The 45th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will begin on 17 February.
This year, the event will unite with WorldPride, the first held in the Southern Hemisphere since its beginning in Rome in 2000.
The pride parade, with glittering costumes and performance, is the highlight of the two-week festival.
This year, another Japanese float is under preparation.
Last year, for the first time in Mardi Gras history, a Japanese float participated in the parade, calling for marriage equality.
Sydney resident Ukyou Forsyth will participate in the Japanese float with seven of his family members this year.
Ukyou, born to an Australian father and a Japanese mother, grew up in Hiroshima, Japan.
He is bilingual, bi-cultural, and came out as gay, 8 years ago.
He is the 4th child of 8 siblings, and the family is a well-known Youtuber in Japan.
The Forsyth family is known for being very close, but Ukyo says it was still difficult for him to come out to his family.
However, after moving to Sydney and seeing Mardi Gras shortly after, he learned the importance of freely expressing his sexuality.
Ukyou found the courage to come out and find his place in the world.
Ukyou hopes to inspire the same courage he gained from the Mardi Gras by participating in the parade.
In this interview, he spoke about his struggles to come out and his thoughts on participating in the parade. For the full interview listen below.
