Graffiti attack sours end of Melbourne’s annual Midsumma Festival
The closing event of Melbourne’s LGBTQ+ Midsumma Festival was marred by graffiti sprayed on some shop windows and marquees on Fitzroy’s Gertrude Street late at night.
Police were called to the area at 23.50 on Saturday after a group of people were seen damaging the structures set up for the annual Pride Street Party on Sunday.
After police arrived, the group fled from Atherton Gardens towards Napier Street. Police patrolling the area later found more graffiti on the walls on Smith Street.
Police said one of the men involved in the vandalism was seen carrying a machete.
Slogans hung on tents, store fronts and homes were cleaned early Sunday morning by residents, merchants and Midsumma staff and volunteers.
Event organizers said graffiti and posters included the phrases “No Pride in Stolen Lands”, “No Police in Pride” and “Boycott Midsumma”.
Felicity McIntosh, deputy chief executive of Midsumma Festival, said a serious clean-up was needed before thousands of people flock to Fitzroy on Sunday to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
He said the graffiti was not a peaceful protest but rather “vandalism that has caused distress, financial impact and unnecessary harm” to local people who support the festival every year.
“Victoria’s Pride is the biggest business day of the year for many small, independently run local businesses that actively support and welcome our communities,” McIntosh said.
“It is deeply disappointing that they and local residents have been targeted in this way.
“Midsumma believes in respectful dialogue, even when the conversations are difficult. Targeting homes and businesses overnight will not advance those conversations.”
Officers did not attend last year’s Midsumma Pride Parade in St Kilda after organizers banned participants from marching in official work uniforms and Victoria Police refused to approve a request for its members to march in uniform.
In February 2024, around 50 protesters confronted police as they marched through a parade on Fitzroy Street, throwing paint and chanting “police kill gays”.
This is the fifth year the Pride Street Party has been held, and the event concludes the three-week Midsumma Festival.
A police spokesman said investigations were ongoing and “there is absolutely no place for hateful symbols and behavior in our society”.
The City of Yarra, the municipality where the street party was held, has been contacted for comment.
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