Manchester Pride, the annual festival that brought hundreds of thousands of visitors, and hundreds of millions of pounds, to the city’s streets each year, has started the process of voluntary liquidation.
Reports emerged last week that the event was facing financial difficulties, with performers from last year’s event still unpaid and fundraising efforts falling short. At the time the event organiser said that they were “in the process of determining the best way forward with our legal and financial advisers.”
This afternoon, it appears that liquidation was that way. The organisers have issued a new statement that reads:
“It is with enormous sadness that we announce that Manchester Pride has started the legal process of voluntary liquidation.
A combination of rising costs, which are affecting the entire events and hospitality industries, declining ticket sales and an ambitious refresh of the format aimed to challenge these issues, along with an unsuccessful bid to host Euro Pride, has led to the organisation no longer being financially viable.
We regret the delays in communicating the current situation; however, we were keen not to jeopardise financial opportunities while our discussions were ongoing. We were proactive and determined to identify solutions to the financial issues. We’ve been actively working with several partners, including legal and financial advisors, to do everything we could to find a positive solution. We had hoped to be able to find a way to continue, and, most importantly, to support our artists, contractors and partners. Despite our best efforts, sadly, this has not proved to be possible. We are sincerely sorry for those who will now lose out financially from the current situation.
The volunteer Board of Trustees are devastated at this situation and sad to share that our staff team will be made redundant. We, along with the team, have put our hearts and souls into the celebration and community activities over two decades and are very distressed at the position in which we find ourselves. We would like to sincerely offer our thanks to all of our staff, volunteers and supporters who have contributed so much to Manchester Pride over the years.”
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The statement continued:
“The organisation has achieved a great deal since its creation and, in particular, since the Covid pandemic. This includes:
● 237,000 visitors to the city
● £104.8m of economic impact
● 148 grants being made to grass roots community groups
● Positive positioning of Manchester as an inclusive city
We hope and believe that this leaves a positive and lasting legacy for the Pride movement in Greater Manchester, and that it will continue long into the future. We will do everything we can to support this moving forward.
The Manchester Pride team have now handed over the details of suppliers and artists who are owed money to the liquidators who will be handling the affairs of the Charity and contacting everyone.”
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Among the earliest reactions from the community was Josh Wheeler, founder of Be Broadcast, who describes himself as “a gay man based in Manchester, operating a PR business.”
He told Prolific North: “What a shame this is, not just for Manchester, but for the country and for the LGBTQ+ community. Manchester Pride has long been one of the UK’s most visible celebrations of inclusivity, but this moment highlights what happens when ambition and financial reality fall out of sync.
“The organisation, like many, lost sight of the experience. Every charity should have its eye on the money, but you can only grow when you are growing, and over time, the experience simply did not match up to the expectation. Sadly, this has also fed into an unpleasant narrative about our community, a bit of a gift for critics, when in reality Manchester Pride has been built on decades of effort, inclusion and celebration.
“The organisation was not realistic about what it could deliver within its parameters, and what is needed now is realism. Realism about the venue, the community and the money.
From a PR perspective, the next step must be a genuine listening exercise. The city needs to take stock of what people actually want Pride to be. Because ultimately, I suspect what most people want is not a global spectacle, but an event for the LGBTQ+ community in Manchester that signals to the world who we are, rather than one that is built simply to attract the world.”
