The title of this recording is "Wellington Pride Parade 2025 - opening speeches". It is described as: Audio from the opening of the Wellington Pride Parade 2025. The opening speeches and waiata took place on the corner of Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace, Wellington at 5pm on Saturday 8 March 2025. It was recorded in Courtenay Place, Wellington on the 8th March 2025. This is a recording of an event and features the voices of Ard van der Vorst, Jack Rainey, Nate Rowe, Ngā Uri o Whiti Te Rā Mai Le Moana Trust, Sevia Saviour Nua (Saviiey), Tory Whanau and Tīwhanawhana. Their names are spelt correctly, but may appear incorrectly spelt later in the document. The duration of the recording is 23 minutes, but this may not reflect the actual length of the event. A list of correctly spelt content keywords and tags can be found at the end of this document. A brief description of the recording is: Audio from the opening of the Wellington Pride Parade 2025. The opening speeches and waiata took place on the corner of Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace, Wellington at 5pm on Saturday 8 March 2025. The content in the recording covers the 2020s decade. A brief summary of the recording is: The opening speeches at the Wellington Pride Parade 2025 set the tone for a vibrant and inclusive celebration of diversity, identity, and community. Held on the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place, Wellington, on 8 March 2025, the opening featured a series of powerful speeches, acknowledgements, and cultural performances that underscored the importance of visibility, unity, and ongoing advocacy for LGBTQIA+ rights. The event opened with a mihi and waiata, led by representatives of Te Atiawa Taranaki Whānui, grounding the gathering in the tikanga and history of the local iwi. Their words highlighted the resilience and interconnectedness of the community, drawing on the symbolism of Wellington’s fierce yet unifying winds. This was followed by a welcome from the Mayor of Wellington, Tory Whanau, who reaffirmed her commitment to supporting the rainbow community. She expressed pride in Wellington’s reputation as an inclusive city and pledged to continue advocating for the rights and protections of LGBTQIA+ individuals, with a particular emphasis on standing alongside transgender and non-binary whānau. A special tribute was given to the Grand Marshals of the parade - Scotty and Mal, long-time figures in Wellington’s LGBTQIA+ scene, and performers Willy Smack'n Tush and Lilly Loudmouth. These individuals were recognised for their dedication to fostering safe spaces and for their advocacy in shaping a more accepting and celebratory environment for all. Their contributions were described as legendary, with a lasting impact on the local rainbow community. Dutch Ambassador Ard van der Vorst took the stage to offer an international perspective on LGBTQIA+ rights and progress. Speaking both as a diplomat and as a member of the rainbow community, he reflected on his personal journey, recalling his first Pride in Amsterdam 35 years earlier. He spoke about the Netherlands’ pioneering role in marriage equality while acknowledging that work remains to be done, particularly in banning harmful conversion practices. His message reinforced the idea that Pride is not just a celebration but an ongoing movement for justice and equality worldwide. Throughout the event, acknowledgements were made to the organisers, volunteers, and performers who helped bring the Wellington Pride Festival together. Representatives from Ngā Uri o Whiti Te Rā Mai Le Moana Trust shared their voices through waiata, adding to the richness of the gathering. The speeches carried a strong message of resilience and defiance in the face of ongoing challenges. Speakers reminded the crowd that while progress has been made, the fight for true equality continues. Discrimination and prejudice persist, both locally and internationally, making it essential for allies and community members alike to remain steadfast in their advocacy. The event served as both a celebration of identity and