Everything You Need To Know About Manchester Pride 2018
Pride is becoming one of the biggest and recognised celebrations across the UK with annual festivals taking place in its major cities. People from across the country travel to Manchester in August for Manchester Pride 2018 to join in on recognising the LGBT community. If you didn’t know already, June was pride month which sets the start of the yearly celebrations across most major cities across the world that support LGBT rights.
Whether you’re political or not, pride means something different to everybody. It really depends on who you are and how you choose to celebrate pride. It’s not for everybody, but for some people, it means a lot. Pride is an extremely fun opportunity to learn more about the LGBT community and makes loads of new friends. If you plan on heading out to Manchester for one of the city’s most colourful events, then here is everything you need to know about Manchester Pride 2018.
1. When and Where?
The huge Manchester Pride 2018 celebrations will be held in Manchester’s very own Gay Village on Sackville and Canal Street. The Big Weekend will take place on Friday 24th – Monday 27th August with a weekend concert featuring big artists and a massive line-up including Rita Ora, Alexandra Burke, Nadine Coyle, Lucy Spraggan, tv personality Gok Wan and many more! You can buy wristbands for the whole weekend or even a day of your choice on the official Manchester Pride website.
Alternatively, you can turn up on the day where you can directly buy the wristband, however, it is recommended that you buy online in case they sell out because last year they sold out fast! Also, another tip would be to start planning your travel arrangements if you are coming from another city, as many will also be in the same shoes and train tickets will sell out quick as well as hotels! Tickets cost £28 for the full weekend and are currently on their 3rd release soon to sell out! Manchester’s Gay Village is located just around the corner from Manchester Piccadilly train station and is accessible by taxi and local bus services!
2. Things to do?
Each day at Pride holds something different. The opening night is on Friday, which will feature artists who will perform at the weekend concert in Sackville Gardens. A top tip here would be to try and get there as early as possible because it is a guarantee that it will get full! All the bars and clubs in the gay village will be packed entertainment including discounted alcoholic drinks that will last you the whole night! The Gay Village will be sparkled up and decorated in a flagship of beautiful colours, with free entry into all the best clubs around, including the most iconic gay nightclub G-A-Y.
Saturday holds the huge three-hour pride parade, which features marches by all the main LGBT charities and independent organisations with featured celebrities who recognise the community. Saturday is always the best and busiest day for Manchester Pride with everybody from the community coming together in celebration and there’s plenty of room to join the party! Then on Monday, the community comes together for the candlelit vigil in Sackville Gardens with a minute’s silence to remember those who have lost their lives due to HIV and recognising the stigma that many still face today.
3. Who Can Go?
Manchester Pride is open to all of the public no matter what age you are! Buying a wristband is necessary to be granted access into the Gay Village during the weekend. The space is open to people of all ages, however, if you are under 18 you need to be accompanied by an adult and over 18’s are only allowed in the nightclubs, which means that under 18’s can only really participate in the daytime events. There’s plenty of places in the Gay Village that serve food and drink with burger vans located all over the place and a few cafés too! There’s so much to see and do during pride and it gives you the perfect opportunity to make new friends!
Get ready for a colourful weekend! Will you be joining in the celebrations at Manchester Pride 2018 next month? Let us know below your thoughts!
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