Topless women draw 100 000

2008-08-20 09:34

Auckland - Offices in New Zealand's largest city emptied and an estimated 100 000 workers lined Auckland's main street on Wednesday to enjoy the annual "Boobs on Bikes" parade.

Around one hundred porn stars and drag queens cruised through the bustling business district on motorbikes, while the male-dominated crowd jostled to get photographs.

Bureaucrats in Auckland had tried to ban the parade, which went ahead at the eleventh hour after a female judge ruled it was not legally offensive.

The parade was part of an "Erotica Expo" organised by Steve Crow, a self-styled "porn king" who had threatened to stage the event with or without a council permit.

The street took on a carnival atmosphere, with the only tension during the hour-long parade coming when eggs thrown at Crow narrowly missed a policeman.

"I'm glad to see people are exercising their freedom of expression," said Crow, who led the parade in a shiny black convertible.

"I told the girls beforehand to keep the jiggling to a minimum and not to do anything that would be deemed offensive," he said.

Police struggled to contain the crowd, who were at times lined six deep, jostling to photograph the bare-breasted women on cellphones and cameras.

Virtually every possible viewing space was taken up, with construction workers watching from building sites and office workers leaning out of windows.

Around 50 women led a protest march against pornography in front of the parade but did little to dampen the crowd's spirits.

"Never seen anything like it. I liked the boobs but there wasn't enough of them," said a tradesman who had taken the day off work specially for the parade.

A Canadian tourist who wished to remain anonymous said she was taking photos to show back home because "no one would believe me."

Judge Nicola Mathers of the Auckland District Court said Tuesday the bylaw the council introduced to stop the parade was questionable.

"It is not offensive per se for women to be topless. It may be distasteful to some, but in my view the council reference to offensive cannot reasonably apply in these circumstances," she said.

- AFP