Covid-19: Auckland Pride Festival cancelled over Omicron threat

Sunday, 23 January 2022

The 2022 Auckland Pride Festival has been cancelled in the wake of community transmission of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

On January 23, the Government announced all of New Zealand would move into the red setting of the traffic light system after a family of nine tested positive for the Omicron variant over the weekend.

The 2022 Auckland Pride Festival has been cancelled due to the threat of omicron.

They had travelled from Motueka to Auckland the weekend of January 13 and attending a large wedding on January 15.

The cancellation of this year’s Auckland Pride Festival comes after two central Pride Festival events were cancelled earlier in the month – the Rainbow Pride Parade and Big Gay Out 2022.

* Auckland Rainbow Pride Parade cancelled due to Omicron fears

During last year’s Pride Festival, a new rainbow crossing was painted onto Karangahape Road.

* Covid-19: Big Gay Out 2022 organisers cancel event citing fears over Omicron

“It is incredibly heartbreaking that we are in this position, but the safety of our community is our top priority,” executive director Max Tweedie said in a statement.

“This decision has not been made lightly, but is consistent with Auckland Pride’s values and unwavering commitment to keeping Tāmaki Makaurau’s rainbow communities safe.”

Tweedie said the festival supports the use of restrictions to protect the community, healthcare system and essential services.

“The experience of Australia in particular has demonstrated that even without these restrictions, the Auckland Pride Festival proceeding during an Omicron outbreak would’ve been irresponsible.”

Some smaller events of the festival may still go ahead, however, and information will be added to event listings on the festival website in the coming days.

This year’s Pride Festival included what would have been the first Takatāpui Festival – Te Tīmatanga. This festival, including a large-scale art installation will still go ahead online or in person, Tweedie said.

It involves the public artwork of seven takatāpui artists, whose work will be installed in Aotea Square, Albert Park, Britomart, Commercial Bay, Viaduct Harbour and Silo Park.

Auckland Pride is working with festival event organisers to implement Covid-19 contingency plans, Tweedie said.

“Our deepest thanks go to our partners for their ongoing support and understanding as we’ve navigated these challenging circumstances,” he said.

“We will continue to work through the wide-ranging impacts of this decision and provide regular updates with our community. Our priority is supporting our artists, event organisers, and wider community who are disrupted as a result of this outbreak.”