Pride party set to light up Viaduct
Pride Week emerges from parade row
Anew Pride event in Auckland’s Viaduct Marina will rise from the ashes of last year’s cancelled parade. The Auckland Pride Society last year objected to police wearing uniform for its parade in Ponsonby.
Sponsors started pulling out and the event was eventually cancelled and replaced with a smaller march in the CBD. A new LGBTIQ society, Rainbow Pride, was created to bring back a pride parade.
From February 17-23, the new group’s Pride Week will fill Viaduct Marina. An animated light show will illuminate the sea wall, rainbow banners and installations will be scattered along the promenade, and performers and drag queens will roam the waterfront and hospitality venues.
Rainbow Pride chair Matt Bagshaw said it would be great to have a separate non-parade Viaduct event where “it’s a fantastic place to carry on the party”.
“The fundamental reason Rainbow Pride was set up, was the desire from a group of people to bring a parade back to Auckland,” Bagshaw said.
“But, actually, we’re focused on producing as many events as we can that are supportive to the community and Auckland.”
The group’s new uniformed police-friendly parade will be on Ponsonby Rd on February 29 but it will be on a smaller scale than in the past with walking only and no floats.
“We wouldn’t dictate to the police, defence force, or any other public sector organisation on what they can and can’t wear. We’re not interested in doing that,” Bagshaw said.
Auckland Council is not directly funding the marina event, but Auckland
Tourism, Events and Economic Development introduced Rainbow Pride to the marina’s private landowners — Viaduct Harbour Holdings.
Ateed’s general manager of destination, Steve Armitage, confirmed they connected the two parties, and issued council’s support of the event.
“We wish the event organisers all the best and we hope that locals and visitors enjoy the festivities,” Armitage said.
Ateed had previously withdrawn $50,000 of funding they had allocated to Rainbow Pride to facilitate a parade through Auckland CBD because the organisers were unable to find a route that would allow them to deliver an event of the scale they’d originally proposed.
“The revised scale of the event means it no longer meets the criteria for funding,” Armitage said.
The CBD street parade was scrapped due to the scale of roadworks. Meanwhile, in place of their traditional parade, Auckland Pride will, for the second year, host OurMarch from Albert Park through Auckland CBD on February 8.
OurMarch has been allocated $25,000 from Auckland Council’s Regional Event Fund.
Auckland Pride director Max Tweedie said they have been working with Auckland Council and Auckland Central Police to close the city roads for OurMarch.
“We’re working with the police event operations team to ensure our health and safety obligations are met in line with the duty of care we have to our participants,” Tweedie said.
“More broadly there has been no change mandated by community with regards to our position on their [police’s] participation in OurMarch.”