Brisbane Pride Rally, March And Fair Day Postponed
Image: Image: Brisbane Pride Facebook page.
Brisbane Pride Festival organisers on Thursday afternoon announced that the Pride Rally, March and Fair Day scheduled for Saturday, October 2 has been postponed. The announcement comes in the wake of Queensland health authorities introducing restrictions after the state recorded six new local cases of coronavirus on Thursday.
“This decision has not been made lightly however our goal is to ensure the health and wellbeing of our LGBTI+ community and those around us,” the organisers said in a post on social media. They added that a “future date has not been determined at this stage.”
Queensland had recorded six new locally acquired cases of coronavirus bringing the state’s total cases to 22. Queensland Health said that a 75 percent capacity limit would be put in place for large events.
Public and private gatherings will similarly be limited to 30 people and density limits of one person per 4 square metres indoors, and one person per 2 square metres outdoors are back in place for hospitality venues, with seated service only and no dancing.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Thursday morning that the state had “to put these restrictions in place if we are to avoid a lockdown at this stage.”
“The next 24 to 48 hours will be very critical to see if there is any seeding,” the Premier said.
The announcement comes only a week after Brisbane Pride announced that they had requested Queensland Police Service to not march in uniform during this year’s Pride march sparking fierce debate among the community.
Last year, Brisbane Pride was similarly forced to cancel the Rally and March and postpone Fair Day due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Pride festival was held in November 2020. Brisbane Pride Festival said they are hoping to announce an alternative date for this year’s Pride Rally, march and Fair Day as soon as possible.
