Thousands of people — almost all of them men — lined the main street of New Zealand’s biggest city on Wednesday as 25 topless porn stars paraded on motor bikes and two old army tanks.
Businessmen, schoolboys and Japanese tourists lined Auckland’s Queen Street to watch the ”Boobs on Bikes” parade, which went ahead despite the winter chill, a nippy wind and objections by some city officials.
”It does nothing for our image, it does nothing for our city and I just think it gives us indecent exposure around the country and around the world,” Auckland city councillor Scott Milne told TV New Zealand.
”It’s shabby and it’s sleazy and we just don’t need it.”
The parade of leather-clad porn stars is part of an ”Erotica Expo” organised by self-styled ”porn king” Steve Crow.
”You’ll always have a vocal minority, you’re always going to have people who object to everything, be it religion or be it adult entertainment,” Crow said.
”If you don’t like it don’t come,” he said.
Many of the curious onlookers came with cameras and cellphones to take pictures of the parade. Others held aloft banners which read ”Sleaze Brings Disease in Body & Mind”.
Most of the local and international porn stars rode pillion on motor bikes during the 30-minute parade. One man clad only in leather pants rode astride a decommissioned army tank.
”I don’t know what all the fuss was about, to be honest,” an unidentified male onlooker said.
Others debated whether the centrepieces of the parade were real or surgically enhanced.
Police allowed the parade to go ahead because New Zealand law does not regard the public baring of breasts as indecent.
There were no reports of arrests during the parade, which briefly distracted about 4 000 local workers at a nearby trade union protest. – Reuters