Durban Pride 2022 won’t be “business as usual”

mambaonline.com:

Durban Pride 2019 (Pic: Joy Khumalo) After being forced to commemorate Pride at home for the past two years, LGBTIQ+ Durbanites will finally be able to take to the streets for Durban Pride on Saturday 25 June.

But expect a more serious and less jovial edition. While details are still slim, Mambaonline understands that Durban Pride 2022 will consist of a public address, a protest march and a vigil. (The last Durban Pride event was held in June 2019.) The organisers said that due to a lack of resources, they “regretfully” will not be hosting a celebration after the march, as has been the case in previous years.

There will also not be a zone for cooler boxes and no public drinking will be allowed. However, “there will be many independent parties and functions being organised around Durban on the weekend,” the organisers noted.

They also insisted that in the wake of the recent challenges faced by the city and province, including the Covid-9 pandemic, Durban Pride cannot be “business as usual”. “Regrettably abuse, ridicule, homelessness, domestic violence, gender-based violence and hate crimes towards LGBTI+ people did not observe C19 lockdown,” they said, “Some could not access services and much-needed treatment or support, some were without homes, and others were kicked out of home, or locked in with perpetrators.