an act of resistance against forces that seek to undermine the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals. The opening of Wellington Pride Parade 2025 was a powerful reminder of the significance of Pride as more than just a parade - it is a statement of existence, a call for action, and a moment to honour those who have paved the way. The full transcription of the recording begins:  Ka eke ki te Rangaiwi ki ngā o Mawake i Tarataratakukiri i te Autongananake. Ka tuai au i te Pouakerae o te Akatarewa manini atu ki Waipapaoki o i o ki te Akautangi. Rukuruku au ki awa me takutai ki te Awataia. Hue te para huu huu, Hue te taka kataui o ki te Papa o Marorotaka. Uri taku aro ki te o, Rere atu, rere mai ki Matairangi. He manumurumura motaikura ko tiao tiao. Ki rarora ki wairere, Tu ngaru nui, Tu ngaru roroa ki Tua o Te Aro. Ti e ue ua kuwaewae ki uto o Waitangi. Tiritiri a te maraka i aua e kauri ki kaupapa tui iwiwini, tui i wawana o te kawanatia ngara. Pake pake te watitiri ki runga o Uriwenua. I mau ere ae o ku tūpuna i Pukea Mo te tū rangatira o te Mururau Patu Ka oki nei au ki tāku tuatahitanga Ki te rangaiwi ki Te Atiawa Ka noni noni tia ki runga i te muka tutara Aware o takuware, kore rohe Hei kia mau! Tawiri mate a takina i a rango te whenua. Korongo oho! Korongo ki te waka tupua, korongo ki te waka tawito. E ru i te one i, e ru i te one i tae. E ru i a ranginui e tūne. E ru i a papa e takatane. He Rui a Tangaroa Pueu te one pakini, te one kote one I tuaka makawaru Karanga tupua, karanga tawito Ki tona waka marorohau He toka umi i aroa, He toka umi i aroa, Rungamau ki a mako a i tau, Riri ki a mako a i tau, Ngū a hekeke i ho, I te rangi ka tutu. A niwa niwa na au o Rokiwa I te au pā maiwa o ngā ngā Au riri ki te au māri O te wanganui a tāra I te au i te pō, i te au i te pō Hau, hau, hau a pio pio Hau, hau, hau mā takataka Hau, hau, no te awa o te ora Hau, hau, ki te wanganui a tāra Hai! Turuturu opiti whakamaua kia tīna, haumi e hui e, kāiki e. Ka huri ki taku aro ki Turakirai, piki atu ki Tāpokopoko, ki Pāpata, i ki Orongorongo. Ka rere te ka i maunga ki Pukeatua, ki te whakapuware te waha o te Ika. I ahumai te Waimanga i Ruatupua. Tupua horonuku o Ngake, Tupua hororangi o Whataitai. Rere atu ki uta ki Rimutaka ki Tararua, Hekeheke iho ki Pareraho ki Pokai Mangumangu. Whakawhiti atu ki Pipinuiatea, Te Titiro ki Te Rimurapa. Hoki tōtika atu ki Tūrakirae. Ko te mana nui o to tātou kāinga nei, O Te Whanganui a Tarataupoko o Te Ika. E te tia nei to tātou raukura i te whenua. Ko te atiawa no runga i te rangi, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Tama, Ngati Maru, Taranaki Tuturu iwi, Ngati Ruanui, Nga Ruahine, Rauru ki Tahi, Nga Whanau Takatapui, Nga Whanau Uenuku, Nga Whanau o Kahukura, Te Iwi o Te Aniwaniwa e te tuu mai nei, e hora nei, Haruru ki te Papa e tau nei. E mihikau ana kia koutou e te iti e te rahi. Ko te reo o Te Atiawa Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika ka karanga atu rā ki ngā kohinga mana e tau nei. I runga i te kahu o Te Raukura. I runga i te aroha, i te ngāwaritanga, i te māhakitanga, i te arohanui ki ngā tangata katoa. Pera ia Tahua Whare Tūpuna kei Waiwhetu. No reira nā i runga i tērā whakaaro pai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Kia ora and good evening everyone. If you're wondering who we are, uh, my name's Nate. I'm here with Aunty Ellie today. Don't call her an uncle, she's an Aunty today. Nah, I joked Aunty. And she's single too, if you're... Nah, I joked. Kia ora Aunty, love you. Look, we just want to do a quick mihi. On behalf of the local iwi here, Te Atiawa Taranaki Whanui, and today we share with you the old language of our ancestors back from Parihaka and our ancestors here of the Wellington region. What you saw there was the poi manu. That poi manu was composed by one of our elders and rangatira, Kura Moyahu and Alicia Moyahu, and it talks about What connects us all here together, ahakoa no he a koe, no matter where you are from. And that is our beautiful, powerful, southerly winds of Wellington that we are famous for. The winds that blow fiercely and ferociously. But