Drag Event In Melbourne Postponed After Neo-Nazis Threaten To Protest

A drag event which was meant to take place last night at the Victorian Pride Centre was postponed after threats of protest from Neo-Nazi and Proud Boys groups.

The organiser of the event, Stonnington Youth Services posted on social stating, “In accordance with advice received from Victorian Police, Council, Minus 18 and The Victorian Pride Centre have made the difficult decision to postpone tonight’s Glitter Nova event at the Victorian Pride Centre.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and confirm that the event will be postponed to a later date which we will advise shortly."

The event was called Glitter Nova and was set to take place at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda, which acts as Australia's first LGBTQI community hub. It was focussed at people aged 12-25 and featured drag workshops and performers from the likes of Alexander McKween, Belial B'Zarr and Randy Roy.

On Wednesday, the day before the event, messages surfaced on Telegram from XYZ News, Turning Point Australia and Australian Mediation Nationalist Yarn who are run by alleged National Socialist Members. 

The posts suggested a protest was going to be planned at the event calling itself People Against Pedos. 

The organisers were alerted of the protests and decided that, “in order to maintain our commitment to safe and inclusive events we feel our only option is to postpone the event in order for us to ensure the safety of our attendees.”

“We were looking forward to this event and understand that many young people were also looking forward to this event and the decision to postpone has not been taken lightly. The safety of our community is paramount," said Stonnington Youth Services.

"Glitter Nova was designed in collaboration with our Expressions youth committee and our partners to be a safe, fun, joyful event for young people to connect and celebrate with their community.

"We understand and acknowledge the disappointment that will be felt by the young people who planned to attend, the performers and our partners. We are currently in the process of planning the re-scheduled Glitter Nova event. We will update our community when the new date has been set for the event.”

You can check out the full statement below.