Defence Force members prepare to march Dozens of floats and hundreds if not thousands of participants are lined up at the start of tonight's Auckland Pride Parade. An estimated forty-strong uniformed contingent from the Defence Force, representing all three services are preparing to march under their Overwatch banner. Floats remembering our HIV dead and marchers promoting safe sex are prominent as are drag queens, cute boys, dressed up gals and colourful characters of all sexualities. Almost forty floats will head north along Ponsonby Road from 7pm. The weather has cooled but remains humid with a few spits of rain. People in the VIP enclosure include Labour politicians David Cunliffe, Louisa Wall, Grant Robertson and Jacinda Adern, also National's Nikky Kaye plus Mayor Len Brown and his deputy Penny Hulse. A band is entertaining the growing crowd which is two deep and more along much of the route.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 22nd February 2014 - 6:31pm