40,000 people expected at Manchester Pride celebrations
It's one of the biggest celebrations of the LGBTQ+ community
Last updated 24th Aug 2024
Thousands of people are making their way into Manchester city centre as this year's Pride gets underway.
The festival is one of the biggest celebrations of the LGBTQ+ community, with over 40,000 expected to attend over the bank holiday weekend.
Mark Fletcher is CEO of the festival and says;
"I often get asked, 'Why is Pride so important?'
"We've fought so hard for the freedoms for LGBTQ+ equality. But not everybody has the same level of freedoms.
"And right now within the world that we live in, we risk having those freedoms taken away from us.
"So we have to come out and remind people that's it's a human right to recognise as who you are."
To mark Pride weekend in the city, the first ever Bee Network Pride Bus has been unveiled. The bus has been specially wrapped to mark the big weekend and can now be seen carrying passengers on the Bee Network.
A Pride tram has been out on the network since Pride month in June and Starling Bikes have also been specially wrapped for Pride weekend.
It's as travel bosses across Greater Manchester urge people to use public transport this weekend.
As well as Pride today - Man City are playing at home, Peter Kay's on at the AO Arena, New Order are performing at Wythenshawe Park, and Emirates Old Trafford is hosting the cricket.
Meanwhile, there were reports of people not being able to get it to watch Jessie J at a pride event last night (Friday) and crowds building up outside the main village stage.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said;
"At 10:15pm this evening we were made aware by event organisers that the performance taking place at the main stage at Manchester Pride Festival was reaching full capacity.
"Our priority is to ensure those in attendance are safe, and police attended to support the event organisers. We continue to monitor the situation and we are working closely with stewards and security at the event to ensure the weekend runs smoothly.
"No serious injuries have been reported, and the crowds were swiftly dispersed."