Sydney, 5th March 2019 – The first images of the successful collaboration with Sydney Gaymers that saw FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online become the first video game to march as part of a float in Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday 2nd March are now being unveiled.
The float, which made its debut during the 2019 Parade Night, saw inflatables of a Moogle, Cactuar and Cherry Bomb take center stage while 80 marchers made up from members of both the FINAL FANTASY XIV Online and Sydney Gaymers’ communities celebrated around it under the banner “Realms United”.
The collaboration was first announced in February 2019 and marks the coming together of Australia’s 2,600-strong Sydney Gaymer community with the critically-acclaimed MMO. The following quotes were offered at the time:
“Sydney Gaymers is thrilled to be collaborating with FINAL FANTASY XIV Online for its 2019 float entry, titled Realms United. It means so much to receive direct support, validation and acknowledgement from such a force in the industry. Not only that, to be supported by a game where so much of our community and values are represented. The FINAL FANTASY XIV Online community does not discriminate and respects everyone’s freedom and their individual values equally. For many LGBTQI+ people, online communities provide a space for the journey and exploration of personal identities They allow us to connect, and celebrate, and they reinforce that we are not alone. Sydney Gaymers could not have a better sponsor to help create the most ambitious float it has ever undertaken.”
– Organiser for Sydney Gaymers, Peak Distapan
“This collaboration could never have been realised without the efforts of our community. When FFXIV took part in PAX Australia, it was the FFXIV players in Australia who offered us the greatest welcome and utmost support. This led on to our community and Sydney Gaymers working together to make the collaboration a reality. To see it makes me very happy indeed, both as the person in charge of FFXIV and also as just another player of the game. FFXIV is another world that continues to grow and expand online. In that world people become adventurers, known as the Warriors of Light, and can continue to be free. I would like to continue developing this world, hand in hand with communities across the globe.”
– FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Producer and Director, Naoki Yoshida
Now in its 41st year, the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is an annual two-week long festival to celebrate the power and diversity of the LGBTQI+ community, culminating in a parade through central Sydney, Australia. The bustling extravaganza brings Sydney to a standstill and shines a global spotlight on LGBTQI+ lives, culture, communities and creativity. Sydney Gaymers entered its fifth year participating in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in 2019.
For more information on Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, please visit: http://www.mardigras.org.au/
You can check out more of the action on Sydney Gaymers’ Twitter and Instagram.