LGBT in New Zealand held annually in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Auckland and Wellington also hold regular lesbian social events. There are a number of gay and lesbian festivals in New Zealand. Hamilton, Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin host annual Pride Weeks, usually operated by the local UniQ, related youth-focussed organisations, or the New Zealand AIDS Foundation as a community-building initiative. The was a popular event in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and while the organisation pulled the 2008 festival due to funding issues, it returned in 2009. Until 2008, the Hero Festival was held in Auckland each February, and included the Hero Parade, which
Auckland cricket team between 1936 and 1940. The large population base that Auckland have to pick from has contributed to the side's success and produced a large number of the national team's players. Since the introduction of List A cricket in the 1970s, Auckland have won eleven one-day competitions with the most recent in 2018. The Auckland Cricket Association was founded in 1873. The Auckland cricket team represented the association when they played their first game against Canterbury the same year. They were the third major association founded in New Zealand after Canterbury and Otago, and just before Wellington. It was not until