Midsumma has just confirmed that Telstra will continue to sponsor the festival.

After last week’s announcement that Telstra had officially pulled support for Marriage Equality, and this week’s backtracking reinstatement, it has now been announced that Telstra will continue to sponsor Melbourne's Midsumma Festival in 2017.

Midsumma has been working closely with Telstra in the past week to clarify their position. In a statement about Telstra's continued support, Midsumma Chair John Caldwell stated, “After some very encouraging discussions with all levels of the organisation, we are thrilled to share this wonderful announcement with them today.”

In light of recent events, Midsumma acknowledged the controversial nature of the decision made by the telecommunications company, stating, “Our community has spoken very passionately over the past week in relation to this matter and we have been under enormous pressure to take a stand."

“We have been reassured by Telstra every step of the way that their position on marriage equality remained unchanged and this latest announcement reinforces that."

“Midsumma would never entertain a sponsor who was not both in line with and supportive of our community and we are thrilled with Telstra’s renewed commitment to publicly support marriage equality.”

2017 will mark Midsumma Festival’s 30th anniversary.