Manchester Pride 2022 has officially begun

The festival to celebrate Manchester’s LGBTQ+ community, culture and life is gracing our city once again this bank holiday weekend.

Girl band fans are in for a treat this year with Spice Girls’ Melanie C and Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle performing across the weekend. This year there are three main stages hosting the musical acts, the ‘ultimate street party’ hosted in Gay Village, the Candlelit Vigil and a series of other activities and events.

With Monkeypox declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Orgnasiation (WHO), Pride events have inevitably been the subject of expert concern. The number of cases in Greater Manchester have been on the rise, and whilst over 1500 have been vaccinated so far, vaccine supply remains severely limited. More vaccines have been requested for the Greater Manchester region but national supply bottlenecks are stalling progress.

There has been a concerted efforts to make this year’s event accessible to all. In recent years, the event has received backlash for precluding some members of the LGBTQ+ community due to the cost of tickets. A Full weekend Gay Village Party ticket costs £32.50 this year. This is up from £25 in 2021. In efforts to remain inclusive, the weekend will also host as series of alcohol-free events, Youth Pride MCR and Family Pride MCR.

This is the first time the event has taken place since the decision to scrap MCR Pride Live. The high-profile event, which has attracted musicians including Ariana Grande, led to concern among LGBTQ+ communities that the event was becoming over-commercialised.

The charity have assured the LGBTQ+ community that focus and finance will be redirected towards meaningful activism. This is response to criticism that the charity was losing touch with its roots and history.

Paul Wheeler, chair of Manchester Pride’s board of trustees, said: “We acknowledge we got some things wrong last year and we’re sorry for the upset and frustration this caused. It is important that Manchester Pride reflects what Manchester’s LGBTQ+ communities tell us they want and this review has shown how we can do better.”

Although the event may have slightly changed, the pictures will always stay iconic!

DM us your best pics on Instagram @thetabmanchester for a chance to feature in an article!