Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has confirmed that that Sydney's 2017 New Year's Eve firework celebrations will include a tribute to the Australia LGBTQI+ community, and the success of the fight for same-sex marriage.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be lit up in rainbow colours, in commemoration of the decades that the community has spent fighting for recognition. The rainbow tribute will also commemorate the 40th anniversary of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which began with a street party / peaceful protest march that went awry in 1978.
Moore said the display would show the world Sydney was now a more accepting and comfortable place for the LGBTQI+ community.
"It will be a wonderful time for LGBTI people who for too long have been discriminated against," she said. "I think that 'yes' vote really meant, across Australia, we are saying we are progressive, we support equity and we support everyone to be able to marry the person they love."
Moore revealed that the sensational tribute to a historical year for the Australian LGBTQI+ community will be a "rainbow waterfall cascade" off the Harbour Bridge.
The responses on social media were celebratory and ecstatic: