Rainbow Pride Auckland Parade returns to Ponsonby for second year running

Thursday, 4 February 2021

The Rainbow Pride Parade will take place on Ponsonby Rd in Auckland on February 20.

The Rainbow Pride Auckland Parade will return to Ponsonby this month, with police and corporate sponsors among the participants.

Event manager Shaughan Woodcock said it would be one of the few large-scale pride parades held during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The parade will begin at 5.30pm on February 20 and various businesses along Ponsonby Rd will host special events beforehand.

It will start from Tole St and run down Ponsonby Rd, ending at Williamson Ave. Both walkers and non-motorised floats will be involved.

* Auckland Pride Board reincarnates parade as walk

* Wellington rainbow community divided over uniformed police in parade

The parade became mired in controversy when police were banned from marching in uniform. (Video first published in Jan 2019)

“It has undoubtedly been challenging times for many and in light of the impacts of Covid-19, the walking parade has aimed to reduce costs and overheads where possible so that those who wish to do so can still be involved,” Woodcock said.

In 2020 the first reincarnation of the parade was held in a walking format, with more than 10,000 people attending.

A rainbow police car at the 2018 Auckland Pride Parade on Ponsonby Rd.

Woodcock said he is “optimistic” it will draw those numbers or more in 2021.

Woodcock had been involved with co-producing the Auckland Pride Parade in 2017 and was the director in 2018.

Following the ban on uniformed police in the city's official parade in 2019, and the subsequent reinvention of the parade as a march, Rainbow Pride was set up to deliver a new parade.

The parade is not part of the Auckland Pride Festival, Woodcock said, but it is a major event for Pride month.

“Pride month is for everyone, and I think it’s great we live in a country where we can have more than one gay event. There’s room for multiple groups.”

NZRL chief executive Greg Peters says there needs to be more inclusivity within the rugby community.

A number of corporate organisations will be walking in the parade, Woodcock said, including Tower Insurance, Countdown, ZM, KiwiRail, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and members of the police force.

“We didn’t agree with the police uniform ban, and we wanted police to be involved with the parade.

“I know a lot of good people in the police force who want to be a part of this, and I think to drive change we need to have everyone at the table and be inclusive.”

Several high-profile sports organisations will also be taking part in the parade in a move to make sport more inclusive, Woodcock said.

The national governing bodies for netball, rugby, cricket, football, hockey, and rugby league will be part of the parade, and are encouraging community sports groups to register too.

It will be the first time New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) has flown the rainbow flag publicly, chief executive Greg Peters said.

“It’s also a bit of a statement for us because it’s not only just being part of a parade, it’s a much wider piece of work we’re doing on inclusivity in our game,” he said.

Woodcock said he had spent a lot of 2020 feeling concerned the parade wouldn’t be able to go ahead due to Covid-19, and is now feeling “very relieved”.

Health and safety precautions will be taken at the parade, with all attendees being asked to scan in with the NZ Covid Tracer app.