Artivist ADAM “The Drag Diva” perform a sit in with members of NoGoBurgPride holding pro-Palestine placards during Johannesburg pride in Sandton, Johannesburg, on October 25, 2025. People filled the streets of Sandton City in Johannesburg on October 25, 2025 for Africa’s oldest Pride event, marking 36 years of protest, courage and celebration. Under the theme “Purely, Queerly, African,” this year’s march reclaimed space and culture, declaring that being African and being queer are inseparable parts of identity. The parade, a mix of music, placards and African prints, stretched through Sandton, where rainbow flags flew beside traditional Zulu and Xhosa attire. For many, it was both a celebration and a statement against those questioning queer people’s right to wear cultural dress. Launched in 1990, before South Africa became a democracy, Johannesburg Pride has grown from an act of defiance under apartheid into a continental movement for equality. (Photo by Zinyange Auntony / AFP)
Under the theme “Purely, Queerly, African,” this year’s Joburg Pride march reclaimed space and culture, declaring that being African and being queer are inseparable parts of identity.
The parade, a mix of music, placards and African prints, stretched through Sandton, where rainbow flags flew beside traditional Zulu and Xhosa attire.
For many, it was both a celebration and a statement against those questioning queer people’s right to wear cultural dress.
Launched in 1990, before South Africa became a democracy, Johannesburg Pride has grown from an act of defiance under apartheid into a continental movement for equality.
MORE: 48 hours in pictures, 26 October 2025
About the Author
