Mirvac Retail centres in Sydney and Brisbane will join community-based organisation ‘Welcome Here’ to focus staff and retailers on inclusion and diversity through engaging Mardi Gras installations and activations.

Welcome Here, an offshoot of ACON – Australia’s and NSW’s leading LGBTIQ health organisation, was founded in 1998. The project’s aim is to promote and create an environment that is visibly welcoming and inclusive of all people.

Multiple Mirvac centres have undertaken steps to champion this safe space message by introducing rainbow ‘Welcome Here’ stickers at each entry point, along with training programs which enhance understanding and inclusivity of the LGBTIQ community and provide practical advice and actions for promoting inclusive spaces.

Mirvac general manager – retail, Kelly Miller said the Sydney Mardi Gras period was the perfect time to announce the partnership as the centres roll out the rainbow welcome, with family friendly activities being a central theme at Broadway Sydney, Tramsheds, East Village, MetCentre and Toombul in Brisbane.

Broadway Sydney has teamed up with an array of some of Sydney’ finest LGBTQI performers and queens to offer a free program of fun events.

Kicking off on 16 February with a Fair Day extravaganza, multi-award-winning stand-up comedian Rhys Nicholson will deliver an exclusive opening sketch, plus LGBTQI DJs Victoria Anthony and Johnny Blue Boy. Iconic Aussie queens including Pomara Fifth, Fran Giapanni, Ivy League and Vybe will also be part of the event line up.

“Mirvac has a longstanding dedication to supporting inclusivity and diversity in all aspects of our workplace; but the special place which our urban retail centres hold within each of their communities provides the perfect platform for us to take that commitment wider and celebrate with our LGBTQI communities,” she said.

“Our legacy is to contribute to a better, more liveable and connected community as part of our constant mantra to reimagine urban life. This partnership and celebration are exactly the way we can touch and enrich the lives of numerous Australians in our communities.”

Mardi Gras activities kicked off on February 10 and continue in most centres beyond Parade day on February 29 through to March 2, 2020.