Auckland Pride Announces First Line Up Of Programming Featuring Brand New Events And The Return Of Pride Favourites

TĀMAKI MAKAURAU, AUCKLAND (Friday 13 December): Auckland Pride Festival 2025 is set to ignite the streets and stages of Tāmaki Makaurau this February, proudly unveiling the first wave of events that celebrate, empower, and connect Takatāpui and Rainbow communities—with tickets on sale now for this unmissable celebration.

Featuring more than one hundred events, the first launch of programming features major events such as Pride Fest Out West and Big Gay Out within the Open Access Festival, as well as key works as part of Te Tīmatanga and Pride Elevates within Auckland Pride's own curated arts programme. With some events even free, tickets are listed on the Pride website (aucklandpride.org.nz) along with information on how to purchase/register, or find out more for any one of these incredible celebrations of community.

“This year’s festival honours the powerful truth that ‘we exist because we relate.’ Through the theme of Tētahi Ki Tētahi—one to another and each other—we recognise the importance of organising, community building, and movement-making as vital forces in our collective journey. Together, we celebrate not just the vital spaces we create within the festival but the deep connections and interwoven histories that inspire our work towards liberation. As we gather in February, our aim is to strengthen these bonds and reaffirm our commitment to each other, knowing that our collective power lies in the relationships that sustain us and the movements we create together. Through art and storytelling, we bring these aspirations to life, weaving narratives that embody the lessons of our pasts and embolden these shared visions for the future.”

This year, Auckland Pride 2025 opens with Te Tīmatanga on Thursday, February 1st at Seasons Gallery, an intimate evening that weaves art, storytelling, and community. Featuring Louie Zalk-Neale, this year’s Te Tīmatanga resident whose work explores Mana Tipua and Raranga, and senior artist Neke Moa, renowned for her deeply connected adornment, the event will offer audiences a powerful experience of Māori artistry. Together, Louie and Neke bring to life the spirit of Tētahi Ki Tētahi, inviting us to engage with the interwoven layers of identity, history, and place.

This year, Pride Elevates moves to the intimate setting of Q Loft, presenting three dynamic five-night seasons that showcase an inspiring lineup of Takatāpui and Rainbow talent. Headlining these seasons are What Happened To Mary-Anne? by Brady Peeti, a heartfelt, humorous journey through rock & roll and resilience; Body Story by Xin Ji, a thought-provoking physical theatre piece delving into personal narratives and physicalities problematising and resolving the relationship to self and collective through the body; and Mā by Jonjon, a powerful exploration of motherhood and responsibility. Each season at Q Loft offers a unique mix of theatre, live art, and dance, inviting audiences to engage closely with groundbreaking queer artistry. Pride Elevates continues to celebrate the diversity of our communities’ stories, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of the Auckland Pride Festival and a platform for both emerging and established voices.

Through the Auckland Council Proud Centres we offer opportunities for people to come together in their local neighbourhoods across Auckland, offering a vibrant range of events and activities that celebrate local Takatāpui and Rainbow community members. Highlights for this year’s Proud Centres programme include Ang Sininang Bulawan (The Golden Dress) by Marc Conaco at Studio One Toi Tū, Embroidery for Crafty Queers, Proud Voices Open Mic Night on Waiheke Island, The Starlight Disco at Onehunga Oranga Community Centre, Insider Outsider at Mt Albert Library, and the LGBTQIA+ Craft Club (Pride Edition) at Point Chevalier. These community-focused gatherings create spaces for connection, creativity, and expression, making Proud Centres a welcoming presence in local neighbourhoods and a key part of this year’s Auckland Pride Festival.

This year, takatāpui and rainbow storytelling will come to life in a dynamic light show by artist Alex Watene (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whatua, Te Arawa a Tuhoe), in collaboration with Mandylights, and will be the feature of Vector Lights for Auckland Pride Festival 2025. Vector Lights on the iconic Auckland Harbour Bridge is part of a smart energy partnership between Vector, Auckland Council and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi. Powered by a mix of clean energy technology, the lighting display gives Aucklanders a focal point for celebration and recognition.

The Auckland Pride Empowerment initiative proudly supports a wide range of community-led projects and events in the 2025 festival. Each year, Pride Empowerment funds innovative and impactful projects across Takatāpui and Rainbow communities, from performances and workshops to exhibitions and creative gatherings that strengthen and celebrate our shared identities. This year’s lineup includes Same Same But Different, Proud Voices on Screen, ‘Beyond Taboos: Representing Us, Ethnic Rainbow Alliance Pride 2025, Little Gay In, sewn, Elder Queers Give Advice, NYMPHO Pride 2025, Kiki Ball 3 and Girls, Go Get ‘Em, each contributing to the vibrancy, resilience, and diversity of our city and the impact of collectives, artist run spaces and grassroots organisations.

In 2025, Auckland Pride closes with Waimahara at Myers Park, a reimagined gathering that shifts the traditional Pride March and Pride Party to an activation that reflects on the strength within our communities and galvanises our shared vision of queer liberation and social justice. Beginning with a rally in Aotea Square Grass Terraces, attendees will march to Myers Park through the public art installation Waimahara by Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu) for a day of connection, learning, and organising around shared advocacy goals. Grounded in the 2025 Festival theme of Tētahi Ki Tētahi—one to another— our closing event is an opportunity to bring communities together in a time where collective organising and action are vital in strengthening our collective response to regressive policies and rhetoric that threaten our rights.

Auckland Pride remains dedicated to empowering, celebrating, and serving the Takatāpui and Rainbow Communities of Tāmaki Makaurau. Our commitment to fostering resilience, visibility, and unity through events, creativity, and advocacy is at the heart of our 2025 Festival theme, Tētahi Ki Tētahi.

This first program release provides a glimpse of what’s to come, with the full festival lineup set to be announced on January 20, 2025. Auckland Pride invites Takatāpui and Rainbow communities, along with all supporters, to join us in this moment of togetherness, advocacy, and celebration, championing a future where we thrive together. For more details, ticket information and updates, please visit www.aucklandpride.org.nz.

Pride is back. Let’s do this together.

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