THANK YOU PORT DOUGLAS, YOU ARE AMAZING!!!

Despite the tropical weather being a little more wet and rainy than hot and steamy, the Port Douglas Hot & Steamy Festival weekend still shone bright like a diamond as an excellent example of diversity and inclusion of the LGBTQI+ community in Far North Queensland, as well as successful festival management in a Covid-19 world.

This year’s event headline act was international cabaret phenomenon Hans, a clear crowd-pleasing favourite who belted out high energy anthem tunes alongside his two talented backup singers and two bare-chested dancers at three separate events, each show outdoing the last. First time visitors to Port Douglas, Hans and his crew were well received by weekend crowds who danced and celebrated from Thursday through to Monday.

The second Port Douglas Hot & Steamy Festival drew around 1,600 ticket holders across eleven events in iconic spots around Port Douglas, giving the area a much needed boost to tourism during the traditionally quiet time of year.

Douglas Shire Mayor Michael Kerr said “I thoroughly congratulate festival directors, Nathan Clarke and Jason Penrose, regarding the success of the event. It exceeded everyone’s expectations, was an enormous amount of fun and has been a much needed boost to our local economy.  “I’m very proud that Council supported this and look forward to its return in 2022.”

Planning for Hot & Steamy 2022 has already commenced and will be held in conjunction with the national Better Together 2022 conference, facilitated by LGBTIQ+ advocacy group, The Equality Project. The Port Douglas Hot & Steamy Festival dates have been locked in for January 20 – 23, 2022.