“I grew up in Geelong in the 1980s and it was a very different place – phobic and very unsafe. There were a lot of challenges and as soon as I could, I moved to Melbourne,” recalled Andrew Guillaume.He returned to Geelong some years ago to a very different place with a very strong and vibrant rainbow community.
In December, he took over as the new President of Geelong Rainbow Inc – the committee tasked with organising Australia’s first in-person post-pandemic Pride festival.“As a society, because of COVID, we have had to hit the reset button,” said Guillaume. “After such a challenging year, we knew, more than ever, that our community, and region, needed a proper festival to unite, connect and celebrate.”Geelong Rainbow Festival to be held.