Manchester Pride on the Brink of financial collapse

[defrazzled]

Article from the Manchester Mill on line newspaper. This is a huge event in the city every year. I used to run a Charity and find the lack of financial acumen and responsibility bizarre for an organisation of this size.

Exclusive: Manchester Pride is on the brink of collapse

The Mill understands that the organisation is about to go into administration
By The Mill • 16 Oct 2025
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Photo: Manchester Pride website.

Manchester Pride is preparing to enter administration, The Mill has learned. Two people with direct knowledge of the situation have told us that Manchester Pride Ltd, the organisation that runs the event, has run out of money and can no longer pay its bills.
We have not heard back from Manchester Pride or their PR firm, despite two attempts to get their response. Manchester City Council did not confirm or deny our story, and referred us to Pride.
Yesterday morning, a number of artists and performers wrote a letter complaining about not being paid for their performances in this year’s Pride, which took place in August. They said they had received “automated replies, contradictions, and shifting expectations” and that Manchester Pride had missed its 30-day payment terms.
The letter, which has been shared with The Mill, went on: “This isn’t just an administrative failure – it’s a breach of trust and legality.” Artists are said to have been left struggling to pay their rent and bills.
The Mill understands that Manchester Pride has been seeking other sources of funding in recent months but has been unable to find enough capital to carry on. It is expected to enter administration – the official process for an insolvent company – in the coming days.
The last published accounts for Manchester Pride Ltd only go up to the end of 2023, but they show that it was already in trouble. Despite generating £2.7m in revenue, it lost £467,000 that year, almost as much as it lost in 2020, the worst year of the pandemic. That left the organisation with a negative cashflow of £356,000, the worst cash position its had in the past decade.
It’s unclear how Pride has performed financially since then, because the accounts covering 2024 won’t be due until December, but a note in the 2023 accounts suggests that the board were worried about the financial health of the organisation, and that they made “appropriate enquiries” about whether Manchester Pride Ltd was still a going concern.

Manchester Pride Ltd is, like most significant charities, both a registered company and a registered charity, and it has been criticised in the past for veering away from its campaigning mission and becoming overly commercial. It also operates a non-profit events company called Manchester Pride Events, which is a subsidiary of the main entity.
Pride is one of the largest events in the city – regularly attracting more than 100,000 visitors – and its collapse is likely to have major implications, including questions about how Manchester will put on a Pride event next year.

“Supporting” is a nebulous concept.

Doesn't really say much.

Having said all this, there are new grass pride events springing up because people are fed up of the corporate shit, and this has happened prior to Manchester Pride going pop.

So maybe this is what's needed on many levels.

It seems tome that something like this should be similar to say, a local Greek festival. The Greek community in my city has run this for many years, it uses the grounds and facilities of a large Greek Orthodox parish. It includes dancers, some musicians from the Greek community playing Greek music, and a lot of food.

Or the town I work in has a Disabilty Pride event - this is an afternoon event with some vendors of interest to the participants. The mayor gives a speech. They do some awards. Have a lunch. And sing karaoke. I'm usually at this as a vendor and people have a lot of fun.

These are very local events mainly for the people in the group to enjoy, though there is a sharing with the community element. That isn't the focus though. There's no municipally funded major parade through the city, that's really reserved for a few events that include everyone like the city civic holiday.

That seems like a more appropriate level for something like Pride, not the specific events but the focus. Something a little more personal. Though - I do wonder how fraught it would be to decide what an event like this would look like. I can imagine differernt elements having really differernt ideas about it.

Psst! Anyone want to buy a Pride? One careful owner

Manchester Pride on sale to highest bidder as brand hits market as valuable asset - Manchester Evening News https://share.google/bXg8YovNhyYpX6aI8

😮😮

Shall we have a collection and buy Pride for Mumsnet? 😈

I'll chuck in a few quid.

< snorts >

You are so naughty but the thought is quite insanely inspiring. Could we?? Would Boiled Beetle do another book run to raise funds?? 👀

looks around for JKR

I agree homophopia is still an issue, despite a straight women saying it isn't.

I do think "Pride" has had its day.

I just couldn't get over that they would support a new festival but not use that money to pay the people who have been fucked over.

No one needs a festival. People should be paid for their work.

I have gay friends saying Pride has had its day because it lost contact with grass roots and instead became corporate. Not only did they say this, but they backed this up with action. They feel there is still a need to promote the message and challenge homophobia - so they set up their own local Pride event last year to go back to basics. I fully support them.

What, the local Natwest staff walking slowly behind a bus while all wearing glitter cowboy hats and waving wee plastic flags is no longer inspiring? Who knew.

Pride hasn't been Pride for years.

Tbh protest/pressure groups are SUPPOSED to make themselves redundant; that"s the whole point. But once they achieve their stated aims they risk becoming moribund and actually reversing gains.

LGB rights are firmly established in law - yes homophobia still exists but I am unsure a Rainbow festival is actually going to address that.

What would the rebrand be?

Prude

The liquidators had previously reported that the Manchester Pride Ltd charity owed creditors £2,117,640, with a separate Manchester Pride Events Ltd subsidiary also owing creditors £1,037,392. However, the total sum of money owed across both the charity and its subsidiary was not yet clear.

Jesus. Sad times indeed. But I bet the people running Manchester Pride were paying themselves...

Come on girls, let's have a whip round! The "Manchester Pride-related assets" must be worth at least, what - £7.50?

https://www.sia-group.co.uk/property1/manchester-pride-brand-asset-acquisition-opportunity/

Absolutely this. I wouldn't go near it now, and haven't for years, neither any friend I know. It's a shame as it was once a very freeing and joyful thing before it became many other people's bandwagon.

The answer to homophobia is not jamming things in people's faces, overselling, over messaging to the point of boring and turning people off, and making the group in question become something that everyone groans at the sight of. Force, scolding and patronisingly 'educating' people does nothing to help tolerance, it slams it into reverse.

It's also very much not helped by certain groups to push increasingly hard at boundaries of kink, acceptability, incorporating non consenting others in their sexual experiences without any respect for consent, and exhibitionism, while insisting it's all a big part of being LGB in their attempts to get away with it. No it bloody isn't. It's perfectly possible to be gay without behaving badly.

Why the hell not?! We could separate into groups and create a bidding war to add a touch frisson to the game. It would be fun 😂

I would happily chuck in a few quid.

I think the people who originally ran it will just regroup under a different name, and carry on as though nothing had happened. Meanwhile council tax will go up to cover the losses.

Prune

After all aren't we just old, dried up, wrinkly, not to everyone's tastes and invariably shoved to one dark corner (of the cupboard).

We loosen people's bowels!

Pretend

🦄🌈

It's not a council thing. Manchester Pride is/was a limited company.

The council are refusing to run their own Pride this year to take its place. Prob can't afford it.

If they’ve got adult social care, SEN, education, bins, libraries, pot holes, I can see why they would drop Pride down the list. It must be just above municipal flower bedding schemes, but everyone likes flowers at the shops and Pride has got too polarised to justify it to tax payers.