Sydney, March 03 2021: Following a year that has made connections, particularly community connections, harder than ever, this Pride, Tinder is shining a light on its LGBTQIA+ members based in smaller regional areas in a bid to support them in connecting with the larger community during Mardi Gras in Sydney.

This comes to life via a unique regional road trip extravaganza, PRIDE RIDE. The Tinder PRIDE RIDE will take LGTBQIA+ people from various regional NSW towns on a double decker decked-up bus before touching down in Sydney to ensure fabulous queers from across NSW can hitch a ride into Pride and be set up for a weekend of celebration.

The bus will be hosted by queer icons who have experienced the challenges of growing up in small town Australia including Jamarz on Mars, and feature some amazing performance artists from regional locations along the way. Regional LGBTQIA+ people who reached out to Tinder through TikTok via glambassador and fellow regional Pride member from Bogan Gate, Mitchell Coombs, will be hitching a ride into Pride and should be sure to buckle up for a trip of a lifetime!

Tinder is passionate about ensuring everyone has the ability to be themselves and find their people. Launched two years ago Tinder’s Orientation feature allows members to clearly identify up to three of nine orientations and now globally about one in five members on the platform identify as queer.

In a survey* conducted by Tinder in early 2021, over 50% of young single Aussies said they found it easier to make a meaningful connection with someone they can share an identity with.  Additionally, almost 80% of Australian Gen Z agreed that more than ever orientations, diverse gender identities and cultural identities are now being recognised in Australian society.

*Research undertaken by PureProfile for Tinder in Jan 2021