Please note that due to the ongoing global situation regarding COVID-19 the Queer Hillbrow Tour has been cancelled.

GALA (Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action) join forces with inner-city walking tour company Dlala Nje for this new walking tour that launches on Human Rights Day. Celebrating South Africa's collective queer heritage, the tour is a journey through the struggle for queer rights in Johannesburg during the apartheid era.

In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s Hillbrow was known locally as a "pink neighbourhood" with a vibrant LGBT community that sought to defy the apartheid regime (homosexuality was illegal under apartheid). The tour through the streets of chaotic Hillbrow, one of Joburg's most notoriously overcrowded neighbourhoods, takes a look at the vital spaces and places in Hillbrow which helped shape contemporary Joburg's queer community and shares the stories of the brave queer activists who gave a voice to LGBT South Africans in the struggle for equality and freedom. The tour also includes a look around the iconic 52-storey Ponte building, Africa's tallest residential building.

The tour lasts approximately 4hours and covers around 5km. Tickets cost R450 and include food and drinks. Booking is essential.