Auckland Council's major events body has given the green light to sponsorship for an Auckland Pride Festival and Parade in February 2013. Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) is officially backing the event, with Mayor Len Brown’s support. “Our diversity is one of the things that make us great,” Brown says. “We love celebrating it, whether it’s Matariki, Pasifika, Diwali, the Lantern Festival or now Pride. I am already a big fan of Big Gay Out. I look forward to being a part of the Pride Festival.” The steering group applied for $339,000 and received $100,000. Auckland Pride Festival Steering Committee Chair, Gresham Bradley, says the amount of support the GABA-led Community Consultation process has had to bring a Pride Festival back to Auckland has been overwhelming. “The support we’ve received from the GLBT community, the wider community, politically from major parties, and from the media has been heart-warming to say the least. We are a diverse community and we are looking forward to the festival and parade providing a platform to celebrate who we are,” Bradley says. “The sponsorship of the Festival by ATEED represents the first time our community has received any tangible support from Council and will make it possible for us to secure broader sponsorship from the business and corporate sectors. It gives us the foundation from which we can build a major Festival that will become a long term part of an inclusive Auckland City.” The fortnight long festival launches with the Big Gay Out on Sunday 10 February. The new Pride Street Parade is set for Saturday 16 February. A series of events will take place throughout the two weeks including Bear Week, many cultural, sporting and social events yet to be scheduled including a closing celebration. “It’s important to stress that we are not intending to recreate the Hero Parade. Ten years have passed since the last one and it’s incredibly important that we move with the times and create a solid foundation for the future. We’re living in a new Auckland and this is a new festival,” Bradley says. “The active involvement of the GBLT community itself will be a key part of building this new Festival”. The Festival, includes the arrival into Auckland of passengers on a sold out crowd of 1,800 departing from Auckland on an all-gay cruise onboard the exquisite 5-star Atlantis Oosterdam. A welcome event for the cruise passengers is already in planning. The cruise culminates with arrival into Sydney for an overnight celebration during the finale of Mardi Gras. ATEED Major Events Manager Jennah Wootten says the Pride Festival aligns well with Auckland’s Major Events Strategy, delivering both social and economic benefits to the city. “In addition to celebrating Auckland’s diversity, the event will deliver Auckland a boost visitor nights and GDP. It is timed for the lead up to Sydney’s Mardi Gras to maximise these opportunities.” The Festival is expected to contribute an additional 7,500 visitor nights to Auckland’s visitor economy and $784,000 to Auckland’s GDP. Auckland Pride Festival Trust will operate as a governance body and is now recruiting a Festival Board of seven Trustees with experience in business management, event management, public relations, marketing, sponsorship, legal, financial management, and community relationships. The Trustees’ key role will be managing the various aspects of mounting a new Festival including the contracting for the services of a Festival Coordinator and a Parade Coordinator to deliver the 2013 event.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 12th June 2012 - 7:49pm