Auckland Pride is proud to announce the theme for the 2020 Pride Festival: 'Our Liberation, Our Celebration, Our Pride'. Our queer communities will gather under the iconic bronze statue in Albert Park for 'OurMarch' event 48 years later—reclaiming the streets of Tāmaki Makaurau for Pride. Registrations will be open earlier than 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.
"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, with Tweedie saying: "At the heart of Our Pride are our communities. 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."
"By reducing costs for event producers and encouraging free events, we are ensuring that 2020 will be our most accessible festival yet. 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!" - Max Tweedie, Director of Pride
Come and experience Auckland Pride's vibrant, summer celebration next year!
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