SURPRISE AS ANOTHER JOBURG GAY PRIDE EVENT ANNOUNCED
It’s been announced that a brand new LGBTI pride event will be held in Johannesburg this coming October, adding to Gauteng’s increasingly cluttered pride season.
Founded by Cino Shearer, a self described philanthropist and publicist, Mzansi Pride aims to bring together “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Straight (LGBTIS) communities from all over Africa… to embrace their inner pride.”
According to a statement, the event will feature a week of “edutainment” festivities including workshops, fashion shows, art exhibitions and movie screenings.
Shearer told Mambaonline that he is in discussions to host the pride march and post-march festivities in Rosebank, in the Zoo Lake area; a popular location in recent years for Johannesburg Pride.
When asked what will make his event different from the existing prides in the province, Shearer said that Mzansi Pride will have a stronger regional and African focus.
“This year will be dedicated to the LGBTI communities in Uganda in particular and our brothers and sisters in Africa and around the world that still suffer discrimination. It will also be a Southern African event, not just a South African event,” he said.
He explained that he plans to bring together representatives from LGBTI communities in Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho to take part in the event.
“There will also be fundraising for skills development and to also go towards defending legal rights of communities and LGBTI rights organisations in Africa. We do not live in silo communities,” he said.
Despite at least five other pride events planned for the Gauteng or greater Johannesburg area around the same period, Shearer doesn’t believe that adding another pride to the busy schedule is a problematic. He also insists that he does not intend to compete with other events.
“We are focusing on African specific issues. Having different prides for different communities only aids our struggle. There is nothing wrong with there being 15 prides – why should we only be allowed to have one particular pride? Why can there not be different events?” he asked.
“It’s not in competition – it’s in conjunction with,” he added. “We are not ‘the pride’ because there is no ‘the pride.’ We should not see it as competition but we should celebrate it.”
Shearer said that he will be announcing more details about the event soon.
The period from late September to the end of October 2014 will see a number of pride events taking place in Gauteng. These include Johannesburg Pride, People’s Pride, Soweto Pride, Ekhureleni Pride, Pretoria Pride and now Mzansi Pride.
We have now hit high numbers of PRIDE, interesting is the disconnection of issues, failure to connect with others. Pride’s in Gauteng displays the division that exist in issues, in those who have commercialised Pride as well. 6 Prides in a space of 6 weeks is too much.
In fact I think they are now over rated. What is the meaning of PRIDE now, maybe is the question that we need to ask ourselves as South Africans??the purpose of Pride, we have to locate the PRIDE meaning.
I understand People’s Pride because is political, I understand SOWETO and other township PRIDE’s because of political and thus majority lives and remain vulnerable to hate crimes……
other prides?? celebration??and for what?? The inequalities that exist and the commercialised way of celebrations…..still to be interrogated.
I stand to be given a different perspective, those who know where SA comes from will and might share the view, however this is my opinion.
Johannesburg is a beautiful diverse place. Johannesburg is different to everyone that explores it because it is just so vast. Having multiple prides is reflective of this diversity. I encourage everyone to try and attend as many of these events as possible. I would just say that anyone who really cares about the future of pride should avoid paying any entrance fees. Once pride events become money making schemes then there will be oppurtunists coming in with no consideration for the many things it represents to the many and different people that care and attend.
I am a Capetonian and I attended the Joburg Pride event at Zoo Lake 2 years ago and enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend it last year, however, I have been invited by a friend to attend it this year. But, WHEN is it and WHERE is it going to be held? I hear that the last Pride organisers are either broke or have disbanded and there’s a new “Mzansi” Pride scheduled for Joburg. There’s also another Pride happening in Centurion 4th October. I would rather attend the “official” Joburg Pride, if there is one. Can anybody clarify and confirm the details of the JOBURG PRIDE for 2014? I would be grateful.