Auckland Pride Festival

First Auckland Pride Festival

2014 saw protesters demonstrating against the Israeli Embassy's presence at the parade.[4]

In 2015, the New Zealand Police were allowed to march in their uniform.[5]

No Pride in Prisons, a group formed in 2015 due to the participation of the New Zealand Police and Department of Corrections.[6] One of the protester was injured during an altercation with security staff at Auckland's Pride Parade[7]

No Pride in Prisons brought the parade to a hault with a protest coming from the opposite end of Ponsonby road to clash with the parade. This protest was again for the rights of transgender persons in prisons.[8]

The board banned the New Zealand Department of Corrections from walking in the parade as they did not follow through with promises to improve support for queer prisoners.[9] The board worked together with the Department of Corrections and the community to implement change within the prison system for queer prisoners due to the previous protests that happened in 2015 and 2016.[10]

This was the 6th year of the Auckland Pride Festival, there was over 80 events in the festival[11] and 70 floats in the Parade.[12] Jacinda Ardern became the first New Zealand Prime Minister to walk in the Auckland Pride Parade.[13]

Renée Gerlich and other self-styled 'feminist activists' disrupted the parade by holding a sign that read “stop giving kids sex hormones, protect lesbian youth.” After a short while, they were asked to move by parade staff.[14]

The Auckland Pride Board made the decision after a number of community hui (meetings) to not allow Police to march in their uniform for the 2019 Auckland Pride Parade.[15] This decision was highly controversial, and a number of sponsors withdrew financial support in response, including Vodafone, NZME, ANZ, BNZ, Westpac, Fletcher Building, and SKY City.[16][17][18][19][20][21] In response to this withdrawal, those who supported the Board's decision created a crowdfunding page, which raised $30,468.40.[22]

Some of those who opposed the Board's decision signed a motion of no confidence, and called for a SGM. This motion was defeated at a SGM on December 6, 2018.[23]

A splinter group, "Rainbow Pride Auckland" formed to recreate a Parade, following a controversial period which saw the Auckland Pride Parade become OurMarch, a smaller scale grassroots march.

A new Pride director for Auckland Pride, Max Tweedie was hired to "empower and celebrate queer voices in our community like never before." [24]

Auckland Pride's 2020 Festival was the biggest in the organisation's history with 75% of the 154 event roster being free or koha entry. [25]

Auckland City Council's Proud Centres added 81 events to the festival, offering free council venue use to groups wishing to have an event in the Auckland Pride Festival. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation's (Ending HIV) Hauora Series gave funding to events in the Auckland Pride Festival that "focused on improving the well-being of diverse rainbow communities", adding 18 events to the festival. Spark New Zealand's Pride & Spark Empowerment Initiative helped fund 16 events.[25]

At the 2020 AGM, Auckland Pride Festival voted that they will not engage in a working group with NZ Police or have a relationship with the NZ Police until the Police are able to demonstrate that they are practising anti-racist behaviours. They will also be leaving InterPride.

The 2021 Auckland Pride Festival will be the first ever Auckland Pride Month, with dates expanded from the general two and a half weeks to the whole month (3-28 February 2021).

The Auckland Pride Festival is officially started at its Dawn Ceremony where a karakia and the call of the kaikaranga and pūtātara is performed. It was held at Western Park on Ponsonby Road in 2017 & 2018, it then transitioned into Te Takaranga Āniwaniwa for the 2020 Festival and was held in Aotea Square. The name was changed to Tuwheratanga for the 2021 festival.[26]

Previous names:

• Auckland Pride Dawn Ceremony
• Te Takaranga Āniwaniwa

A variety show for the festival showcasing previews from the talent in the Auckland Pride Festival programme.

Host: Hugo Grrrl[27]

Headliners: Coven[27]

Headliners: Coven & Iman[26]

The original Auckland Pride Parade, much like the Hero Parade was situated on Ponsonby Road until 2019 when Auckland Pride Festival lost a majority of corporate support. The 2019 and 2020 Parades became OurMarch, which now starts from Albert Park, Auckland and concludes in Aotea Square.[28] The march continues on this route but is now just called the Auckland Pride March.[26]

• Auckland Pride Parade
• OurMarch

Pride Party (previously known as PROUD 2013-2019[29] and OurParty 2019-2020[30]) is the closing party for the Auckland Pride Festival and is held after the Pride March.

• 2013 – Victoria Park Markets in Auckland
• 2014 – Victoria Park Markets in Auckland
• 2015 – Victoria Park Markets in Auckland
• 2016
• 2017 – David Hart and Claudio Girardi (from the Sexshooters), Yo! Mafia, and Courtney Act performed at Studio Bar in Auckland[31]
• 2018 – Dan Slater, Le1f and Empress Stah performed at Q Theatre in Auckland[32]
• 2019 – The official closing party for the Auckland Pride Festival was cancelled[33]
• 2020 – Aotea Square in Auckland
• 2021 – Aotea Square in Auckland

• Andy Jalfon
• Cissy Rock
• David Coltman
• Daniel Mussett
• Duncan Matthews
• Emma Henderson
• Gav Hyde
• Gresham Bradley
• Gurv Singh
• Jaycee Tanuvasa
• Julie Swift
• Kaan Hiini
• Kirsten Sibbit
• Kyle Habershon
• Linda Heavey
• Lexie Matheson
• Matt Jackson
• Megan Cunningham-Adams
• Michael Lett
• Paul Patton
• Phylesha Brown-Acton
• Richard (Richy) James
• Robyn Vella
• Shaun Hindt
• Sonya Apa Temata
• Ta’i Paitai
• Verity George
• Zakk D’Larté