Manchester Pride reveals all LGBTQ+ line-up for Gay Village Party

Manchester Pride has announced a stellar line up of entertainment and events for the Gay Village Party, seeing an all queer line-up performing across three stages. 

Cherished at the heart of the LGBTQ+ charity’s August bank holiday Manchester Pride Festival, the Gay Village Party line-up has been curated to provide a platform for and shine a light on some of the very best of Manchester’s LGBTQ+ talent, at the event held in the Gay Village.  

With its most diverse programme yet, local artists including mandla, Val Queen, Monopolyphonic, Jsky and legendary local drag queen Misty Chance will take to the stages across the weekend.

The event will also play host to The Untold Orchestra, Bimini Bon Boulash,  House Gospel Choir, Ginny Lemon, Tom Aspaul and the return of the ever popular Silent Disco. 

“Kicking off with Tans Filth and Joy on Friday, you can expect to see a line up which is truly representative of the diverse local LGBTQ+ communities of Greater Manchester,” said a spokesperson for Manchester Pride.

“The Gay Village Party is the beating heart of the Manchester Pride Festival. And, more so than ever before, this year’s event really is a celebration led by the community.”

The Alan Turing Stage at Manchester Pride

The Sackville Gardens stage will now be known as the Alan Turing Stage, Sackville Car Park has been renamed to the Playground Stage and indoor arena is now known as the Mancunity Stage.

The Alan Turning Stage has been renamed after Mancunian Alan Turing, who was one of the leading codebreakers of the world war two Enigma machine. His ideas led to early versions of modern computing and helped win World War II.

Yet in 1954, he died as a criminal for his homosexuality, having been convicted under Victorian laws as a homosexual and forced to endure chemical castration. Only in 2009 did the government apologise for his treatment.

With the introduction of the Alan Turing Stage, Manchester Pride aims to honour Alan Turing, and also all other people who have been convicted for being LGBTQ+.

The Alan Turing Stage will play host to the following line up:

Friday 27th August – From 7pm – 11pm, Trans Creative and Milk Presents will open the Manchester Pride Festival with a night of Trans FILTH and JOY.  The evening will bring a host of trans talent to the stage and some serious DJ action. 

Saturday 28th August – From 3.30pm – 11pm, the stage will welcome: Danny Beard and Friends to the stage, with performances from House Gospel Choir, Ginny Lemon, Cherry Valentine, Cheddar Gorgeous, Donna Trump and The Queeriosity Cabaret, Christian Gay, The Vicars Daughter, Mark Anthony, Lily Snatchdragon, Narcissa Nightshade, Eva Serration, Val Queen, Lill Queen, Lady Bushra and Yshee Black.

There will be a special appearance gracing the stage from 3.15pm – 3.30pm with Proms In The Park taking place before that from 12pm – 3pm.

Sunday 29th August – Heading into the Sunday, the stage will welcome Misty Chance and Friends from 2pm – 4pm and from 4pm – 11pm will be the Superbia Queer Music stage including Bimini Bon-Boulash, TomYumSim, Monopoly Phonic, Tom Aspaul, Jason Andrew Guest, Elephant Trees, Me and Deboe, 2che, Jsky and more.

Monday 30th August – Approaching the last day of the festival, from 1.30pm – 3.30pm, The Untold Orchestra, a Manchester based collaborative orchestra aiming to redefine the role of an orchestra in the 21st century, will be collaborating with a wide array of musicians, artists, venues and communities to ensure that in every project they reach new people. 

For the Gay Village Party they will be bringing you sounds of Bowie, Prince, Elton John, Motown and even Disney classics.

The Candlelit Vigil

Closing the Festival at 9pm will be the Candlelit Vigil.  

The culmination of The Manchester Pride Festival is The Vigil in which Sackville Gardens is turned into a sea of flickering candles, as visitors take a minute to remember those lost to the HIV virus and join together to fight the epidemic worldwide and the stigma that still exists.

The Candlelit Vigil also provides visitors with a space to remember those who may no longer be with us and presents an opportunity to stand together in a united front, as we recognise the many challenges that still exist and face LGBT+ communities from Manchester to the rest of the world.

The Vigil is the spiritual heart of The Manchester Pride Festival and there is a truly magical and moving atmosphere of quiet reflection in the gardens.

A wristband is not required to attend the Vigil however the capacity of the site is limited, so early arrival is recommended. This year’s Candlelit Vigil has been creatively produced by freelance theatre-maker, writer, performer, producer, HIV activist and star of the recent series It’s a Sin, Nathaniel J Hall. 

The Playground Stage and Mancunity Stage

The Playground Stage will host a playground of activities over the weekend, including a team of promanadas who will be getting festival goers up on stage and involved in contests, dance routines and games. 

There will also be a chance to be crowned the Maypole Queen, take time to chat to the organisations taking part in The Expo, enjoy the fairground rides and relax in the chill area and bar.

The square will be open Friday 27th August (7pm – 11pm),  Saturday 28th August (12-11pm), Sunday 29th August (12-11pm) and Monday 30th August 12-8pm. 

The newly named Mancunity Stage, will host three days worth of entertainment and activities, including: 

Friday 27th August – to start the weekend, from 7pm until midnight, the stage will play host to Fat Pride. 

Following their inaugural stream for Alternative Manchester Pride, FAT PRIDE is back and taking over the Mancunity Stage for a whole evening of dancing, partying, showing off and feeling good. With guest DJs, dancers, performers and heaps and heaps of Fat Love this will be a night to celebrate big bodies. 

Saturday 28th August – heading into Saturday, from 2pm -7pm will be the Swagga Takeover, a jam packed event with a heavy line up of Manchester’s very best R&B and Bashment DJ’s. 

Alongside this, there will be a show stopping headline performance from Platinum, who are best known for their garage classics What’s it Gonna Be and Love Shy. Not to mention the Swagga dancers who will be taking to the stage. 

Then from 7pm – midnight will be the Black Pride MCR Takeover, which will take festival goers on a musical journey, to celebrate the black Roots of House Music, disco, funky house, vocal and tribal, brought to the festival by four exceptional DJ’s and iconic dancers from the Northern Vogue Ballroom scene. 

Sunday 29th August – From 2pm – 6pm will be the Silent Disco which returns for another year to give those at the festival the opportunity to actually sing while no-one is listening. 

For those who want to sing aloud, the Sing-a-long Cinema will be shown from 12pm – 6pm, with the choices of what is shown being down to the audience. 

Queer Women’s Takeover

From 7pm until midnight will be the Queer Women’s Takeover. 

Bringing some of the best of Manchester’s queer female talent, all under one Mancunity roof. The takeover will include Stacey Bee representing TriBeCa’s 90’s Pop Smash Hits, DJ Mix-Stress founder, curator and resident DJ of the events and arts collective, RebeccaNeverbecky, will be bringing house and RNB vibes. 

Expect funky house; electro pop & queer anthems from DJ Róis, Founder of What She Said Club, which gives space to LGBT/Queer women, GNC & non-binary people.

Finishing off the programme of Manchester powerhouses will be a Vanilla and Swagga collaboration, bringing high energy, RNB and bashment. 

Tickets are still available to purchase for the Gay Village Party, with a limited amount available ticketmaster.co.uk/manchester-pride-festival-tickets.