Attendees at Manchester Village Pride 2026 have been sharing what being proud means to them, with themes of community, love, and safety coming to the fore. The event, held over the August bank holiday weekend, has been running for more than 40 years, evolving from its 1985 origins as a fundraiser for Monsall Hospital's HIV and Aids ward into one of the country's biggest LGBTQ+ events.
A New Chapter for Pride
This year's event comes after a dramatic turn at the end of last year's celebration. Only a couple of months after the 2025 event wrapped, the company behind Manchester Pride went into voluntary liquidation after being deemed no longer 'financially viable' due to rising costs and lower ticket sales. The future of one of the biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations in the country outside of London was in potential jeopardy.
However, the community rallied. A newly named event, Manchester Village Pride, was created, with bars and venues in The Village forming a Community Interest Company (CIC) alongside key partners, including Manchester Council and the Equity union. With the support of around £120,000 from Gay Village venues alone, this year's event aims to 'rebuild and establish trust' and to reconnect with the origins of Pride, reinforcing the role of the Village as the heart of the celebration.
Voices from the Village
Ella Gants, who spoke to us inside a chicken shop opposite New York New York to shield from the rain, said: "It just means a sense of belonging, a sense of community, and a sense of being loved. I feel in our community, not everybody gets to experience love, not even relationship wise, but very platonically. And today I feel like it's one big family and it's very beautiful to see, so that makes me proud."
Godiva Morgan, 49, reiterated that theme of love and a close-knit network. "For me it's about spending time with loved ones. That could be friends or family. You have to make your own family sometimes being a gay man. It's also about Manchester. Not even just the village, this belongs to the whole of Manchester," she said. "We get people coming in from all over the world. I know people who've flown in from Los Angeles and South Africa and they come here for the amazing event. Luckily I live in a country where we can do this. It used to be a protest, for people of a certain age, but for me it's about spending time with loved ones and sharing that love with everyone."
For Mark Doyle, who lives in Hulme, visibility and Pride are closely interlinked. "It's about being myself and celebrating who we are as a community," he said. "I work for Tesco who are one of the sponsors so yesterday I took part in the parade as I have done several times before and it was an amazing experience as always, the weather aside. However on way in someone shouted f****t at me. It just shows how important it still is. We have still got much more to do."
Mark's boyfriend Nick Labouchardiere, 45, added: "It's about being myself, feeling proud of who I am and not feeling any shame. Not having to hide anything, as we shouldn't have to hide who we are. It's nice. It's so important to have this for people who are yet to come out and who may be feeling nervous. It shows them there is a community here waiting to embrace them."
The Importance of Pride in 2026
Pride is also important in the face of its future being threatened. As Adam Maidment, our What's On and LGBQT+ reporter, pointed out in his opinion piece this weekend, in just the last few months alone, a number of Pride celebrations across the country have been shut down due to a lack of financial support or the backing of their councils. As Adam wrote: "I've heard directly from both organisers and attendees of different events how this has had an impact - and its meant that many young people, who perhaps need Pride the most, are the ones that miss out on the opportunity to feel seen and included at such a crucial time."
Having a quick break from performing, Miss Penny mulled on this point. "[It's] about being proud about being yourself, being individualistic. People moan about it and say, 'Is there a need?' and we say, 'Yes, there is because people are still being killed for being their authentic selves. There's a lot of hate in the world now.' And also don't forget, it brings so much revenue to the cities across the UK as well. The hotels make money, the bars make money, and it gives so much to charity, which is a big part of this. A lot more money will also be going to charity now."
Gareth Clarke told us: "I think it's so important to be proud at the minute, especially in times like these - people are taking away our rights." For those experiencing Pride for the first time, it creates community and safety too. Demi Worley, 33, from Nottingham, visiting the Manchester event for the first time, said: "It's great they have something like this for the LGBTQ+ community. There's a lot of people who feel they have to hold in their sexuality and that's where mental health comes into it. It's going to encourage people to come out and be who they want to be which can only be a good thing." For Gill Duncan, Manchester Pride is one of the very best around. "It means to be me, and to be free to be who I am - safely."