as we said in the poi manu, which the poi is a symbol of light, peace, compassion to all people. From no matter where you are from, there's a line that says in that karakia that aligns with our kaupapa today. Out comes the rainbow from the storm, i . e. us. No matter what storm comes, we will always come afterwards. And we will always stand and shine out to our communities. So, also, we are famous for those fresh and, uh, fierce and ferocious winds, but also the gentle and calm winds. And when the sun comes out after the rainbow, you can't beat Wellington on a good day, e te whanau. So let us be proud of who we are. Let us stand in our own mana motuhake, let us look after our home, Te Whanganui -a -Tara. Let us walk in peace and unity, in love, compassion, non -violence, and peace to all humankind. Like the name of our ancestral house at Waiwhetu, ara ko aroha nui ki te tangata, ki nga tangata katoa. Nō reira, from that good thought, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa. Tatou tatou e, Tutira mai nga iwi. Tatou tatou e, Tutira, Tutira mai nga iwi. Tatou tatou e, Whaia te maramatanga. He te aroha i nga iwi, Kia tapa tahi, kia kotahira Tātou, tātou e, tātou, tātou, Huritia ki awa, hia wehi! Kia ora koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Ko Jack tāku ingoa. He horere, he horea ki te atua. He moanga rongo ki te whenua. He whakaaro pae kei ngā tānaka tātoa. E rerekau ana ngā mehe kia rātou kuawihi atu ki tua o te ārai. Moemai, moemai, moemai rā. Me mehe ki tika ki ngā mana whenua o tēnei rohi Taranaki Pānui me te honga. Kuapara te huarahi moi tātou e tēnei rā. A very special thank you to Nate Alley from Taranaki Whānui for your support, your guidance and grounding us in tikanga and kaupapa Māori as we come together on this whenua. We're grateful for your presence and leadership. I also want to acknowledge Te Whanawhana. Thank you for sharing your voices, your waiata and your kaupapa with us today. And to Nga Uri o Whetitiri Te Erai Mai Le Moana Trust, who you'll hear from soon, who have joined us from Porirua to bring the power of kapa haka to our celebration. Your presence here enriches this event and connects us to the stories, strength and spirit of our communities. A huge thank you to Tori Whanau, our mayor. For your continued support of Wellington's Rainbow community, for being a visible and vocal ally, and for always standing with us. Your leadership helps make this city an inclusive, diverse and vibrant place that we're so proud to call home. Um, I also want to take a moment to honour our Grand Marshals. Four people whose contributions to our community are nothing short of legendary. Scotty and Mel. The heart and soul behind S and Ms, who have been cornerstones of Wellington's LGBTQI plus scene for years. Not only have they fostered safe and joyful spaces for all our community, but they have also carried the legacy of past queer businesses that helped shape this city. Their dedication was rightly recognised at last year's Welly Hospital Awards, where they won the Legacy Award, a testament to their unwavering commitment to our whanau. And then of course we have Willie Smackintosh and Lily Loudmouth. A couple of powerhouses of talent, advocacy and pride. Continuing to elevate the local drag scene, to fight for our rights. And to show us all what resilience, strength, and fabulous truly look like. Thank you, Willie and Lily. Pride has always been about visibility and taking up space. About saying we are here, we are valid, and we're not going anywhere. So as we get ready to step out onto the streets of our city, let's do so with joy, with defiance, but mostly with love. Let's honour those who came before us, and pave the way for those who will come next. Thank you all. Thank you for showing up, for standing together, and making this community what it is. Ngā mihi nui. Tēnā koutou katoa nau mai haere mai and a huge welcome to Wellington Pride! Give it up! This is the second year running, so let's give a huge round of applause for our wonderful organisers and our rainbow community. Woo! Look, I'd really like to acknowledge