My First Manchester Pride – Sunshine and Fun Times

After 8 years of revelling at prides around the country, I somehow have never made it to Manchester Pride until this year.

Having paid £28.25 for a weekend ticket, my expectations were high. Arriving on Friday night after 6 hours in a cramped car full of lesbians, and having already missed Anastacia’s performance, I was grumpy to say the least. We skipped the lestivities for the evening and went straight to our hotel. Arriving at the Travelodge, I noticed many women sporting quiffs taking their carefully ironed checked shirts out of their cars. I decided to befriend them and the stories they told me about the day were full of adventure and I was very jealous.

Bright and early on Saturday, we headed in to town for the parade. It was my third this year after London and Brighton, so I expected it to be much the same. Aside from the obvious similarities, the parade actually seemed to have even more of a party vibe, if that’s possible! It also felt a lot more commercial, with presence from many companies advertising their wares. I put my judgements on hold while I enjoyed the many freebies, including this fetching fire helmet and a large inflatable banana.

Next on the agenda was to finally head into the gay village for which I had paid my ticket money. I was delighted with the signposts for this area, as well as the fact that I was given a new wristband to add to the collection I have been amassing this summer. Inside, the party was already in full swing with acts on stage and drunk people tripping over their rainbow flags.

 

The area around the main stage was full of people enjoying the live music. Somebody dressed as easyjet cabin crew came over and sold me a pink shot with dry ice in it. How wonderfully camp! The atmosphere was friendly and although it was busy, it was easy enough to wander around and explore.
 




I quickly discovered that you are allowed to bring your drinks from anywhere in the village into the main stage area. At £2 per beer, I decided that this meant my ticket was a sound financial investment. My vendor of choice for the day was “beers for queers” as the business name made me feel that they were catering to all of my needs.

Ian McKellen appeared on the big screen and gave a beautiful speech as always, and I felt happy and sad and proud at the same time. Soon it was time for the headline and final act of the day, Pixie Lott. I wormed my way to the front and when she came on I was “that person” who gets on somebody’s shoulders and obscures the view. I loved it, she looked super-hot and gave a great performance.

The main stage area started winding down and we ventured into some of the bars on Canal Street. Amazingly, everywhere we went seemed to have lots of women and we felt very comfortable. Finally, we ventured into the lesbian bar, Vanilla.

 

We had to queue for what seemed like forever and when we finally got inside it was so crowded that we hardly had room to dance. Despite that, it was very social and lots of women came over and chatted with us. Nearly everyone was drinking vodka and Vimto, which I thought was a strange choice for anyone over the age of thirteen, and not something you should consume while wearing a white shirt.

The next day as we made our way back in to town, my hangover made me regret trying the weird local beverage. We returned to the main stage where the Sunday performances were beginning in the early afternoon. The atmosphere was completely different and there were far fewer people, all of whom looked hungover. Everyone was sitting on their freebie ponchos in front of the stage and it was much more of an Lfest-esque vibe. The acts seemed to have been picked to suit this and were much mellower than the day before, starting with acoustic performances. It worked really well.

We were all disappointed to leave, but none of us had booked Monday off work, so we left by 6pm for the long journey home. By this time, the party atmosphere was starting to pick up again, and I imagine the night would have gone on to be just as epic as the one before. I really wanted to stay to the end and see All Saints and relive my childhood, but I had to be a grown up and accept the responsibility of the work week ahead.

We all really enjoyed the weekend and it’s definitely worth the trek up North. I thought it was going to be cold because it always looks cold in Corrie, but the sun shined on us all weekend. The “Big Weekend” actually goes on into Monday, with performances right into the evening. There is so much going on that you would really need to take from Friday to Tuesday off work to be able to take advantage of it all and make your way there and back from London. With this in mind, the ticket price is actually very good value, and if you have foresight, unlike me, you can get the cheaper early bird tickets. It was fun beyond my expectations and I highly recommend adding it to your pride repertoire.

Review by Sarah L.