GLOBAL SENSATION, FLEURS DE VILLES, RETURNS TO THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN SYDNEY FOR A CELEBRATION OF JOY AND INCLUSIVITY WITH THEIR 'PRIDE' FLORAL SHOW

From 17 - 26 February, experience Fleurs de Villes PRIDE at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, a 10-day fresh floral celebration of Australia's LGBTQIA+ cultural icons and trailblazers.

SYDNEY, Jan. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After the huge success of their 2022 global FEMMES show in August 2022, the world-renowned floral show Fleurs de Villes returns to The Calyx at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney for the global launch of Fleurs de Villes PRIDE – a floral celebration of joy and inclusivity, presented as part of Sydney WorldPride Pride Amplified.

From 17 - 26 February, the Fleurs de Villes PRIDE exhibition will showcase a series of fresh floral mannequins celebrating inspirational members and allies of Australia's LGBTQIA+ community, including some of Sydney WorldPride's Rainbow Champions – influential figures chosen for their contributions to LGBTQIA+ community and culture. Fleurs de Villes is proud to be working with some of Sydney's favourite florists, who will create these tributes based on an inspirational photo of each tribute. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on the Pride Amplified website HERE.

Participating florists include Uncle & Ghost Botanics, Max & Co Floral Design, Rose Moon Flowers, Hayfever Flowers, Moon Flower Artistry, LS Flower Design, Once and Flor'al by Abby, Bold Botanicals, Belfield Blooms, Kris McKee Floral Design, If The Florist, Fable Studio Co, Petals & Leaves, Paper Daisy Studio, Merci Flowers Sydney and Mme Margaret.

Fleurs de Villes PRIDE will feature floral tributes honouring these LGBTQIA+ cultural icons and trailblazers:

• Rudy Jean Rigg: Autistic and non-binary transgender creator, advocate, educator and pop-culture fiend, Rudy is the host of social media sensation Rainbow History Class.
• Keiynan Lonsdale: Actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter, Keiynan is best known for his TV and film roles including Dance Academy, The Flash, My Fake Boyfriend and Love, Simon.
• Deni Todorovic: Vocal activist for queer rights and human rights, Deni pushes the narrative forward around topics of gender, sexuality, politics, race and equality, using their platform to entertain, educate and inspire.
• Kylie Minogue: Pop superstar Kylie Minogue is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time. Reflecting on being an accidental gay icon, Kylie has said she always wanted to appeal to "all walks of life" and be "inclusive" with her music.
• Vanity: Vanity is one of Australia's premiere drag queens and has played a pivotal role in the evolution of drag over the last 25 years. With drag sister Courtney Act she founded world-famous Wigs By Vanity and launched their popular podcast 'Brenda, Call Me.'
• Courtney Act: Renowned singer, drag queen and TV personality, Courtney Act has featured on Australian Idol, RuPaul's Drag Race and won Celebrity Big Brother UK - educating viewers on queer issues such as gender fluidity and sexuality.
• Suzy Wrong - Amsterdam Rainbow Dress model: Actor, theatre critic and trans woman Suzy Wrong wore the Amsterdam Rainbow Dress when it came to Sydney in 2022. This living work of art is made of all the national flags from countries where homosexuality is illegal.
• Robyn Lambird: Paralympian bronze medallist, content creator, model, and disability advocate, Robyn uses her platform to challenge society's negative perceptions of disabilities.
• Katherine Wolfgramme: A proud transgender woman of colour with a breadth of knowledge that is unique among trans inclusion educators, Katherine has created positive impacts for the transgender community both in Australia and abroad.
• Peter de Waal: Author, gay history documenter, researcher and life-long activist, Peter is one of the group known as the "78ers" – the participants of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and demonstrations in 1978.
• Kerry Chin: Kerry is an aromantic, asexual, autistic and transgender beacon of visibility, most often seen riding around Sydney on an iconic bicycle.
• Casey Donovan: A proud Gumbaynggir and Dungari woman, over the last 18 years, Casey has made her mark as a musician as well as on stage and screen.
• Jordan Raskopoulos: Sydney based comedian, singer and influencer, Jordan is best known as the lead singer of The Axis of Awesome and her TEDx talk on high functioning anxiety – using humour as a tool to educate and inform.
• Mon Schafter: Walkley Award winning journalist and presenter, Mon leads the content for ABCQueer – the ABC's home of stories and advice for young LGBTQIA+ Australians.
• Jojo Zaho - After winning Miss First Nations 2017, Jojo participated in the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, made her TV cameo on Get Krackin, and became a Broken Heel festivals First Nation Glambassador.