all of the activists before us, our activists, who have set the groundwork for much of the work that's happening today. I'm unbelievably proud of what Wellington, that Wellington is considered one of the best cities in the world for our LGBTQI community. Woo! And I promise as mayor, I will remain an ally and ensure that you are seen, listened to, and taken seriously, and most of all, protected. In recent years, we've seen some ugliness around the country, overseas, this is not what we're about, this is not what Wellington is about. It's crucial that we all stand up to discrimination, and that we come together and remain strong for all of our communities, especially our rainbow community. And I really want to say this to our trans whanau. You are seen, you are loved, and you will be protected here in Wellington. It is this very community and our diversity And our strength that makes it the best community in Aotearoa. So let's all gather together, let's celebrate, let's celebrate love, let's celebrate each other, and let's have a good time. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you. Just very quickly. KI just wanted to quickly acknowledge, uh, Tasman from, uh, the Wellington Pride Festival and Taylor. From the Wellington Pride Festival, who have been huge parts of organizing today. Um, it is my honor also now to introduce to you, uh, from the, uh, Netherlands Embassy, the Dutch Embassy, who's, who's asked to come and speak today, um, as, as a representative. Woo. Kira Wellington, and it's really an honor today to speak on behalf of the international community because Wellington is truly an international city. It's a part of a big world. So thank you, uh, to be here. I think it's, uh. Really important to have this really inclusive and colorful celebration because we celebrate love, freedom, and pride. I also would like as the Dutch Ambassador, also special welcome to the Dutch Kiwis. Maybe there are a few in the, in the crowds, but there are about 150,000 around New Zealand. So you know, as a Dutch ambassador, it's great to be here, but I'm also a gay man, so I was also in that sense. I'm really happy to be here with you 35 years. I was there as a 20-year-old boy going to my first pride in Amsterdam. I wasn't seen, I was very insecure. And there I found my whanau, and here I am as an ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to all of you, and I'm really proud of that, that that happened. So a massive thank you to your mayor, Tori. You do a great job not only for the international community, but also for the rainbow community. And thank you so much for it. But I also would like to stand still with all the volunteers that make that difference every day. So thank you. So what about Wellington Pride? For us, Wellington Pride is just not an event. It's a statement. It's a celebration of who we are, who we love, and how we choose to live our truth in the world. Loud and proud. Pride is not just a party. It's a great party sometimes, but it is also a movement, a worldwide movement that changing lives, breaking down walls, and creating the world we all deserve. And today we are still part of moving forward and making that change. So what about Dutch pride? Dutch Pride, nowadays, we always say, and that's why I'm wearing the Dutch color orange. Orange is always part of that rainbow. So back in the Netherlands, we have been fighting for equality for a very long time. Although we were one of the first countries in the world to legalize same-sex merits. It was in 2000 already. We continue to be pioneers and we also learned from you, for instance, conversion practices. These have been already forbidden in New Zealand, in the Netherlands, we are not that far yet. We are still trying to convince that it is not a therapy, it's just stupid practices and they should be forbidden. So let's be that clear. So as we can see in the rest of the world, and I will not name names because as ambassadors, we don't have opinions obviously, but the fight is never over. The fight is never over, and there's always work to do. And as I say, if you can't fight, you have