The battle between Melbourne talkback radio host Neil Mitchell and promoters of a queer party this weekend seems to have reached an uneasy truce after those behind the ‘Closet Party’ at Fitzroy this Friday night decided to replace the controversial image of Olympian Ian Thorpe advertising the event with one of Mitchell himself.

Promoters behind a controversial queer party in Melbourne this weekend have called on talkback radio host Neil Mitchell to “attend one of our parties before slagging them off” after the radio star stoked controversy by claiming the use of an image of Olympian Ian Thorpe to promote an upcoming event was “an absurd public insult”.

Talkback radio host Neil Mitchell has accused promoters behind a Melbourne queer party this weekend of ‘an absurd public insult to Ian Thorpe’ after they used an image of the swimming legend to advertise the event known as the ‘Closet Party’.

The original hostess of ACON’s weekly charity event Bingay is returning to Sydney to host the event one final time.

UK musical comedy duo Frisky and Mannish are set to headline annual GLBT fundraiser Fat Tuesday, along with a line-up of talented performers.

As it prepares to host another heady and extravagant Fat Tuesday fundraiser to mark the traditional date of Mardi Gras, the Aurora Group has announced that close to $35,000 will be donated to a number of LGBTI groups and others as part of its Small Grants program for 2012-13.

SYDNEY: A heterosexual man who controversially spent a year in America living “undercover” as a gay person to experience homophobia and discrimination firsthand will be one of the special guests and keynote speakers at a conference in Sydney later this month that will explore questions of faith, sexuality and life as a spiritual journey.

Headlined by some of the sexiest, most daring artists ever to perform in Australia, Empire will be one performance not to miss as it promises to smash through the borders of comedy, circus, variety and burlesque when it makes its Australian premiere at the splendid Spiegeltent in early 2013.

Scarlett Alliance and the Sex Worker Outreach Project (SWOP) hosted a high tea party with a twist on World AIDS Day to help give an insightful glimpse into sex work and empowerment as well as the laws and myths that surround the industry.

A fundraising event for the Community Brave Foundation and new film Drown held earlier this week has been hailed a success after plenty of money was raised from ticket sales, an auction and a raffle.

An official function inside NSW Parliament will help mark this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance which will be held for the fourteenth time next Tuesday to commemorate the lives of those lost or curtailed simply for being transgendered.

From diving into a circus barrel just to make ends meet to winning an Olympic gold medal and becoming one of the country’s best known and loved gay icons, diver Matthew Mitcham will share these tales and much more in his upcoming autobiography Twists and Turns to be launched at the Midnight Shift next week.

Dragon boating will be all the rage for many of the LGBTI community this weekend as members of the Outfielders softball league take part in the Dragons Abreast Festival at Darling Harbour with the Different Strokes gay and lesbian dragon boating club also to hold an open day. 

SYDNEY: ABC chairman Jim Spigelman and comedian Craig Reucassel will be among the guests at this year’s Human Rights Awards to be hosted by the Australian Human Rights Commission in December.

The three candidates battling for the seat of Sydney at the upcoming state by-election will soon go head-to-head in a debate with the event being billed as the “only pre-election event where the candidates will debate their policy positions”.