Organisers of Wellington’s Pride festival say despite previous disruption to Auckland and Christchurch events, they’re looking forward to turning the capital into a massive rainbow this month.
This year marks 39 years since the first annual Pride celebration in the capital since the campaign for Homosexual Law Reform in 1986.
There are over 60 community events and five large-scale flagship events over March, with this year’s theme being “Torona atu te Āniwaniwa ki te Rā - the Rainbow Stretches Forth to the Sun”.
Pride Parade event manager Craig Watson said it is important the rainbow community celebrate who they are.
“With some of the things we’re seeing coming from out of America and other places around the world, it is more important than ever to keep celebrating and pushing forward our community.
“We need to be visible, we need to be out there, we need to be loud and proud of who we are, we need to show a united front and we need to keep backing our community that still need those progressions in the law, and progressions and rights.”
Wellington Pride Festival parade. Photo / Frances Cook
Pride Festival co-chair Tasmin Prichard said some of the stand-out events this month include a show called Kuru Pounamu that kicks off Pride tonight, the Pride youth ball and Out in the City.
“It’s amazing, this has been rated one of the best cities in the world to be rainbow, to be queer and it feels like it.
“Some of us came from further away in Aotearoa to come here to a place that’s a bit friendlier, a bit more ready to accept us for who we are and the people who are from here know how lucky we are to be living in a city like this.”
“Why we create Pride is for people, so that people can come together so they can make new friends, new family, find new relationships. To bring people together is the greatest joy of this work, is to see the connections that are being formed ... through all of these mechanisms that are just about people who want to find their family and find their friends.”
Potential for disruptions to Pride
RNZ understands a group of people from outside the capital are planning to protest this weekend’s Pride festivities.
Prichard said it is not acceptable that organisers are having to be extra cautious about security concerns while trying to run a whānau-friendly event for the community.
This year marks 39 years since the first annual Pride celebration in the capital. Photo / Frances Cook
Both organisers of the parade and the festival have sought guidance from Taranaki Whanui on how to best approach any groups who may plan to cause disruption.
“The appropriate way for people to respond to any kind of protest that happens here is to keep peaceful and remain calm. Their advice to us is to sing a waiata or to continue with our celebrations, and to really ignore their protest.
“We’ve been asking our community to take that approach to anything that might happen on Saturday,” Watson said.
Police said they will be visible at Wellington’s Pride events this weekend, as they work with organisers to ensure the safety of all attendees at the parade.
“Wellington is a place that loves the queer community, that really supports the queer community and we invite everyone to come down and have fun, and just really enjoy the day. Remain peaceful and keep that celebration going for the whole Pride,” Watson said.
In a statement Rainbow Youth and InsideOUT said there is no place for hate and violence in Aotearoa.
InsideOUT managing director Tabby Besley said loud bigoted voices are only being drowned out from the growth of visibility in the rainbow community.
“It is time the Government takes serious action to prevent and respond to violence towards rainbow communities. The recent incidents at Auckland Pride are part of an organised ongoing attack on rainbow people’s rights to be themselves and come together.”
A Destiny Church spokesperson told RNZ the church is not involved in any protests in Wellington but has members who are part of the Freedom and Rights Coalition.
RNZ has contacted the Freedom and Rights Coalition for comment.
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