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Manchester Pride is the latest to announce triumphant return over August bank holiday weekend

Manchester Pride 2021

Manchester Pride in 2019. (Shirlaine Forrest/Getty)

Manchester Pride is set to make a triumphant return over the August bank holiday weekend, and to say queer people are excited would be an understatement.

Organisers confirmed that Manchester Pride 2021 will hopefully go ahead from 27 to 30 August after Boris Johnson detailed England’s roadmap to easing coronavirus restrictions.

The fourth and final step of the plan, due to go ahead no earlier than 21 June, will see “no legal limits on social contact” – meaning major events like Pride festivals could go ahead once more.

Manchester Pride is working to deliver “all of the traditional elements” expected of the festival while also introducing a number of “tweaks and allowances”.

The main difference will lie in the MCR Pride Live event, which will go ahead in a smaller venue with capacity reduced by 50 per cent to ensure safety.

“Manchester Pride is proud to be part of a global Pride movement that celebrates advancements in equality and challenges discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ people,” said Mark Fletcher, CEO of the Pride festival.

“As both a charity and organisers one of the UK’s largest Pride festivals, we had to fight our survival throughout 2020.”

Manchester Pride mindful of ‘uncertainty’ around COVID-19

Fletcher said that having to postpone the 2020 Pride “was necessary but extremely hard for myself and the team”.

“I am so pleased that we are able to plan for an event in 2021,” he continued. “Naturally there is some uncertainty over what will happen in the coming months but we have to plan now in order to be able to deliver a festival on this scale.”

Fletcher said they are “confident” that they can deliver the event safely by reducing the capacity of MCR Pride Live, provided the vaccine rollout goes to plan.

“With the health and safety of everyone involved our key priority, we remain cautiously optimistic and have plans in place to respond to a number of potential scenarios.”

Manchester Pride organisers said that, if an in-person event is not possible by August, the festival will proceed with an “alternative, innovative, world class celebration that incorporates socially distanced events and digital elements”.

Tickets bought for Manchester Pride 2020 will automatically roll over for this year’s event, organisers said.

Manchester Pride was cancelled alongside almost every other Pride festival last year as COVID-19 began its rapid spread across the world.

The English government’s plan to ease coronavirus restrictions, released on Monday, has given renewed hope that Pride festivals could potentially go ahead this summer.

Pride in London announced on Friday (26 February) that its event will also be going ahead, while Birmingham Pride unveiled plans earlier this week.

Manchester Pride 2021 tickets

Manchester Pride tickets will be ‘available soon’ via Ticketmaster here.

You can get weekend or day Rainbow Passes which give you access to the Gay Village Party on Canal Street and the main stage MCR Pride Live, with a lineup to be confirmed.

If you’d just prefer to spend the weekend at the Gay Village Party then you can buy cheaper weekend or day passes which gives you access to that area only.

To find out more and to get tickets when they go on sale go here.

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