By Lauren Crimp, and Rachel Helyer Donaldson of RNZ
Dozens of protesters wearing Man Up t-shirts have met the start of the Wellington Pride parade, performing a haka.
The parade was about five minutes in when around 30 to 40 Man Up members appeared.
The crowd yelled "you are not welcome" and police formed a line, trying to move them away on Taranaki Street.
Mayor Tory Whanau was at the start of the parade, joined by Wellington Paranormal actor Karen O'Leary.
Whanau said the police reacted quickly and many people did not even know the protest had happened.
"For those who acted quickly, they did a really wonderful job. For those who came here to disrupt, they were here for no reason other than to spread hate and bigotry.
"They are not welcome here. They are not welcome in Wellington. As you can see with the amazing numbers here, Wellington city is all about diversity, and it's all about our rainbow community, takatāpui, and it will always remain this way."
The parade resumed, moving down Courtenay Place and Dixon Street to the end point at the rainbow crossing on Cuba Street.
Karen O'Leary said of the disruption, "I didn't pay any attention, because it doesn't deserve any of my attention. It means nothing to me."
"What means more to me is the number of people who turned out here with a very positive attitude, and just care about what makes other people feel happy, that's the important thing."
There were concerns about protests by Man Up following events at the Auckland Pride Festival last month.
Witnesses had reported about 30 people were barricaded into a room in Te Atatū's library after men wearing 'Man Up' t-shirts had interrupted an event hosted by a drag king, who read a book to children.
The Man Up group is linked to Destiny Church.
Church leader Brian Tamaki said he told protesters: "I want you to storm the library they're in."
The group's actions were widely condemned, with police saying it "crossed a line" and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said, "We respect people's right to free speech, we respect people's rights to peaceful protest, [but] they went too far."
