‘A diverse and welcoming city’ - A chat with Manchester Pride CEO, Mark Fletcher

Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride, is responsible for overseeing, designing and implementing the strategy for the charity's various events. His role incorporates the delivery of events throughout the year and initiatives that keep Manchester Pride connected and engaged with communities across the city.

It's important that we act as a beacon for the rest of the world to see what the freedom of a city is truly about

We sat down with Mark to discuss the importance of having the Manchester Pride charity and annual festival, how it's developed over the years, how businesses and individuals can support the LGBTQIA+ community all year round, and what newcomers can expect from this year's festival.

Harley Young: What does being the CEO of Manchester Pride look like? 

Mark Fletcher: My job can involve anything from meeting with artists and agents for the festival to meeting with politicians to talk about policies within the region and how we can support that, or attending community engagement sessions. Most days, you’ll find me chained to my desk reviewing proposals and providing suggestions, absorbing research and making sure that the charity is kept up to speed with what it is that our communities want us to be representing.

HY: Why is Manchester Pride so important for the city? 

MF: When you think about Manchester, you think about Pride. LGBT+ equality and the advancement of equality is at its heart and is all about what the city stands for. Manchester is a pioneering city and it’s championed the modern rights movement and equal rights in all forms for many years. There’s a lot of work still to be done, let’s make no mistake. But it’s part of what the city is and what we as Mancunians stand for - we celebrate and champion all diversity in all forms. Manchester Pride stands as testament to the inclusivity that this city thrives on and strives towards achieving.

MF: It's incredibly important that we celebrate Pride. The modern Pride movement has brought so many freedoms for so many people over the years, and we've really made progress. But not everybody has made progress. Not everybody has the same levels of freedom. We'll still keep fighting until those freedoms are achieved. 

Not only do we have progress to make, we also have to stop and celebrate where we've come from and what we have achieved because, if we don't, then we're at risk of losing those freedoms. You don't have to look too far right now to see some of the harrowing situations or legislation that might be coming down the road in some of the countries that are starting once again to discriminate against queer people for being queer. We will not stand for that in Manchester. We will not tolerate it. 

It's really important to the city and its leaders that we act as a beacon for the rest of the world to see what the freedom of a city is truly about. We do that in Manchester in a way in which I've not seen anywhere else in the UK and at different events across the world as well. We do it in a really unique way and I think it's because there's that real sense of commitment by the community. That’s not just through celebrating, but through championing diversity which makes Manchester Pride all the more a special event.

HY: Is Manchester one of the most diverse and welcoming cities in the UK?

MF: Manchester is definitely one of the most diverse and welcoming cities. I think it's because it's sprinkled with that northern spirit and, more than anything, we celebrate people being people. We recognise differences and we embrace them, we don't challenge them. 

As an homogenous community, as a city region, first and foremost, you can't step anywhere without seeing that or acknowledging it. I would like to think that, because of the special place that we played in the rich heritage and history of LGBT+ progress, [Manchester] is one of the best places for queer people to live, rest and play.

HY: What are you most looking forward to at this year's Pride festival? 

MF: We're doing something quite groundbreaking this year with our stage takeover. We started these a couple of years ago, working really closely with our communities all year round and more so now than ever before, to collaborate and co-design what it is that we deliver at the festival. 

This year, we've been able to work with House of Spice and the fabulous Lucky Roy Singh to create the Queer Asian Takeover. Queer Asian performers and people have not been platformed or elevated as much, or in this way at all, at any other Pride event in the UK. 

What we're able to do this year is respond to a harrowing experience that was had by some of the members of the House of Spice in 2022 by collaborating in an authentic way. So we've been able to sit around a table, to work with members of our community to listen to the stories that they've experienced, and to provide an opportunity to platform what it is that they do but also to draw a focus to the fact that this injustice is still happening. This is happening on our doorstep, in proclaimed safe spaces for queer people,where there's levels of racism that are just not acceptable. We've been able to empower our space by providing an opportunity for them to curate a stage for themselves. It's by queer Asian people for the rest of us to go along to, to take part in, and to understand and experience. I'm really excited for that.

