GAY & LESBIAN PRIDE NEWS
Joburg City supports Joburg Pride
September 01, 2005
Scene from Pride 2004
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JOHANNESBURG — The route for the Johannesburg Lesbian and Gay Pride March has been approved by the Metro Police Department and the City of Joburg has confirmed its support in supplying essential services for the March to be staged. The Pride March will take place on Saturday 24th September, commencing at Constitution Hill and ending at the New Heartlands for the Mardi Gras. The March, which is traditionally the pivot around which all the other activities revolve, will be a culmination of a week's long schedule of activities primarily centred at the Hill which is being facilitated by Forum for the Empowerment for Women, OUT from Pretoria, and Behind the Mask.
"It was essential for us to achieve the permission from the Joburg Metro Police Department for the route in terms of road closures and demarcation," said Paul Tilly, Joburg Pride Co-ordinator. "The City of Joburg has demonstrated its support for the bid to host the Gay Games here in 2010 and acknowledges that Pride's continuity and role are essential to illustrate the ongoing participation between public entities and the LGBTI community."
"Johannesburg Lesbian and Gay Pride is essential to demonstrate that Johannesburg can host the 2010 Federation of Gay Games," said James Mathias, Co-Chair of the Johannesburg Gay Games 2010 Bid Committee.
"Johannesburg Pride is the largest gathering of LGBTI people at any one time on the African continent, and by virtue of this it is a platform for variety of other LGBTI organisations, human rights based organisations and gender-based organisations to dialogue and communicate issues surrounding and affecting our sector," said Paul Tilly. "London Pride has already indicated its enthusiasm at the prospect of teaming up with Joburg Pride (Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and London Pride signed an accord to market each other's event in their territories in December 2004.) The plan is to extend this to a tri-continent initiative involving Johannesburg Tourism Company, Visit Britain and City of Sydney Tourism," said Tilly.
The Route:
This year, floats and participants in the Pride March can congregate from 14h00 in the Square outside the Constitutional Court at Constitutional Hill: the parade itself will commence at 16h00 and end approximately two hours later. As the Parade will end up at the Heartlands, participants can avail themselves of parking in Braamfontein and the take the shuttle service up to Constitutional Hill
From the Square the Parade will turn right into Queens, which becomes Hospital Street and will then cross over Smits St and turn right into Wolmarans St. The march will progress, crossing over Rissik and Loveday Streets and into Harrison Street and cross over Leyds, De Villiers, Plein and Bree Streets and turn right into Jeppe Street.
Once in Jeppe Street the Parade will cross over Simmonds and Sauer and into Newton precinct; and at the third set of traffic lights a right into West Street will take the Parade over the Nelson Mandela Bridge which intersects with Queen Elizabeth Dr and becomes Bertha Street.
The Parade will turn left into De Korte Street (a one-way) and will culminate between Station and Henri with the two left hand lanes cordoned off.
"The City of Johannesburg, Johannesburg Tourism Company, Constitution Hill and the Heartlands have been instrumental in ensuring that this year's Lesbian and Gay Pride Heritage Week, and in particular, the March takes place," said Paul Tilly.
For more up-to-date details visit www.joburgpride.co.za
Related
Celebrating SA Pride in book form [12/08/2005]
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