Manchester Pride Disbanded and Under Review

Manchester Pride has been voluntarily disbanded and is currently under review by the charity regulator, with the future of the event in doubt. Artists, suppliers, and freelancers went unpaid, some of them owing thousands, according to the artists and creative union Equity.

Financial Difficulties

The Pride organizers cited rising costs, declining ticket sales, and an unsuccessful bid to host Euro Pride as reasons for the decision. The organization is a limited liability charity that promotes LGBTQ+ equality and hosts the annual parade and live events. Recent reports suggest the company has been in financial difficulty and has had to replace a number of directors in recent months. All three directors appointed in August resigned this month.

Current Financial Situation

A current picture of Manchester Pride’s finances is not available as the last update was submitted in September 2024 for the year to December 2023 and showed a consolidated deficit of almost £500,000. At this point, the company said it could continue as a going concern as a review of the charity’s strategy would take place, detailed budgets and cash flow forecasts had been prepared for 2024 and 2025, and the company had achieved a surplus by August 2024. Manchester Pride said at the time it had a plan to diversify revenue sources and rebuild cash reserves.

Regulatory Action

As a charity, Manchester Pride Limited is regulated by the Charity Regulator, which says it has opened a compliance case “to examine concerns raised” about the organization. “We are working with the trustees to support them with the next regulatory steps,” a spokesman said. Manchester Pride is understood to have lodged a serious incident report relating to its finances.

Impact on Freelancers and Suppliers

Directly affected by the liquidation is freelance events manager Abbie Ashall, who is owed £2,000 after missing her payday in September. Ms Ashall said she was not the worst affected; others are having to pay even more out of pocket because they hired and paid people for events they were contracted to run, all in the expectation of being paid by Manchester Pride.

What Went Wrong

Manchester Pride’s difficulties can be partly attributed to the model of making people pay for a wristband to gain entry to public places. “I don’t think the business model worked at the end of the day,” Ms. Ashall said. "And I think not enough people have bought tickets… we’re seeing a massive trend in the events and festival industry that people are just not buying tickets."

Next Steps

Creatives waiting to be paid have been urged to contact Equity Union. “We are gathering contract information to explore all options to repay amounts owed and we will begin these processes immediately,” said Karen Lockney, Equity’s North West officer. Details of the amounts owed have been passed on to the insolvency administrators, Manchester Pride’s board of trustees said in a statement.

Future of Pride in Manchester

A Pride celebration will take place in August next year with the support of the city council, Manchester City Council said. "There will undoubtedly be fear about the future – but Pride is much more than the organization that runs it. We want to support a new chapter for Manchester Pride weekend, which will take place next August." “The city council will play a full and active role in bringing the LGBTQ community together to help shape how the city moves forward and ensure a bright and prosperous future for Manchester Pride.”