Auckland Pride

Auckland Pride is a month-long festival across February, run since 2013 by Auckland Pride, a community organization with an elected board. It's mostly arts, performance, talks and community events spread across the city. If you're looking for one big parade weekend, know that Auckland's pride scene split in 2018.

That year the Auckland Pride board barred police from marching in uniform. Several sponsors pulled out, and so did the Ponsonby business association. Auckland Pride replaced the old Ponsonby Road parade with a political march from Albert Park to Aotea Square. A separate group then revived a Rainbow Parade on Ponsonby Road, where police are welcome. The two events have run separately ever since. The Big Gay Out is a third, free day in the park run by the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, the national HIV organization.

In 2026 the festival ran February 1 to 28 under the theme "Ngā Uri E" ("We are the descendants"), with more than 130 events from Albany to Takanini. The Big Gay Out was on Sunday, February 15, at Coyle Park in Point Chevalier. The Rainbow Parade went down Ponsonby Road on Saturday, February 21. The most complete figures we found are from 2021, when 203 events drew 75,796 people and over 9,000 walked in the Pride March. The 2027 dates hadn't been announced when we checked. The festival normally fills February.