PROMOTION
AFTER twelve months of celebration and campaigning, Manchester Pride has announced its fundraising total for 2014. It raised £54,000 for LGBT and HIV charities and organisations, putting a halt to a five year decline.
The results of these positive steps are there for everyone to see – a fantastic Pride Fringe, a fantastic Big Weekend and a significant improvement on the charitable donation
This year’s parade, the focal point of the festival for the people of the city, saw TV star Lea DeLaria of hit show Orange is the New Black as Grand Marshall leading the floats.
All Saints
This event and others across the year formed the first steps in a new direction for the organisation. This was informed by the LGBT community and attendees as organisers invited them to “Be Involved” via Listening Groups and through the creation of the Community Collective. It also saw the introduction of measures to reduce costs and boost fundraising following a drop in fundraising for the past five years.
Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive for Manchester Pride, said, “We had a big challenge this year to begin reinventing the festival and remind the LGBT community of Manchester what an important part of the year the Manchester Pride Festival is.
“The Listening Groups and Community Collective enabled us to talk to the community face-to-face, hearing their thoughts firsthand, and we hope they saw the effects of their feedback throughout the year.
Lea Delaria
“I am proud that we have raised £54,000 which will again go to charitable causes, and that we made a shift from the declining fundraising totals. This was a direct result of our new strategy and programme of events and I cannot deny that the great weather over the Big Weekend and beginnings of economic recovery in the North West had an important part to play.
“As we move towards the 25th anniversary of an LGBT celebration in Manchester we will continue to implement the strategy and hope to see this figure increase further in 2015.”
Chair of the Community Collective, Manchester Pride Community Patron and prominent Canal Street businessman, Anthony D Cooper, said, “2014 has been a great year for Manchester Pride. Positive steps have been made towards re-engaging with the local LGBT community. The Community Collective and Listening Groups have seen the community working with Manchester Pride to ensure the festival is an event that the LGBT community can feel proud to be part of for the next 25 years.
“The results of these positive steps are there for everyone to see – a fantastic Pride Fringe, a fantastic Big Weekend and a significant improvement on the charitable donation that will help so many of the LGBT causes that Manchester Pride supports.”
Crowd at the main stage
The first fundraising event, Supersonic, saw X Factor winner Sam Bailey singing under the wings of Concorde and raised £9,000 for charitable causes.
August welcomed not only the Big Weekend but also the Pride Fringe with a series of art, culture, heritage, debate, sport, music and film events celebrating the great diversity of the LGBT community.
The popular and thought-provoking event Coming Out, from Script to Screen, led by Corrie creator Tony Warren inspired debate around the concept of characters in soaps coming out.
The Pride Fringe also hosted the exclusive world premier of Pride, a film about LGBT activists who supported the miners through the 1984 strike, bringing together two seemingly alien communities to form a surprising and triumphant partnership. Pride Fringe also staged a Q&A with cast member Joe Gilgun and writer Stephen Beresford.
The year’s events came to a close with an unforgettable Big Weekend over the August bank holiday. Highlights included the Parade headed up by Lea DeLaria and performances by artists including Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, All Saints, Pixie Lott and Anastacia.
The Big Weekend brought just over 37,000 people into Manchester’s Gay Village and there were 133,924 visits to the site over the four days.
Read the Manchester Pride 2014 Annual Review.
Follow the charity on Twitter @manchesterpride or visit manchesterpride.com.
