The City of Fremantle has announced that the Freo Pride Fest will not return in 2026, due to a “discontinuation of funding support” from the Department of Communities.
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In a statement, the City said it was not the outcome they had hoped for.
“The decision was largely driven by the discontinuation of funding support from the Department of Communities, which had previously enabled us to deliver this event.
“It’s not the outcome we or our presenting partners had hoped for. Freo Pride Fest has been warmly welcomed by the community, local businesses and visitors to Fremantle over the past two years.”
The City says smaller-scale activities will be held during Pride Month in November to “help maintain momentum”.
In a statement to Youth Jam, a spokesperson for the Department of Communities said applications for funding were yet to open.
“The Department of Communities granted sponsorship funding to the City of Fremantle for their Pride Fest in 2025 through the Communities Sponsorship Program. Applications for the 2026 program have not yet opened,” they said.
The statement added the State Government had “delivered more than $250,000 through the LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Grants Program” to date.
One of the festival’s former volunteers, Allie, said the event, which first started in 2024, shifted Fremantle’s identity.
“It was definitely quite a shift. Fremantle does hold lots of identities,” she told Newsflash listeners.
Allie said the “grassroots” festival allowed local LGBTQIA+ artists and organisations to get their name out into the community, adding it was “disappointing” to learn of the news.
“As we see trends around the world, it is so sad to see the funding stop. I know the City of Fremantle is working within their bounds to create new programs to fill the month of November.”
She added that the State Government’s decision to pull support for the event is, in part, a blow to the local LGBTQIA+ community, effectively placing the responsibility on private citizens who “aren’t being supported by the government”.
