Auckland Pride presents the 2020 Pride Festival

Auckland Pride presents the 2020 Pride Festival: Our Liberation, Our Celebration, Our Pride.

Early-bird festival registrations open on the 16th of September.

Auckland Pride is proud to announce the theme for the 2020 Pride Festival: Our Liberation, Our Celebration, Our Pride. Registrations for Auckland’s fabulous festival open earlier than ever before, on the 16th of September, increasing accessibility for community members to turn their vibrant visions into reality.

In 1972, beneath the statue of Queen Victoria in Auckland’s Albert Park, Aotearoa’s first gay liberation protest began. The protest, led by the Māori lesbian academic Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, was the catalyst for gay liberation groups to be created across the country, adding Aotearoa’s voice to the international gay liberation movement fighting for equality. Auckland’s queer communities will gather under that same bronze statue in Albert Park for OurMarch 48 years later, reclaiming the streets of Tāmaki Makaurau for Pride.

“While we're proud of the progress and freedoms we’ve won in the 47 years since, the struggle for our greater liberation continues,” says Director of Pride, Max Tweedie. “Liberation from pervasive views that lead to conversion therapy. Liberation from the physical and verbal abuse of our communities. The liberation of our trans and gender diverse communities who await protection under the human rights act, access to gender-affirming health care, and the ability to self identify on their birth certificate. Our Pride continues to be a significant platform for advocacy, so our voices can be heard across Aotearoa.”

“We also continue our celebration,” Tweedie continues. “The celebration of who we are, and how far we’ve come. The celebration of our fearless heroes who have propelled our communities forward. And the celebration of our diverse abilities–from theatre to sport, drag to literature, activism to comedy, our queer communities bubble with talent. Our Pride is an unapologetic celebration of our status-quo defying existence.”

“Our theme for the 2020 Auckland Pride Festival embodies the modern values of Pride around the world,” says Tweedie, “one that is rooted in our rich history of activism, and creates space for a fierce queer celebration of identities. It speaks to our ability as a community to navigate many different spaces simultaneously. To push for change while exalting in our gains. This embrace of both fight and festivity is not only a central part of our identities, but core to our commonality as diverse queer communities.”

To capture the spirit of the 2020 theme, Auckland Pride turned to renowned queer photographer Russ Flat, asking him to centre the beautifully diverse faces of the rainbow communities. “At the heart of Our Pride are our communities.” Tweedie says. “ We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our fabulous different identities than by showing all of the colours of our rainbow. Featuring activists, artists, community leaders and rangatahi, we wanted to show all of Tāmaki Makaurau the queer excellence they can expect from Our Pride in 2020.”

Auckland Pride is excited to open festival registrations on the 16th of September. “By launching the festival theme and registration details earlier, we aim to give our community more time to create their events, book venues and talent, and apply for funding from sponsors and grant bodies,” says Tweedie. “In addition, we are introducing early-bird pricing for festival registrations to make our festival more accessible for event producers.” Early-bird pricing will run from September 16 to October 13, and General registrations open from October 14.

Registration fees for the 2020 Auckland Pride Festival are as follows:

Early-bird (September 16 - October 13):

Free events (includes entry by koha) : Free

Ticketed events up to $25 (adult full price): $85

Ticketed events over $25 (adult full price): $150

General (October 14 - December 1):

Free events (includes entry by koha) : Free

Ticketed events up to $25 (adult full price): $125

Ticketed events over $25 (adult full price): $200

“By reducing costs for event producers and encouraging free events, we are ensuring that 2020 will be our most accessible festival yet,” says Tweedie. “We are looking forward to seeing the diversity that will make up the festival, supporting our communities to put on events and providing a platform to showcase the immense talent of Tāmaki Makaurau’s queer people!”

Full registration details will be available on our website on September 16. Anyone with any questions or who needs support creating an event for the 2020 festival should email festival@aucklandpride.org.nz

The Auckland Pride Festival will run from 1-16 February 2020.

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