The Australian LGBTI Awards return to celebrate the achievements of the LGBTI community and their allies at Sydney’s The Star on Friday 2 March.

Australian LGBTI Awards Director Silke Bader said 2017 has been tough for the LGBTI community.

“We’ve had the legitimacy of our relationships debated in the public domain for months, advertisements and posters spreading hate and lies and the entire nation voting on our rights to marry,” Bader said.

“The Australian LGBTI Awards are an opportunity for us to celebrate one another, our achievements and supporters.”

The awards ceremony will continue to be judged under the Public Awards and the Corporate Awards, each compromising several categories.

This year, the Public Awards will award the winners for Ally, Brand, Community Initiative, Film, TV and Webseries, Hero, International Icon, LGBTI Celebrity, Marketing Campaign, Music Artist, Organisation, Politician, Presenter and Sports Personality.

Under Corporate Awards, the winners will receive recognition for Coporate Ally, Diversity Champion, Lifetime Achievement, LGBTI Employee Network and Inspirational Role Model. 

This year, more than 11,000 Australian LGBTI people and allies are named nominees across 16 categories for the event. The nominees include marriage equality activist Sally Rugg, politician Penny Wong, drag performer Courtney Act, musician Troye Sivan and comedians Jordan Raskopolous and Magda Szubanski. Nominees for community initiatives will include The AFL Pride Game, Headspace, R U OK? and Safe Schools.

In addition to the celebration, The Star will showcase a light show of the pride flag colours to welcome guests.

Readers also enjoyed reading a story about Rainbow Flags.

Words by Tania McIntosh
Images via LGBTI Awards