Other highlights of Fleurs de Villes PRIDE will include bright and joyful pop-up flower markets, floral workshops and fabulous Floral Discos on the 17th and 24th of February, where guests can toast to the start of a magical Sydney WorldPride and party to live DJ beats alongside the stunning floral exhibit. As well as the floral tributes featured at The Calyx at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, another stunning PRIDE mannequin will be on display in the lobby of InterContinental Sydney, Fleurs de Villes PRIDE's official hotel partner in Sydney.

"We could not be more happy to be able to bring joy through flowers to this important celebration of Pride," says Fleurs de Villes Co-founder Karen Marshall. "Fleurs de Villes has long supported the LGTBQIA+ community globally – not only with our florists, but also through the stories and people we champion through flowers. We are delighted to be launching our PRIDE series in 2023 at Sydney WorldPride in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney."

"We are delighted to welcome back Fleurs de Villes to Sydney's beautiful Royal Botanic Garden, a much-loved green space in the heart of the city that attracts visitors from across the globe," says Director of Experiences, Partnerships and Engagement at the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Carla Armanet. "We have proudly transformed the Calyx's 50-metre-long green wall of around 18,000 colourful plants into a stunning rainbow display to celebrate plant diversity, Sydney WorldPride and our vibrant LGBTQIA+ community. We can't think of a better place for the spectacular Fleurs de Villes PRIDE exhibit."

Part of the proceeds from ticket sales go to the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens, a not-for-profit organization that is devoted to supporting, protecting and enhancing the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and their vital scientific research and conservation projects.

PRIDE is a ticketed event open to the public from 9am - 4pm daily. Tickets can be purchased at botanicgardens.org.au/pride. General admission is $35 for adults and $21 for children and seniors.

General Information

Digital press kit with high-resolution images and video - access HERE Event Dates: February 17th - 26th 2023Fleurs de Villes website: www.fleursdevilles.comFleurs de Villes social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney website & social media: botanicgardens.org.au/pride Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

ABOUT FLEURS DE VILLES

Founded in 2015 by lifestyle and media experts Tina Barkley and Karen Marshall, Fleurs de Villes is a Vancouver-based luxury brand specializing in bespoke fresh-floral experiences and activations. Champions of experiential marketing in the form of large-scale floral installations, Fleurs de Villes is a floral story-teller, bringing to bloom brand legacies through flowers. Gardens, venues and shopping districts come to life through fresh-floral place-making and retail engagement, plus collaborations with some of the world's biggest luxury brands and entertainment franchises. Fleurs de Villes has produced more than 60 luxury floral shows in major destinations across Canada, the United States, England, Scotland and Australia, with Fleurs de Villes Boston, and more cities, debuting in 2023. Leveraging local floral talent in every city, Fleurs de Villes creates authentic, engaging 360-degree experiences with omni-channel touch points across digital, video, social, print and live platforms.

ABOUT THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN SYDNEY

The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is Australia's oldest living scientific institution and is home to an outstanding collection of more than 27,000 plants from around the world. The Garden is also a part of the Australian Institute of Botanical Science. The Institute consists of the physical and virtual scientific collections, research, services, and facilities, and of course, staff at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, and the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah. The Institute is one of the nation's premier botanical research organisations and helps to ensure the survival of plants and build more resilient ecosystems for future generations.

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