Manchester Pride – Campaign, Celebrate, Engage – 25 August 2018

The Manchester Pride Parade is one of the most highly anticipated events, with thousands of people marching proudly together through the streets.

I did see three members of the group marching in the parade, which took more than two hours to pass by, but I was just watching. The crowds were so big that it was difficult to find a good place to stand and get good photos (… so apologies now for the poor quality). On a personal note I enjoyed the entries by Manchester Lesbians Stand By Your Trans, George House Trust and the leather and rubber men, but the NHS and the fire brigade got the biggest cheers.

Later, I went to Superbia, a free of charge, diverse, accessible, intelligent and welcoming programme of new queer art including ‘Not Going Shopping’, a brand new sound installation from Abigail Ward; Conor Collins’ HIV+ blood portrait of Princess Diana; new MMU graduate art, new film and more. There was a packed out interactive talk, by Superbia Project Manager Greg Thorpe, who took us on a history tour of Pride, from the 1969 Stonewall rebellion in New York, to Europe and beyond, to Pride around the world today, using imagery, video, activist profiles and memoirs to remind us why we still march today.