Pride brings packed programme
Community will be front and centre at next year’s Auckland Pride, as organisers hope to move beyond the parade debate that overshadowed this year’s celebration.
Returning in February 2020 for its eighth year, the two-week festival yesterday launched its programme, highlighting the artistic events that will be spread throughout Auckland.
Alongside key events such as the the Big Gay Out and the return of the Pride Gala, the festival will feature international queer artists in headlining acts, with comedian Hannah Gadsby and stars from
RuPaul’s Drag Race bringing their latest shows to New Zealand.
Max Tweedie, who assumed the newly created role of director of Pride in June, says the central themes for the festival will be liberation and celebration.
“We really wanted to make sure we created space for the conversations about the gains that still need to be made, but also to be able to celebrate who we are and how far we’ve come.”
A parade down Ponsonby Rd had been one of the festival’s main events, but was cancelled this year after the board banned police from marching in their uniforms.
Petitions called for a vote of noconfidence in the board, and sponsors withdrew their support.
The parade was replaced by OurMarch, a toned-down walk from Albert Park, the site of the country’s first gay liberation protest in 1972, through Auckland’s CBD.
Rainbow Auckland Pride intends to host a walking parade during the Ponsonby Street Festival several weeks after the festival.
Auckland Pride runs from February 1 to 16, beginning with the Pride Gala.