The town of Springs will come alive when the 18th annual Ekurhuleni LGBTI Pride march takes place on September 13.

The march, starting at the Springs Station and ending at the Zigzag Café, will unite the LGBTIQ+ community and allies in celebration and visibility.

Willy Mnguni, an organiser, told the Springs Advertiser that the number of attendees over the years had grown. He added that the event had moved from different townships over the years, and now they are aiming for towns.

He also said the event was special because it showed their resilience and dedication in serving the city’s LGBTIQ+ community.
With the event hosted in Springs this year, Mnguni said they are still preaching acceptance, inclusion and social justice.

“Hosting the march in Springs is significant because we want to reach more people, especially those from African countries, to show them that we are queer and we are Africans. We stand in solidarity with our comrades from other African countries,” he said.

Mnguni said people could expect a march with chants about raising awareness. He added that there would be performances from celebrities and queer DJs

“There will be stalls with information about other organisations and allies. People can donate money, materials, water and food to the march. People can also contribute by attending,” he said.

When asked about the importance of the event, Mnguni said the queer community needed to show its diversity, support one another and celebrate the milestones reached through activism to eradicate hate crimes, discrimination and hate speech, homophobia and transphobia.

He concluded by saying that the queer community were everywhere and was here to stay.

“It is important to come together with allies because allies play the important role of eradicating hate towards queer people by showing their support to their queer friends and family members.”