to fight harder. You know, if you don't win, we have to win, so you go and continue. So the struggle for true equality is global, and we are connected. So that means that pride also here in Wellington and everywhere, is very important. So pride worldwide. It's not only a local celebration in Wellington. But do you know that you can pack your bags and suitcases for next year, 2026 to go to Amsterdam? Because we will celebrate World Pride 2026 in Amsterdam. And that will be great. And looking very much forward. Are you coming? Yes. Who has been to Amsterdam? Who wants to go to Amsterdam? Okay. Mayor, we need some funds. This is busy. So yes, today is about celebration, but it is also about action. It's about looking to the future and saying we are moving forward. Our work is far from done. We still fight for the right to love, freely, to be who we are without fear, and to ensure that no one and no one is left behind. So. Let's make some noise and have great fun today and a great time at Bright. Bright. There you go. Thank you. Salve. Kia ora mai whanau. Um, we're Ngā Uri o Whiti Te Rā Maulimoana Trust all the way from Purirua. Um, but we're here to uplift, um, spirits and waiata. So if you know our songs, waiata mai, or come and sing along with us. alongside us. But, yeah, koe nga. Um, but also remember obviously our takatapui community as well as our MVP FAFF community are important, um, and we love you. All the way in Pūrirua, even though we're all the way in Pūrirua, but we love yous all. Um, and also, Toitū Te Tiriti. D! He nā te kaupapa o te reo Māori e He tāua tuku iho nō Ngāti Ipuna He whare kawakawa e mea hira hira e Tōku reo, tōku ahoho Māpihi maurea, whakakai marihi Kōrero tia te reo i ngā waka atoa Kia kone arita ki te moa Mana tāngata, mana motu ake Ngā kura tā kuaho Bapi baire a paka kaimari. Tōku rā, tōku aho i baire a Here here na! Nga wawatana! Hui! Here here na! Ka wawatana, e te ua, e moa, ki kia ua. Ka wawatana, e pura moeno, ka wawatana, e pura moeno. Ka wawatana, ua taira ki te waha, e rapu ai ahau. He o nama! Ko maeraki te ka pua a purika e Kana o mara o te maina e E roha, te pono e aroha E te iwi e E te iwi e Pua e ke maine Ngāti Runga te marae e Rauria, rauria Rauria, rauria E ngā mate o te matu e E ngā tiniro e mata E ngā tiniro e mata E ngā ringi pānui e Rauria, rauria Rauria, rauria Rauria, rauria Rauria, rauria He ora ake nahi e Ruana te perua Ruana te perua Whakamati te puana Aue te aroha Aue te aroha te mamaia Aue Aue te aroha Alu e te aroha te mama i a alu e, te iwi e, ia wehi! The full transcription of the recording ends. A list of keywords/tags describing the recording follow. These tags contain the correct spellings of names and places which may have been incorrectly spelt earlier in the document. The tags are seperated by a semi-colon: 2020s ; Amsterdam ; Aotearoa New Zealand ; Ard van der Vorst ; Courtenay Place ; Jack Rainey ; Job ; Kira ; Lilly Loudmouth ; Malcolm Kennedy-Vaughan ; Nate ; Nate Rowe ; Netherlands ; Ngā Uri o Whiti Te Rā Mai Le Moana Trust ; People ; Scott Kennedy ; Sevia Saviour Nua (Saviiey) ; Space ; Tory Whanau ; Tīwhanawhana ; Wellington ; Wellington Pride ; Wellington Pride Festival ; Wellington Pride Festival (2025) ; Wellington Pride Parade (2025) ; Wellington region ; Willy Smack'n Tush ; advocacy ; ambassador ; ancestors ; awards ; celebration ; change ; community ; compassion ; conversion practices ; defiance ; difference ; discrimination ; diversity ; drag ; elders ; equality ; fear ; freedom ; fun ; future ; gay ; guidance ; haka ; hospital ; iwi ; kapa haka ; language ; leadership ; legacy ; love ; mayor ; movement ; mōteatea ; orange ; other ; peace ; poi ; power ; promise ; queer ; rainbow ; resilience ; running ; scene ; soul ; spaces ; strength ; struggle ; support ; tikanga ; time ; trans ; trust ; visibility ; waiata ; work. The original recording can be heard at this website https://www.pridenz.com/wellington_pride_parade_2025_opening_speeches.html. Please note that this document may contain errors or omissions - you should always refer back to the original recording to confirm content.