The Manchester Weekly from The Mill

Should Manchester Pride be a party or a protest?

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Episode notes

Manchester Pride, a large-scale music event with huge headliners and a packed schedule filled with music, dance and drag performances, returned last weekend. The city was filled with colour and thousands of people turned up to celebrate in Gay Village. But this year, Manchester Pride also faced fresh criticism over its relationship with Booking.com, a key sponsor of the festival who have faced criticism for listing rooms in the occupied West Bank, and many, including performers, withdrew from attending the festival. The involvement of big corporate sponsors like Booking.com, and the direction that Pride has taken more broadly, becoming more like a festival than anything resembling its revolutionary roots, has raised a crucial question: should Pride be a party or a protest? Mollie sits down with our new editor, Shannon Keating, to discuss.

Recommendations:

Alt Pride Festival 2024, Platt Fields Market Garden, 7th and 8th September - tickets here

Should Manchester Pride be a party or a protest? The Mill

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