With Manchester Pride returning to its community roots and others set to follow in its footsteps, we look at how an event that started as a protest for queer rights has become an unaffordable and commercialised party — at the expense of the queer community themselves.
The UK’s first Pride took place in 1972 when 2000 people marched through London to demand equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community. 54 years later, Pride has become a global celebration complete with international pop stars, wristbanded VIP areas, and brands pumping a year’s worth of budget to get featured somewhere in the rainbow marketing.
But how on earth did an event marking riots where queer activists fought against police brutality become a party where the LGBTQ+ community feel like they’re not even invited?
How did Pride become so commercialised?
The big shift towards the heavily commercialised Pride events we see today started in the late 1990s. Mainstream pop culture was increasingly embracing LGBTQ+ themes and big corporations had wised up about how profitable the so-called “pink pound” could be. Suddenly, Pride events had shiny corporate sponsors and later, began attracting not just queer people, but their heterosexual counterparts too.
The cost of Pride skyrocketed as large-scale parades and celebrations required reimbursement for massive new stages and increasingly complex permits. Manchester Pride, for example, launched their first ‘Manchester Pride Live’ in 2019, an exclusive new event separate from the usual Gay Village Party and free parade. Passes cost £64.50, while in 2018, a ticket was £34.50 for the entire weekend.
At the same time, the northern city’s parade got longer with more and more sponsors each year. But this didn’t enforce the message of Pride — only dilute it. The same year Elon Musk reinstated banned Twitter accounts that misgendered and deadnamed trans+ users, a rainbow Tesla drove in the parade. When Keir Starmer backed a ban on transgender women in female hospital wards, the Labour Party held their placards high.
What happened to Manchester Pride?
Very quickly, Manchester’s LGBTQ+ community started to feel pushed out of something that was apparently being thrown in their honour. Pride’s only free event was being taken over by rainbow-washing corporate conglomerates, hen parties were using the Village Party as a place for ‘afters’, and streets became suffocatingly crammed with people cheering drag queens but grimmacing when they saw a same sex couple kissing. Independent queer businesses couldn’t even afford a stall at the Village market.
It became obvious that the whole thing would reach a point of no return. And that’s what happened in 2025. In October last year, Manchester Pride began the process of voluntary liquidation. They had debts of £1.3 million, including unpaid invoices for 182 artists and performers, many of whom still haven’t been fully paid. It seemed like the Manchester queer community had officially lost its Pride.
Manchester Pride goes back to its community roots
In January, it was announced that Manchester Pride would be returning. This time, it would be delivered by a community-led collective, many of whom are the business owners of the Gay Village bars themselves. Tickets were priced from £33.60 for the weekend in its entirety. It felt like the whole of Manchester breathed a sigh of relief. Better still, the new organisation is a Community Interest Company, with unpaid directors and profits legally locked in to support LGBTQ+ charities, grassroots organisations and community services.
So, who is Pride actually for?
But it made us think, shouldn’t every Pride be like this?
Pride should be a place where the LGBT+ community can always attend, both financially and feeling like they can be completely themselves (that’s a crazy sentence to have to write, btw). It should also be a place that honours the reason why Pride was created. Sure, we all jump at the chance to hear the Girls Aloud megamix before midday, but we’ve got to remember why this all started in the first place — and why we’re still fighting today.
Pride still needs to be a protest
We need real allies to attend Pride, not just those who fancy a bit of karaoke someplace new. People who will call out transphobes in a world where the new EHRC guidance is obsessed over where the trans community uses the toilet. People who will educate their family over dinner and tell them that their casual homophobia is the reason why hate crimes are increasing. People who will tell their Harry-Potter-obsessed friend why they shouldn’t watch the reboot.
If Pride is going back to the community, remember who originally made the invite list. And if you’re lucky enough to get an invitation, make sure you use it well.
Editor’s note: Despite marketing this year’s event as a ‘new start,’ small queer businesses have reported that they still cannot afford a stall at Manchester Pride 2026. We reckon a deposit and a % of sales may be a fairer way to do things (if someone could pass on that idea for us!)
Tilly Brogan
Tilly is a queer Freelance Copywriter based in Manchester. She balances her time between working with LGBTQ+ organisations and women’s rights charities - and people watching in various Manchester cafes. She is also a proud lesbian. You can read more of her work here.
0 comments