Manchester Pride is BACK! Here's what happened...

After Manchester Pride Limited imploded in October last year (leaving artists and suppliers owed a total of £1.3million), Pride has been resurrected by a newly formed group who are now running the event: Manchester Village Pride CIC.

I had a chat with three of the directors - Carl Austin-Behan (former Mayor and current LGBTQ+ mayoral advisor), Nick Curtis and Andrew Underwood (co-owners of the Richmond Tea Rooms and Eagle Bar) - to hear more about their experience of taking on the weekend.

Nick explained how when he left the Manchester Pride board back in 2018: "the festival was in a great financial situation: it had a lot of money in reserves, it was raising lots of money for charity and it had a really great impact on the community". However, he argued that in the following years it had descended into being more about the business than the community.

Carl, who left his previous role as ambassador for Pride around the same time, said that they were "hemorrhaging money" with their annual wage bill being over £600,000. The decision to move Pride to Mayfield Depot in 2025 had also been very unpopular, and had caused tensions with the businesses in Gay Village.

Already in a dire financial state, they threw everything at last year's Pride as they were banking on getting Euro Pride which would have helped shore up their finances. "But that money would have just been spent covering the cost of the Pride that's just gone," explained Carl, "and to lose out to Limerick who got 70% of the vote says a lot."

"It's fraudulent what they were doing: saying we're going to pay these people. They would have known that they couldn't have paid the artists months ago, so why book all these people?"

"None of the charities I know got the funding they were told they were going to get. I want to know where that money has gone." There will hopefully be more clarity when the investigation is concluded by the liquidators.

None of them were surprised when Manchester Pride Limited went bust late last year. Following this, Carl described how a group of them had decided something needed to be done to save Pride.

"[Pride] is so important to the community, and also to the city as part of the annual calendar... In 2011, the Pride weekend saw hotels in Manchester at 97% capacity. If Pride didn't go ahead this year somewhere like Leeds, Birmingham or Blackpool could've quite easily said 'we're having that bank holiday Monday', and then we would have lost the bank holiday weekend forever. That would've been a real economic loss for the city."

The group comprises business owners in the Village (Tracy from New York, New York, Andrew, Nick, Jeffrey from Cruz, Frank from the off license...) and three independents who are very involved in the community (Carl, Phil Burke, and Rob Malcomson).

None of them were a part of Manchester Pride Limited when it entered liquidation. "It was about the fact of starting back, going back to grassroots, bringing it back to the community," said Carl.

They got the go-ahead from the council at the end of January, and then the real work began.

Andrew explained how as there had been no handover, they had to start from scratch, having only six months to plan what would usually have taken a year. On top of this they are all volunteers:

"Every day there's been meetings and emails, it's kind of a full time job in itself while trying to run a bar and a tea room on the side."

"It is full on but I wouldn't change it," added Carl, "even though I'm going to bed at 1am, waking up at 3am, with anxiety - 'Have I've done this? Have I've done that?' - and then going to do my normal day job on top of that. What has been brilliant and really heartwarming is the fact that so many people have come forward to support and help."

Building trust has been a big part of the job. It has helped that the board is made up of figures who are already central in the community, and as no-one was a part of last year's Pride there is recognition that they are not to blame for what happened.

However, there are still lasting impacts from what happened last year. "There's a lot of trust to build back, especially when we're asking some of these people to work who didn't get paid last year from Manchester Pride," Carl explained.

In April, Manchester Village Pride CIC signed an Equity agreement, a historical moment marking the first union agreement ever for a UK Pride event. It means that acts will receive a portion of pay before the event, and ensures that no performers will be asked to work for free.

To add to this, Andrew described how Manchester Pride Limited "muddied the water when it comes to financials, so we want to be very transparent about where money has come from and what it is going to." They have also been much more stringent in terms of spending, such that the whole list of artists for the Friday to Sunday night has come under less than what the one main headliner cost for Pride last year.

They are certainly not holding back, however, in terms of the range of things that will be taking place across Manchester over the weekend. Programme highlights include SCENE Festival screenings, the parade on Saturday and a "family fun day" on the Monday.

The group are committed to delivering, and know that people will be watching. Carl spoke of how important it is that Manchester Pride comes back strong this year, considering the current political backdrop.

"If Reform [UK] gain more council majorities across Greater Manchester in the coming years, I can see that funding will be taken away [from local Prides]... We need to be strong in Greater Manchester and continue fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and especially trans people."

Since our chat, the new Reform UK council leader in St Helen's, Merseyside, announced that the council will no longer support or promote Pride.

So, spread the word! Manchester Pride is back on and will be taking place 28 - 31 August. Buy your wristbands early, as this will help them ensure the weekend goes ahead as planned.