The Auckland Pride Festival is an annual festival held in Auckland, New Zealand. It began in 2013 and is New Zealand's largest Pride Festival. The Auckland Pride Festival is overseen by a board of community members, there is also a Festival Director and a Parade Director who respectively organise the Festival and Parade. The festival was also brought together a number of other queer and queer supporting festivals and events in Auckland. They include the Same But Different Festival, Heroic Gardens
History
2013
First Auckland Pride Festival
Board members
2014
2014 saw protesters demonstrating against the Israeli Embassy's presence at the parade.
Board members
2015
In 2015, the New Zealand Police were allowed to march in their uniform. No Pride in Prisons, a group formed in 2015 due to the participation of the New Zealand Police and Department of Corrections. One of the protester was injured during an altercation with security staff at Auckland's Pride Parade
Board members
2016
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 transgendered persons in prisons.
2017
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. 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.
Board members
2018
This was the 6th year of the Auckland Pride Festival, there was over 80 events in the festival and 70 floats in the Parade. Jacinda Ardern became the first New Zealand Prime Minister to walk in the Auckland Pride Parade. Renée Gerlich and another person who called themselves "feminist activists" held a sign that read “stop giving kids sex hormones, protect lesbian youth” for a short distance along the parade route before being asked to removed by parade staff.
2019
The Auckland Pride Board made the decision after a number of community hui to not allow Police to march in their uniform for the 2019 Auckland Pride Parade. 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. In response to this withdrawal, those who supported the Board's decision created a crowdfunding page, which raised $30,468.40. 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. 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.
Board members
2020
A new Pride director for Auckland Pride, Max Tweedie was hired to "empower and celebrate queer voices in our community like never before." 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. 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 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.
Board members and advisors
Major Events delivered by Auckland Pride
Te Takaranga Āniwaniwa
The Auckland Pride Festival was officially started at the Dawn Ceremony where a karakia and the call of the kaikaranga and pūtātara is performed. It was held at Western Park on Ponsonby Road 2017-2018, it then transitioned into Te Takaranga Āniwaniwa for the 2020 Festival and was held in Aotea Square.
Auckland Pride Gala
A variety show for the festival showcasing previews from the talent in the Auckland Pride Festival programme.
OurMarch
The original Auckland Pride Parade, much like the Hero Parade was situated on Ponsonby Road until 2019 where the Auckland Pride Festival lost the majority of sponsorship due to the choice to not allow the New Zealand Police march in their uniforms. The 2019 Parade became OurMarch, which now starts from Albert Park, Auckland and concludes in Aotea Square.
OurParty
OurParty , is the closing party for the Auckland Pride Festival and is now held after the march.
