Auckland Pride Parade fills the streets

  • 18/02/2018

Celebrations filled the streets on Saturday night as more than 3500 people marched in the 2018 Auckland Pride Parade.

Tens of thousands of onlookers formed a crowd lining Ponsonby Rd.

The parade began when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cut the final rainbow ribbon, becoming the first Prime Minister to walk in the parade.

Audiences watched as a sequence of rainbow floats made their way down the road, many sponsored by organisations such as Air New Zealand and New Zealand Rugby.

One couple was married aboard a float in front of the cheering crowds. 

The theme of this year's parade was peace, love and unity - designed to counter attacks on the rights of LGBTIQ+ people.

Organisers said Donald Trump's America was winding back the rights of sexual and gender minorities, Chechnya was conducting a vicious programme of murder, and repression and the same-sex marriage debate in Australia was ugly.

The parade's success comes after the cancellation of Pride Week's other flagship event, Big Gay Out, due to severe wet weather.

Newshub.