Manchester Pride Festival has unveiled the theme for this year’s celebrations, as tickets have officially gone on sale.
The charity behind beloved annual event – which is a celebration of LGBTQ+ life in Manchester, and always brings thousands of people onto the streets of the city centre every August bank holiday weekend – has revealed what the Festival’s theme will be for 2024, as well as confirming its long-awaited programme of events and activities.
This year, the iconic Manchester Bee will be taking pride of place, as Manchester Pride will be paying homage to the city’s emblem through the theme ‘Buzzin To Be Queer – A Hive of Progress’.
Every year, the Festival lineup offers a wide range of activities for the LGBTQ+ community to join together and celebrate, as well as providing opportunities to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, engage families and young people, and celebrate queer arts and culture.
This year’s Festival is set to kick-off on Friday 23 August and round out on Monday 26 August.
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Manchester Pride has unveiled the theme for 2024’s Festival / Credit: Manchester Pride
The iconic Gay Village Party, Candlelit Vigil, Superbia Weekend, and Family Pride and Youth Pride MCR events are among those to have been confirmed as returning this year.
A Human Rights Forum is also on the lineup this year, and is set to bring together prominent activists and thought leaders to discuss the challenges that continue to face LGBTQ+ communities today, and what people can do to bring about political and social change.
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And of course, the highlight of this year’s Festival events programme has to be the return of the annual Manchester Pride Parade through the streets of Manchester, where the 2024 theme will on show and celebrated in all its glory with a powerful march that organisers say “symbolises the enduring significance of unity, resilience, and the ongoing fight for equality”.
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“We’re back this year with a theme that we feel will unite the people of Manchester and our visitors under,” commented Mark Fletcher, who is the CEO of Manchester Pride.
“This symbol means so much to the city, demonstrating how Mancunians work hard to achieve great things and stand together in unity.
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“Mancunians are proud to champion the city’s diverse communities and celebrate our differences, and this year, we will celebrate our theme and see the ‘Progress Bee’ become more than a symbol, instead becoming a call to action.
“It reminds us that, just like worker bees collaborating in a hive, LGBTQ+ communities and their allies can achieve great things when we work together to influence change, and it also symbolises the ongoing commitment to progress for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and equality that Manchester Pride champions all year round.”
Manchester Pride Festival returns to the city this August bank holiday weekend / Credit: Manchester Pride
Manchester Pride Festival 2024 is free to attend, with the exception of the Gay Village Party – which the first round of tickets and VIP options for are now officially on sale.
There are a variety of ticket offerings available, including day tickets and weekend passes.
Weekend tickets will set you back £37.50 each, with £2.50 from every ticket being donated to the Manchester Pride Community Fund and the money going directly to LGBTQ+ causes and projects in Greater Manchester through the distribution of grants.
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Low income tickets will be available in the coming weeks too in a bid to ensure the Festival is accessible and inclusive for all in response to the cost of living crisis, and family tickets are also available at £54 to give access to a family of up to four people.
Thousands of FREE tickets to The Big Night of Musicals at AO Arena have been released
Thomas Melia
There are thousands of free tickets up for grabs to attend ‘The Big Night of Musicals’ in Manchester next year which features a variety of theatre classics.
The curtain has risen once again as returning favourite, The Big Night of Musicals, is coming to AO Arena for a fourth year.
Hosted once again by the one and only Jason Manford, this event contains segments from some of the world’s greatest theatre productions.
Fronted by The National Lottery, this showcase is a thank you to all players whose money has supported more than 20,000 theatre-related projects totalling £1.3 billion.
These funds have been used on many performing arts resources including restoring theatres and enabling hundreds of musical-related projects to commence.
This isn’t something to be missed out on as the bill is shaping up to be one of the event’s biggest to date featuring stars from the West End and some of the most notorious shows.
Attendees can expect to hear some familiar favourites in the likes of Bat Out of Hell, Here & Now: The Steps Musical, Mean Girls and more.
