Straight man accidentally books onto Sydney WorldPride flight – and loves every minute
WorldPride is held in Sydney in 2023. (Credit: Getty Images)
A straight man accidentally booked a ticket to Australia not realising the journey would be on a Sydney WorldPride flight – but he loved every second of it.
George Rogers, a British building surveyor who has lived in Sydney for the past six years, was flying back to Australia after holidaying in South America.
After checking in at LAX for the LA-Sydney flight the 29-year-old quickly realised he had booked a seat on Qantas’ WorldPride flight. This was created to bring LGBTQ+ community members from the US to Australia for the huge Pride festival.
WorldPride is a 17-day extravaganza celebrating the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, with stars such as Kylie Minogue, Charli XCX and Ava Max performing.
Earlier this month, the festival’s Pride Progress shark became a viral icon and internet hero.
“I had absolutely no idea it was a WorldPride flight,” Rogers told news.com.au, “It dawned on me when check-in opened, and I saw a lot of ‘colourful’ people and pride flags.”
He continued: “After check-in, they took us all into the Qantas First Lounge at LAX.
“There were drag queens, and they gave me a hat and a rainbow flag and there were free drinks. There were great vibes.”
Before the flight took off, singers Hugh Sheridan and G Flip, and comedian Joel Creasey performed in the lounge for passengers.
Passengers were entertained in the air by Qantas’ resident drag queen, Qantana, as well as Felicity Frickaccino and Vybe.
The trio entertained guests with a game of drag bingo, while a team from Mecca Max gave everyone a bag filled with beauty supplies and hosted a make-up masterclass at 40,000 feet.
Rogers describes himself as an ally to the community and was “thrilled” by the happy mistake that resulted in him being on the flight.
“I’ve been to Mardi Gras in Sydney a few times and it’s always my favourite day of the year. So what better way to kick off the weekend than with a pride flight to Sydney,” he said.
“I ended up on the gayest flight ever and I absolutely loved it,” he added.
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