Canal Street Online Manchester

Pride responds

Pride responds

The second in our series of articles relating to Manchester Pride.

This week,John Stewart,CEO Manchester Pride responds...

Fundraising charity Manchester Pride celebrates the positive contribution that LGBT people make to the city’s spirit and diversity.  It's Manchester's oldest and largest annual festival and a success story that our community should be proud of.
It evolved from Pride marches and festivals and the campaign for LGBT equality.  That legacy lives on in Manchester Pride today.  Last year, we honoured Alan Turing’s life to remind us that the freedoms and rights that we now enjoy have only recently been won - a stark contrast to our guest from St Petersburg who spoke movingly on the main stage about the persecution LGBT people face in Russia.
Manchester Pride raises awareness of LGBT issues, creates opportunities for people and groups to participate and volunteer and raises much needed cash for charities and community organisations across the region.  Since 2003, we have raised over £1 million.
A 'bad' year for Manchester Pride means raising over £50,000 for charities.  2012 was a bad year because the recession is squeezing people, major events like the Olympics and Jubilee affected artist availability, the Big Weekend came before payday and horrendous rain fell for three of the four days.  Other festivals were cancelled.  Manchester Pride not only avoided that fate, but delivered a safe and successful event.
A bad year for a number of other UK Prides has meant massive financial losses, no money to charity and the collapse of the organisation.  Even an internationally recognised event like Sydney Mardi Gras has lost over half a million pounds in the last three years!  That’s not to excuse our disappointing fundraising total last year.  But it is important context. 
The Big Weekend still attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the Village, with many more watching the colourful parade.  Manchester Pride fringe creates opportunities for LGBT artists and community groups to showcase their talent at low or no cost while the Candlelit Vigil, also free to attend, provides time for reflection and a fitting end to the celebrations.
We know that, after ten years, Manchester Pride needs to be freshened up.  We already have plans for a monthly club night 'Foreplay' to be launched on February 7th, and a charity event at the Concorde Hangar on 6th April.
This year, you’ll see improvements to the festival itself, with new elements introduced and more covered space.  We will take time to talk to the community about these changes and listen to what else they expect from Manchester Pride.
The most frequently asked questions are Why can't the Big Weekend be free?' and 'Why is the Village closed off to people without a ticket?'.  The two are closely related. 
To hold a large and successful event in the city centre requires detailed planning, with licences to be secured, approved safety plans and consultations with those residents and businesses in and around the event site.
Quite simply the police and local authority would refuse permission for the event unless we prove our ability to manage the huge numbers of people joining our celebrations.  The barriers and security are part of this because they provide a safe and secure environment.  Indeed, crime levels in the village plummet over the Big Weekend.
But this, along with infrastructure such as staging, equipment, additional toilets and cleaning, all add to the cost of the event.  These costs are covered through sponsorship and ticket sales, with tickets accounting for around two-thirds of all income.
We know that we'll never please everyone.  Our community is as diverse as any other part of society and there will always be critics.  For ten years Manchester Pride has delivered safe and successful events where tens of thousands of LGBT people and their friends come together and celebrate the strides we have taken towards equality, support those around the world who do not enjoy the same freedoms, and to raise money for LGBT and HIV good causes.  We must be doing something right!

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Published: 17-Jan-2013: (1713)

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