WE’RE ALL AFRICANS: JOBURG PRIDE 2010

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Joburg is set to celebrate diversity and promote equality for all Africans! Joburg Pride, the largest and oldest gay and lesbian event on the African continent, will be celebrating its 21st birthday on Saturday 2nd October 2010 at Zoo Lake Sports Club, supported by Tang Sour Apple, Power Play, OUT and 94.7.

The Joburg Pride Board calls on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and supporters of the community to take part. Bring your family, friends and pets to celebrate our sexual diversity and freedoms in a fabulous and memorable day of celebration.

The 2010 Pride Parade, featuring a host of colourful floats and thousands of revellers, will kick off from Zoo Lake Sports Club at 10am through the streets of Rosebank. Participants should note that this is an hour earlier than in previous years – so make sure you get there on time!

Refreshment points for marchers will be provided along the route. No alcohol is permitted to be consumed in the Parade and participants are reminded to wear sunscreen and a hat or cap.

Marchers return back to Zoo Lake Sports Club at around 11.30am for the rest of the Pride Day festivities until 5pm. Revellers will be entertained by local artists and DJS as well as a teaser performance and appearance by British pop-star and DJ Sonique, who will perform with her dancers at the Official Joburg Pride After-party later that night at the Standard Bank Arena.

Besides the entertainment there will also be Pride stalls – with all sorts of goodies on display and on sale – bars, food and a kiddies’ play area. LGBT organisations such as OUT will be informing the public about their work and will provide services such as free on-the-spot HIV testing.

Attendees should note that no drink, food or related containers will be allowed into the venue. Joburg Pride, which is a not-for-profit organisation and generates income to put on the free event in large part through the sale of food and drinks on the day, requests the understanding of the public in this regard.

Special VIP Clubhouse tickets, giving guests exclusive access to a dedicated bar area and toilet facilities are on sale for R75 per person. To book contact natasha@joburgpride.org. Tickets are selling fast!

The gates at Zoo Lake Sports Club open at 8am. Entrance is free and everyone is invited! Joburg Pride 2010 is supported by Tang Sour Apple, Power Play, OUT and 94.7. For more info visit www.joburgpride.org.

We’re all African…

Highlighting the deteriorating human rights landscape for LGBT people across Africa, Joburg Pride 2010 will be reminding the continent’s people, politicians and religious leaders that: We’re ALL African.

The ‘We’re ALL African’ theme is a call for LGBT Africans to affirm and assert their African-ness. Sexual diversity is a normal aspect of the human spectrum and Joburg Pride wants this to be accepted on the continent as part of its rich tapestry of cultural, religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity.

“No longer should we allow certain leaders to use sexual diversity as a scapegoat to obscure their failings or for religious fundamentalists to impose their beliefs on others. Defending and upholding the human rights of LGBT people in Africa is and should be a cornerstone of practising the philosophy of ubuntu/botho,” says Joburg Pride Co Chair Zak Mbhele.

“A wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent” wrote Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in The Washington Post in March, a state of affairs which he described as “terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa.”

Adds Mbhele: “We intend to dispel the absurd and false notion that homosexuality is ‘un-African’ or is somehow ‘imported’ from Europe, when in fact it is most anti-gay laws in Africa that are colonial creations.”

The Official Joburg Pride After-party

British pop-star and DJ Sonique, powered by Cintron Liquid Energy, will perform at the world-class Standard Bank Arena on Saturday October 2nd for the Joburg Pride Official After-party, taking place on the night of the 21st Annual Joburg Pride Parade and Day.

The after-party will see the chart-topping Sonique not only performing some of her hit tracks, but also delivering a two-hour DJ set that is guaranteed to set the dance-floor alight. Sonique – who won the 2001 BRIT Award for British female solo artist – is brought to Joburg Pride by new energy drink Cintron Liquid Energy.

An all-gay line-up of DJs is set to support Sonique at the Official Joburg Pride After-party! These include: DJ Shawn (Q-Bar), a live PA by Zed, DJ Herman (Legends, Ramp Divas), DJ Ari (Navigation, Cape Town) and DJs Twisted Sistas (Diva’s on Deck). Plus 94.7’s Vin Deysel will introduce Sonique!

The Official Joburg Pride After-party will include a luxurious and exclusive Cintron VIP Lounge overlooking the stunning dance-floor and stage, with dedicated bar and toilet facilities, a women-only room and bar, as well as a men-only section dubbed “The Locker Rooms”. Click here for information on buying tickets.

Joburg Pride Week

The days ahead of the annual Joburg Pride Parade will see a number of independent Pride themed events organised by gay-friendly and gay-owned businesses and venues. There will also be various events at gay bars and clubs – all culminating in the parade and a variety of post-parade after-parties around Gauteng, including the Official Joburg Pride After-party. A schedule of Pride Week events will be available on www.joburgpride.org in the coming days.

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