This June, the Rainbow Precinct — encompassing Oxford Street and Taylor Square — is about to light up like never before as Sydney Pride Month 2025 takes over with a theme that feels like a mission statement: 'Love, Respect, Empower’. At the centre of it is Festival Coordinator Glenn Hansen, who is Stonewall Hotel's Manager, and a long-time keeper of Sydney’s queer heartbeat. After the original Sydney Pride Centre shut its doors, Hansen wasn’t about to let the spirit die.

"We started doing Sydney Pride after the closure," Hansen says. "We didn't want to lose the messaging, and the history, and everything else that went with it. So, Stonewall took it on."

What began as a modest Stonewall Pride Week has since exploded into a full month-long celebration. "It then evolved to become Sydney Pride Month," Hansen explains. "The focus is very much on remembering the past, celebrating the present, and looking forward to the future."

And the future looks gloriously packed. Last year, Sydney Pride Month sprawled across the city with over 150 events. This year. . . They’re already clocking in at more than 80 and counting – a vibrant, grassroots collection of performances, exhibitions, talks, and unapologetic celebration happening right in (and around) the Rainbow Precinct.

"Our Pride is not-for-profit," Hansen stresses. "So it's all about local charities and giving back to the community. We do it for the love, not the dollar."

In a city where the Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras has become a global behemoth, Sydney Pride Month brings things back to street level.

"Mardi Gras is a huge, international festival now, and it’s brilliant," Hansen says. "But Sydney Pride Month is much more grassroots. It’s more about what’s happening at the local level – it’s for the community."

Glenn Hansen

And that local spirit is stamped across every event. Stonewall Hotel will unleash 'Orgy Of Drag' – a back-to-back drag extravaganza featuring more than 40 queens, with a $5 entry going straight to ACON (AIDS Council of New South Wales). "It’s a huge celebration," Hansen says. "We wanted to create a night where everybody could come and have fun, but also raise money for charity at the same time.

Meanwhile, the broader Rainbow Precinct will be buzzing with everything from 'Pups And Fetish Night' for the leather and kink crowd, to 'Trans Glamore' showcasing trans excellence, cabaret nights at Claire’s Kitchen, fetish nights at The Oxford, and art exhibitions across Surry Hills and Darlinghurst.

Qtopia – Sydney’s brand-new LGBTQIA+ museum – is diving headfirst into a Pride Fest, with more than 50 events spanning exhibitions, talks, theatre, and workshops, right in the heart of Darlinghurst.

Rainbow Precinct will even host a Family Zone, offering drag storytelling, face painting, and rainbow crafts for younger pride-goers and their families.

One of the crown jewels of Sydney Pride Month this year is the Pride History Tours, giving a real-world look at Sydney’s hidden queer past.

"We're doing a whole heap of queer history tours," Hansen says. "Looking at how things were way back when homosexuality was illegal – how people used to meet in Hyde Park and around the Barracks."

These tours pull the city’s secret stories out of the shadows – from furtive love affairs in dark corners to the brave defiance of early activists.

Image © Robert Knapman

Oxford Street itself will wear its heart on its sleeve this Pride Month. Hansen’s 'Love Hearts' campaign, which started last year, is returning bigger than ever.

"Last year, we did the 'Love Hearts' campaign," he says. "Businesses could display a Pride Love Heart decal to show they were supporting Pride Month. And it was meant to come down at the end of June – but most places left them up."

This year’s campaign will culminate in a Pride Shopping Day, with local retailers offering special deals, events, and more, draping the Rainbow Precinct in even more visible support.

"Oxford Street is the heart of the LGBTQIA+ community in Sydney," Hansen says. "We want everyone to feel that when they walk down the street."

The official launch party will hit Stonewall Hotel on Thursday, 29 May – a glitter-fuelled, high-energy night featuring celebrity performances and speeches from leaders like Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

"It’s about love, respect, and empowerment," Hansen says. "It’s about coming together as a community – not just to party, but to remember why we have the freedoms we have today."

After years of lockouts, closures, and pandemic-era silence, Oxford Street and its surrounding precinct are ready to roar back to life – louder, prouder, and more defiantly beautiful than ever.

Sydney Pride Month isn’t just a calendar full of events. It’s a movement, and it’s setting the Rainbow Precinct and beyond ablaze this winter.

Sydney Pride Month is 1-30 June.