housed in the heritage-listed former Darlinghurst Police Station.
The centre opened in 2024 with 18 exhibitions, as a place to share the stories of the Queer community in Australia — past, present and future. As storytellers, Qtopia Sydney bring LGBTQIA+ histories out of the sidelines and into the light — from breakthroughs in medicine and law to art, activism and everyday life. These are stories of courage, contribution and resilience that deserve to be heard. Qtopia Sydney is also home to two performance venues and offers a rich program of events and performances.
