Hundreds of people dressed up and celebrated Cape Town Pride parade in Green Point on Saturday.
After missing the celebrations last year due to lockdown restrictions, this year’s festival was themed, “Together Again”.
The first pride parade was held by anti-apartheid activist Simon Nkoli in 1990 and this year is Pride’s 32nd anniversary.
The event celebrates the city’s LGBTQI+ community, and creates awareness on issues.
The parade started at Alfred Street, then moved to Green Point Main Road before heading to Green Point track, where a concert was hosted. The line-up included local talent Zoe Zana, Maxine Wild and Manila von Teez.
The Pride parade was led by the Cape Town Pride 2022 pageant winners followed by a fleet of vehicles from Cape Sidecar Adventures.
Mandy Bayley-Blum said it was amazing to be part of the festivities.
“It’s fantastic to be out celebrating the gay community. I came out 12 years ago and I’ve never looked back,” she said.
Miss Cape Town Pride 2022 Laylah Zokufa wore a blue, pink and yellow leotard with a cape and a diamanté strapped heel.
Zokufa said as a small-town girl from Wellington being able to celebrate Pride was a privilege.
“After all the years of not fitting in where I come from, here I am with people who understand me and that are aligned with me in life,” she said.
She added: “Pride to me means being confident in myself, who I am and not having to pretend.”
The DA attended the festivities, dressed in custom-made blue T-shirts, where the pride flag was spread throughout their logo.
However, their presence was frowned upon as revellers believed that the day should not have been a political opportunity.
A Stellenbosch University law student who asked not to be named said it’s sad how the DA was taking the opportunity from vulnerable queer people.
“We want to find a political party that resonates with our beliefs and fights for us but it’s sad to know that this is fake and that they’re only doing it for publicity,” he said.
He added: “They’re milking this. I am not a fan of any of the predominant political parties in South Africa but the DA is the worst.”
Mr Cape Town Pride 2022 Ashwin Williams wore a shorts made out of the colours in the pride flag.
Williams said “I am from Robertson and I am proud to show everyone that I am not afraid to be who I am. I am comfortable with myself and want to show it off to everyone.”
Cape Town Pride First Prince 2022, Garth Arnolds, wore a self-made rose gold sequinned jumpsuit. Arnolds said Pride means family to him.
“This is a day we can come together and celebrate your uniqueness and just be together as one,” he said.
He added: “It feels amazing to be back. These are people from different walks of life and different genders and we can come together and celebrate.”
The teams at Gilead Sciences, Fanta and Microsoft also showed up in various pride themed outfits.
Executive director at pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, Christopher Whitfield, said their company supports LGBTQI+ communities all around the world.
“We’re trying to make sure we build allies so that diversity is highlighted and important,” he said.
He added: “Pride means inclusion, being happy with you are and supporting everyone whether you are part of the spectrum or cisgender. It’s important that with everything happening in the world that the community can still support each other.”
Emile van Zyl from Microsoft said Pride means diversity inclusion.
“Inclusion is an important part of our organisation. We want to embrace different ways of allowing people to be their authentic selves,” he said.
He added: “Pride is a celebration for us in South Africa, but there are many countries that don’t celebrate it, which means we have work to do.”