Gaydio Awards return to Manchester for fourth year celebrating LGBTQ+ community heroes

Manchester's Deansgate Hotel played host to the fourth annual Gaydio Awards on Friday, bringing together community figures, celebrities and performers for an evening that mixed genuine celebration with a clear-eyed sense of what the LGBTQ+ community is up against.

Sixteen awards were presented across the night, and the mood was set early by Hollyoaks actress Annie Wallace, who made history as the first transgender person to play a transgender character in a British soap. She praised Manchester as a city that continues to buck national trends. "There are a lot of LGBTQ+ awards in London, but Manchester has always been very queer-supportive," she said, before turning her attention to the political moment. "They work very hard against horrible Government policies and the rise of the far right, which never seems to stop rising. In the queer community, and especially the trans community, it feels like they are coming for everybody now. That's why we need to remain united."

The performances matched the energy. Breakout girlband XO debuted an unreleased track, Hot Girl Hotline, to the crowd, alongside sets from X Factor winner Louisa Johnson, viral sensation MEEK and drag star Bailey J Mills. The purple carpet brought in The Traitors' Amanda and Reece, Big Brother's Zelah and Feyisola, and Coronation Street's Farrel Hegarty and Julia Goulding.

Among the night's most celebrated moments, DJ Paulette received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her decades of contribution to queer nightlife. Reflecting on the journey from playing Flesh at the Hacienda in 1992, when Canal Street was only just beginning to take shape and same-sex couples couldn't comfortably walk the street together, she said Manchester remains a place of creative firsts. But she was direct about the present moment too. "We are seeing trans rights encroached upon and taken away. If it starts with trans rights, then it becomes all of us. If one minority is not safe, then all minorities are not safe."

Ella Morgan was named Gaydio Icon, and JADE took Music Artist of the Year for her consistent championing of LGBTQ+ rights and trans visibility. Coronation Street claimed the Outstanding Entertainment Contribution award for its portrayal of domestic abuse within a same-sex relationship.

Carl Austin-Behan, the city's former Lord Mayor, LGBTQ+ advisor to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and founding board member of Manchester Village Pride CIC, who was himself dismissed from the Royal Air Force in the late 1990s for being gay, told the Manchester Evening News the awards carry a message beyond the ceremony. "These awards send out a strong message about how important it is to keep fighting for our rights, but to also make sure we are part of the mainstream and not hidden away."

Elsewhere, trans charity Not a Phase was named Charity of the Year for its community-led grants and direct financial support for trans adults across the UK. Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride took Pride Organisation of the Year, honoured for their resilience in delivering Pride in 2025 despite facing serious political opposition and far-right intimidation. Village Manchester FC, nearly 30 years a proudly trans-inclusive home for LGBTQ+ footballers, won Sports Club of the Year, and the Queer Britain Museum received the Queer Arts and Culture Award.

Volunteer of the Year went to Daniel Browne, who has raised over £500,000 for Warwickshire Pride across more than a decade of dedication.