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The NEW Wellington Pride Parade will be part of the Wellington Pride Festival and promises to “bring colour, diversity, celebration, and fabulousness to Wellington!’

A Wellington Pride Parade will officially return as part of the Wellington Pride Festival on Saturday 9 March 2024.

The new organisers have called a Community Hui on Monday 13 November (105 Manners Street, Wellington) for community members to have their say on the parade. The previous Wellington International Pride Parade was criticised by community groups including Gender Minorities Aotearoa, InsideOUT, and Ivy Bar for allowing the presence of uniformed police and armed services marching (including, at one time, a decorated tank). The Hui will be an opportunity for groups to iron out conflicting visions of the parade.

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In a statement yesterday, the former Parade organisers the Wellington International Pride Parade (WIPP) board have said:

“WIPP has been a feature event in Wellington’s pride celebrations since 2017.”
 
“We’ve faced significant challenges, with the 2019 parade having to be postponed at the 11th hour due to the Christchurch terror attacks. The March 2020 parade was held amidst the burgeoning threat of Covid-19 and would be the city’s last major public event before going into lockdown. Despite this, the event attracted a record attendance of 50,000 marchers and supporters filling and partying along the streets and waterfront.
 
“Following the 2020 parade, a significant number of the Board resigned, leaving no clear governance. Despite our best efforts to hold parades in 2022 and 2023, it became clear we didn’t have the mandate to do so.
 
“So on 30 July, WIPP held an AGM to determine our future. It was unanimously agreed that the incorporated society that governs WIPP would be dissolved, effectively ending the Wellington International Pride Parade.
 

“WIPP will soon be opening a grants application programme, to disperse our remaining moneys to Wellington’s rainbow community groups. We will post further information around the criteria and application process here on this Facebook page.

“We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in WIPP over the years; our amazing Board members, volunteers, participants, performers and the public. Your support will forever form part of NZ’s rainbow legacy.”
 
In 2020, The Wellington International Pride Parade attracted over 50,000 including participants and onlookers and was attended by the Governor-General, Chief of Police, and heads of the Defence Force.
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