Sydney World Pride: Exhausted traveller Chris Zou claims Sydney Mardi Gras has ‘broken’ tourists

By William On Mar 6, 2023

A tourist who flew to Sydney from Canada to attend Mardi Gras and Sydney WorldPride is feeling ‘exhausted’ and ‘broken’ after more than two weeks of partying.

Canadian traveler Chris Zou shared his experiences since arriving Down Under – from interacting with Sydneysiders who ‘don’t sleep’ to being bewildered by Australia’s drinking culture.

On Sunday, the 35-year-old claimed Sydney WorldPride “broken” New Yorkers and that the festivities were “more intense” than Toronto WorldPride.

He has previously said that what would be considered a pretty big party in the United States is only a fraction of what he experienced in Australia.

This year the events in Sydney started on February 17 and ended on March 5, which Chris thought was ‘too much’.

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Canadian traveler Chris Zou (pictured) feels ‘exhausted’ by the sheer number of Sydney WorldPride events spread over two weeks – which has exceeded expectations compared to previous WorldPride celebrations

In a video, Chris talked about a conversation he had with a group of Americans at a party in the early hours of the morning.

“At this kick-on, I met a bunch of Americans, they were New Yorkers, and they were like, ‘Oh my God, are you Chris from TikTok? and I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah I’m that meme,'” he said.

And they held my hand and said, “Oh my God, this is a lot. This is even more intense than New York WorldPride.”

And I’m like, “I know! I know bestie. Toronto WorldPride was nothing like that.”

“So Sydney WorldPride actually managed to break the New Yorkers, which I didn’t even think possible.”

The weekend saw a number of events including the Sydney Harbor Bridge Pride March, the Oxford Street Party and the Rainbow Republic closing concert.

There was even a Sunday night closing party that ran from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Monday, leaving Chris stunned.

But then, to his surprise, he claims to have spoken to “bunch of local Sydneysiders” who said they were “done with Pride.”

“I was like, ‘Are you guys going to the finale — the party that starts at 10 p.m. and ends at noon?” and they were like “Well, technically it ends at 5 a.m., then it turns into a morning glory.”

“I was like, ‘Please don’t explain what a morning glory is, because those words already sound so exhausting.’

He then told the group ‘I’ll meet you there’, but the people of Sydney turned around and said, ‘No no no, we’re done with WorldPride.’

And there you have it folks. Sydney WorldPride broke even the Australians,” he said.

The video has since been viewed more than 98,000 times, with Aussies assuring Chris that he still “looks fantastic” for someone who has partied so much.

“I don’t feel great,” he responded in the comments.

Another added, “You’re so close, hang in there, mate.”

A third said, “And next year you’ll come back and do it all over again.”

This year the events in Sydney started on February 17 and ended on March 2, which Chris thought was ‘too much’

Earlier in his journey Down Under, Chris was shocked by the Australian drinking culture.

The content creator, who appeared blurry and exhausted in another video, disagreed that his followers failed to warn him of what lay ahead.

When do people sleep? I’m shocked I’m still alive, because you my friends didn’t warn me about Mardi Gras… This isn’t just any party,” he said.

“You know that when you have a party at home, it starts at maybe 11 p.m. and ends at about 5 a.m. and that’s considered a pretty wild night?” he said.

‘Here? No no no. You have a pre-party at someone’s house, and then you have a day party that starts at 2 or 3 pm and ends at 10 pm.’

Earlier in his journey Down Under, Chris was shocked by the Australian drinking culture

At the time, he said he was looking forward to ending it and going to bed early.

‘But no, no. Then you have a night party after that, which starts from 10 p.m. to about 5 a.m. and then there’s an after party at someone’s house that ends at about 9 a.m.’

Then there’s brunch! When the hell do these people sleep?’

Chris had assumed he’d have a nice week-long break between Mardi Gras and the 2023 Sydney WorldPride celebration, but the final straw was when he learned the two pretty much rolled into one big party, triggering his TikTok meltdown .

‘Apparently all Australians outside of Sydney knew about this because they’re all running out of the city now, they’re all going home.

“But my friends and I are stuck here for another weekend for WorldPride and I don’t know if I still have that much Pride left in me.

“After this trip, I don’t know if I’ll be gay,” he said, bursting into tears from exhaustion.

Commentators on his video assured him that he would only need a day or two to recover and that he would be fine – with a good story to tell.

“That’s get the drinks ready, pre’s, the actual party, the after party, kick-ons, and brunch.” That’s how it goes… you’re welcome!’ one person said.

“It sounds fantastic, but I’m going to take a nap now after hearing how exhausted you are,” added another.

“Hahaha, I visited from Melbourne, the city was poppin’,” a third added.

On Saturday 25 February, around 12,500 demonstrators on 200 floats danced, sang and celebrated the return of the parade down Oxford Street.

Many parade attendees later migrated to the Mardi Gras celebration in the Entertainment Quarter, which was followed by the Mardi Gras Laneway in the early afternoon.

The event – ‘the epitome of kick-ons’ – started as a portable speaker on a milk crate. It has since grown into a party with multiple dance floors and an open-air stage that will seat 10,000 ticket holders through early Monday morning.

WorldPride continued for another week and ended with a historic march across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, where 50,000 people joined in a call for global equality.

WorldPride has been dubbed Sydney’s largest event since the 2000 Olympics and is expected to welcome more than half a million people at its approximately 300 events.