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Auckland’s biggest pride event celebrating the LGBTQI+ community took place at Coyle Park on Sunday, with attendees, including Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, declaring it a “wonderful” day had by all.
Sunday’s extravaganza was the first since 2021, after the Omicron outbreak through a spanner in the works for the 2022 event.
Due to Cyclone Gabrielle and its devastating impact, Big Gay Out was postponed once again, but this time by only a month, bringing it to March 12.
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The event is hosted by the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, with the foundation’s executive Joe Rich keen to savour the original “family feel” of the event.
“For a lot of young queer people Big Gay Out is often the first event of its kind they’ve ever been to, and it’s pretty special to see,” Rich said.
One of those attending for the first time was our new prime minister, who said there was “an incredible vibe” at Coyle Park.
“There’s so much positivity and an opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate who they are,” Hipkins said.
When asked about the recent protests about drag queen story times Hipkins said he had “no concerns” about drag queens reading to children.
A memorial waiata was sung for Georgina Beyer, New Zealand’s first transgender politician who died last week at the age of 65.
At the first-ever Big Gay Out, a small stage was set up for performances from local bands and drag queens, and while the smell of a sausage sizzle wafted through the air attendees played games like “toss the handbag” and tug of war, along with running races in stilettos.
Kevin Dunseath, better known by his drag persona The Outrageous Miss Ribena, was emceeing that event and said he had “no idea” so many years later it would be going strong and attracting crowds in the thousands.
“It’s a lot different now,” Dunseath said
“There’s much bigger acts and lots of stalls. It’s amazing to see what it has turned into, but I did enjoy the ‘set up your deck chair’, picnic vibe it used to have.”
Sunday’s celebration was expected to be attended by up to 15,000 people, a drastic increase from 22 years ago.
The event stretches into Sunday evening, wrapping up at 7pm.
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