Paid public seating areas along Ponsonby Road are likely to be a new feature of the Auckland Pride Parade in February next year. Colourful participants in last year's parade The parade, which will run from north to south as trialed last year, will have a VIP area separate from the public grandstand at the Western Park end-point with a special area also set aside so participanmts early in the parade can gather to see the following parade entries come by. The price of a seat in the new viewing areas along Ponsonby Road has yet to be confirmed but may be in the $25 to $30 range. The Western park VIP area, to be run this year by the parade producers, will be a "high-level VIP experience for corporate sponsors and we will be selling some tickets to the area as well," says parade co-producer Shaughan Woodcock. Discussions are under way with Rainbow Auckland regarding the Western Park grandstand area but it is likely to include food vendors and will be a ticketed area. Woodcock says there has been "huge interest from small and large groups" wanting to be in the parade. He lists the NZ AIDS Foundation, the Women's Bookshop, Rainbow Youth and Outline as early applicants as well as corporates Spark and Vector. February's parade will start at the Three Lamps end at 7.30 and is expected to take about two hours to finish at Western park. The number of entries has been increased to 60. In an interview with GayNZ.com Daily News Woodcock says he wants the parade to be a safe place where all glbti people, groups and causes can express themselves and he hopes the 2017 parade will include more "edginess" than in past years.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 3rd December 2016 - 8:25pm