There’s even an exclusive preview of the upcoming theatre adaptation of a Disney superhero as snippets from ‘Hercules’ will be performed live.
Guests even have a chance to be in the same room as musical theatre legend Carrie Hope Fletcher as she takes on the role of Calamity Jane in the theatre show of the same name.
Dear Evan Hansen is also on the bill and if you aren’t free for the musical ensemble, it’s running at Palace Theatre Manchester from 18-22 February next year and tickets are available right now.
This event has a super varied lineup too, from throwback pop bangers to Wild West heroines, this night really caters to everyone.
In true musical style, there will be big, bold performances and, of course, lots of excellent surprises all set to make a fantastic night of live music at the AO Arena.
All National Lottery players have the chance to reserve up to four tickets, the only cost is proof they’ve purchased a product from the National Lottery and a £2 booking fee per ticket.
Tickets for the ‘Big Night of Musicals’ on 25 January are already on sale you can try your luck at grabbing some free seats HERE.
The UK’s much-loved ‘day rave’ with Vicky and Jon McClure returns to Manchester for New Year’s Eve
Thomas Melia
One of the UK’s most popular new club events and pioneering ‘day rave’ is returning to Manchester this New Year’s, featuring founders Jon and Vicky McClure, as well as some very special guests.
The Line of Duty star and Reverend and the Makers frontman started the parent-friendly event back in January of this year as an alternative day out for those looking to have a party and still manage an early bedtime. Since then it’s gone on to become a real phenomenon and is only getting bigger.
With Vicky swapping UK dramas and crime thrillers for the discotheque and ‘Big Jon’ switching lanes from his usual rock, indie and alternative roots to favour timeless dance tracks to still get people up on their feet, Day Fever has gone down a storm all over the country.
With their first year coming towards a close, they now look set for arguably their biggest day rave to date as Day Fever will be hosting a special New Year’s Eve for their final hurrah of 2024 right here in Manchester city centre – and no, you don’t need to be able to stay up until midnight.
The two McClures – unrelated, by the way, they just share a name and a fantastic taste in music – and the rest of their crew will be partying between 3-8pm for a much more tame and friendlier night (day) out, commanding the decks alongside some other special guests.
Not only does this alternative way to party promise a more responsible curfew, meaning clubbers don’t have to worry about missing the last train home but it’s also geared towards over 30s whilst still being super inclusive.
This day-time clubbing event is designed to reminisce on the old days and all those dance-filled memories of evenings spent out on the tiles, just minus the late-night finish – and hopefully the hangover but that’s down to you really, isn’t it?
In their words: ‘There’s no dress code, no egos—just pure positivity’; there’s nothing we love to hear more than the sweet relief of not having to get dolled up for a big night when we just can’t be bothered.
With New Century Hall hosting the Day Fever once again for their first-ever NYE party here in Manchester, along with two other events being held simultaneously in Edinburgh and Birmingham, you can get all your partying done way with plenty of time to get cosy in bed before the calendar turns over.
Just in time to watch Jools Holland’s famous Annual Hootenanny, as they put it.
Jon McClure and Vicky’s co-star, Martin CompstonVicky McClure leading the dance routines
This is guaranteed to be an evening to remember for everyone in attendance, especially when you’re joined by stars of stage and screen who will be powering you through with some proper dance bangers as they have done all year long.
The New Year’s Eve party isn’t just the last dance of the year either, it’s also effectively the prequel to next year’s raft of shows as Day Fever has already announced more than a dozen big dates in January and February.
This batch of 2025 dates sees the gang taking on lots of other cities, including North West neighbours Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Hull over in Yorkshire, two Newcastle shows and plenty more.
So, if you’re feeling those clubbing blues, that pesky seasonal affective disorder or just still not booked up for NYE 2024, why not make the most of this day-time opportunity?
Tickets for both the New Year’s Eve and the rest of their 2025 events are available on the official Day Fever website HERE.
Oh yeah, and help get Rev to Christmas number one – it’s for a good cause and they deserve it!
Emily Sergeant -
5th February 2024 
