Sydney: Gays Go Nude For Spencer Tunick

Famed American photographer Spencer Tunick was commissioned by the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras for a mass nude photo on the steps of the Opera House. From a Sydney Morning Herald reporter (and participant) account:

There were elderly couples walking down Macquarie Street, single young women in cars and plenty of gay groups whooping it up as they headed down towards the Quay. After 45 minutes stuck in a traffic snarl of soon-to be naked people, we finally emerged from the Opera House car park. By the time we arrived, the 2500 tickets to a second photo shoot inside the Concert Hall had already been given away. We were each handed a plastic bag for our clothes and directed into a marshalling area inside The Domain. Soon after we arrived, a loudspeaker crackled into life and we were instructed to keep our clothes on for the time being (not hard considering it was a nippy 15 degrees) and to await further instructions. About 6am, Tunick welcomed us, thanking the "heterosexual people who have come here to get naked with their gay friends". Just on dawn came the instruction that everyone had been waiting for. There was a whoop and a cheer from the crowd as the first group disrobed and ran into the forecourt. Finally it was our turn and, in no time, we were running up the Opera House steps in a state that on any other day would get us arrested. One woman beside me shouted to her friend: "This is surreal. It's like a dream." "It's like my worst nightmare," groaned her friend. The excitement was palpable, to be standing naked in such a public place and among so many people.

Worst nightmare, indeed! I've never even gone nekkid at the nude beach. More photos and an audio slideshow of the Sydney event.