MF: Something new that we’ve created this year is our Activism Hub. In 2022, we pledged to make sure that activism was centred and rooted deeply in the foundations of the festival. We've taken our time to think about how we can do that in the most authentic way, but also in the most accessible way for people who perhaps don't think that they're activists or want to learn a bit more about what activism means to queer people in Manchester today. There'll be a number of people talking throughout the weekend, educating people as to how they can campaign against legislation, how they can campaign to make a change and what modern activism looks like.

And then there’s Youth Pride MCR. It’s gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years. This is designed by young people for young people and it provides a safe space for them to come along with their friends and allies to explore and celebrate their identity in a way in which they’ve told us that they want to.

MF: There's also the parade as well, of course. It's going to be the longest parade we've ever had. We've got the most participants in it we’ve ever had and I'm proud to say this year the majority of those taking part are walking entries. So we are literally taking to the streets to march for freedom and draw focus to some of the issues that are still facing LGBT+ people today. 

That's one of my favourite events and it has been throughout the term that I've been in this job because you never lose the sense of being humbled when you see people coming out to support and champion who you are as a person. Whether you're seeking validation or not, it's that sense of belonging and respect that is shared by not just queer people, but allies and families that come out to support that as well. It tells you a lot about a city when you look at the makeup of the people marching in and supporting the parade. 

Don't get me started on the Gay Village Party because we’ll be here all day.

HY: How can businesses (and individuals) support the LGBTQIA+ community year round, not just during pride month or at pride festivals? 

MF: A lot of what we've been working on for the past few years is year-round engagement. We've created a number of different initiatives for organisations to get involved in, an example being our All Equals Charter. It shows businesses how they can push the modern Pride movement forward within their workplace, ensuring that it's aligned with a set of values and principles that we've identified on our charter.

From an individual perspective, we operate a number of community sessions throughout the year. It's an opportunity to come together with people from lots of different groups within our communities, to learn different experiences, to have your say, and to help us shape what future pride events look like as well. All of these activities are listed on our website, we promote them all year round. The more engagement we get, the more connected our communities are to what it is that we're delivering. I can take a sense of real pride in saying that what we deliver is a Pride celebration by our communities for our communities. That collaboration comes through many different ways of engagement. 

MF: That's just scratching the surface, really. The modern Pride movement is here to stay. We've got a lot of work to do and we've been creative in thinking about how we can bring people along because it's a question that often gets asked. How do we engage with you year round? What does that look like?

As a charity, we operate grant funding schemes as well. We work with a number of wonderful service-providing charities, groups and organisations that are doing vital work in the communities, so we looked to tie in those relationships as well. We also ask people to engage with fundraising for Manchester Pride funds so that we can continue to award those grants and that central funding that's needed, at grassroots level, to ensure that our communities can thrive.

HY: What advice would you give to someone attending their first Pride festival? 

MF: Be safe, first and foremost. Be sensible. Have fun. There’s a lot to engage with at the festival, I'd encourage people to do research before coming along because there's so much on offer. When we're talking about making the festival accessible, it's to appeal to as many different members of our communities as possible. Some people want to come along and see some live performances from queer talent and allies on some of our stages - that's great. 

If some people perhaps don't want the noise or crowded spaces like that, check out what we're doing with our Superbia programme instead. See if there's ways in which you can step into safe spaces amongst other queer people that’s perhaps not as intense. For me, seeing the parade is a must have - I think everybody needs to see a Pride parade within their life. It's something incredibly special. Everybody's different, so find your own way. And, with it being Manchester, make sure you put lots of sunscreen on and bring an umbrella. 

Find out more about this year’s Manchester Pride Festival.

Read next: Alternatively wed: Afflecks awarded marriage licence

Read again: 10 things to do in Manchester this August

Get the latest news to your inbox

Get the latest food & drink news and exclusive offers by email by signing up to our mailing list. This is one of the ways that Confidentials remains free to our readers and by signing up you help support our high quality, impartial and knowledgable writers. Thank you!