Manchester has been named the world's third most sexually liberal city in a new international ranking, trailing only Amsterdam and Vancouver and outperforming London by a considerable margin.
The 2026 Sexually Liberal City Index, compiled by adult entertainment portal Erobella.com, compares 41 cities worldwide using 10 indicators, including the density of sex shops and LGBTQ+ venues, access to abortion and contraception, sex work legislation, and anti-discrimination protections.
Amsterdam topped the ranking for a second consecutive year with 69.4 points out of 100, followed by Vancouver on 58.9. Manchester secured third place with 58.6 points, climbing four places from seventh last year and recording its highest-ever finish.
The biggest story in this year's index is Manchester's rise. The city comfortably outperformed every other UK destination, with Glasgow ranking eighth and Birmingham 17th. London, despite its size and international reputation, was relegated to 23rd place.
Researchers highlighted Manchester's renowned Gay Village and Canal Street district as key drivers behind its strong performance. The city recorded the second-highest density of gay bars among all 41 cities surveyed, surpassed only by Miami.
The ranking arrives at a notable moment for Greater Manchester. It comes in the same month that Andy Burnham, who served as Mayor of Greater Manchester for almost a decade, entered Downing Street as Prime Minister.
While laws relating to sexual freedom are determined at a national level, Manchester's LGBTQ+ scene expanded significantly during Burnham's tenure. The city-region became the first to appoint an LGBTQ+ adviser to a metro mayor, pursued a night-time economy strategy modelled on cities such as Amsterdam and Berlin, and launched a programme worth more than £1 million aimed at ending new HIV transmissions by 2030.
Amsterdam secured a commanding lead at the top of the table, scoring highest in three categories: sex work laws, sex worker organisations and abortion rights.
Combined with a strong queer events calendar and extensive LGBTQ+ nightlife, the Dutch capital finished more than 10 points clear of Vancouver.
Vancouver's second-place finish was driven largely by strong scores on health and equality measures, while Manchester's nightlife and LGBTQ+ infrastructure propelled it into the top three.
The report found that American cities generally combine vibrant LGBTQ+ and adult entertainment scenes with weaker scores on legal and policy measures.
Miami achieved maximum scores across all four lifestyle categories measured, including sex shops, gay bars and LGBTQ+ events, yet still ranked only 10th overall due to low scores for sex work laws, gender affirmation protections and anti-discrimination measures.
San Francisco was the highest-ranked US city in fifth place, benefiting from strong community infrastructure and the highest concentration of sex worker organisations in the index.
New York performed less strongly than might be expected, placing 32nd, while Houston and Dallas also finished in the bottom third of the rankings.
At the opposite end of the table, Moscow ranked last with 11.6 points, followed by Tokyo on 17.7 and Cape Town on 20.1.
The report identified London as one of the more surprising underperformers. Despite being one of the world's largest and most diverse cities, the capital finished 23rd, behind Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham.
The full ranking can be viewed on the Sexually Liberal City Index 2026.
Scene was founded in Brighton in 1993, at a time when news stories about Pride protests were considered radical.
Since then, Scene has remained proudly independent, building a platform for queer voices. Every subscription helps us to report on the stories that matter to LGBTQ+ people across the UK and beyond.
Your support funds our journalists and contributes to Pride Community Foundation’s grant-making and policy work.
Member discussion