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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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”.
TICKETS JUST DROPPED!! GO GO GO ⏰
First release tickets are now ON SALE and we’re anticipating phenomenal demand!! Our pre-sale broke records and sold out quicker than any ticket sale we’ve ever done… EVER 🫠 ✨
“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.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
Comedy sensation Matt Rife announces new arena tour with Manchester show
Daisy Jackson
Comedian Matt Rife has just announced a brand-new world tour, with an arena show in Manchester on the cards.
The American comic, who has a whopping 11m followers on Instagram and 20m on TikTok, will be performing a night at the AO Arena on his extended Stay Golden World Tour, with tickets on sale Friday.
It’s one of 40+ new dates across North America and Europe, on a tour which will feature a 360 degree in-the-round stage at select venues.
The record-breaking comedian had already announced shows across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Canada, and performed shows across the States.
He’s been the youngest comedian to ever sell out New York’s Madison Square Garden – and he did two sold-out nights.
He’s shattered ticket sale records at arenas right across the USA, too.
Matt Rife has become one of the hottest names in comedy thanks to his razor-sharp crowd work and massive social media following, with over 44.6 million followers and more than three billion views globally, as well as chart-topping Netflix specials.
The 30-year-old entertainer will release a new Netflix special – Matt Rife: Unwrapped – on 2 December this year.
The ‘Christmas Crowd Work Special’ will ‘explore gifts, traditions and who’s made it on the naughty or nice list this year’.
Matt Rife will be at the AO Arena in Manchester on
Tickets for Matt Rife in Manchester at the AO Arena will go on sale from Wednesday 12 November for artist presale, and general sale will begin from 2pm on Friday 14 November – you can get your tickets HERE.
Frank Warren’s special anniversary fight card, featuring local fighters, is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Queensberry Promotions is toasting founder Frank Warren as he marks a major milestone in the industry, with a massive Manchester fight event and plenty of regional boxers on the card.
The 73-year-old entrepreneur and boxing manager is set to hold a landmark fight night in early 2026 as he celebrates four and a half decades in the business.
Being hosted not just the biggest indoor entertainment venue in Manchester, but all of Europe, Co-op Live, the legendary promoter and his company will be welcoming a wealth of both local and global athletes to the arena, which is continuing to attract more live sport and combat sports, specifically.
They’ve put together a fight card with plenty of interest, and the evening is sure to feature plenty of other familiar faces out in the audience, too.
Dubbed ‘The Magnificent 7’, the headline fight will be a face-off between 20-year-old Moses Itauma and American boxer Jermain Franklin.
The heavyweight clash is sure to be a tasty one, with Itauma having now famously defeated veteran Dillian Whyte in a first-round demolition; meanwhile, Frankling is riding a wave of confidence following a trio of consecutive wins.
But while the main event will have plenty of global eyes on, we’ll confess that we’re most excited by the roster of Manc talents on show.
Featuring on the undercard is not only experienced Ashton-born boxer Zak Miller, but 24-year-old ‘Super’ Alex Murphy.
The up-and-coming fighter, who also happens to be a big Bolton Wanderers fan, trains just down the road at Eccles Boxing School and has 14 wins from 16 bouts.
Manchester’s combat sports stars certainly delivered for Queensberry in a recent event at the Co-op earlier this month, and we expect the same next January.
The last Frank Warren-backed event in Manchester didn’t disappoint.
Speaking on the big booking in line with his big anniversary, Warren said in an official statement: “We are thrilled to be delivering such a strong Magnificent 7 bounty for the fans in our first UK show of 2026…
“We are delighted with what we have put together across 2025 in tandem with our new broadcast partner DAZN, but we have the scope to go bigger and further in 2026, which we will do and make it a landmark year for the sport.
“This show will also effectively celebrate my 45th year in the professional business, and I believe this card certainly does justice to the occasion. I’m very happy to have our heavyweight prodigy Moses, topping the bill in another perfect test of his unquestionable credentials against a very tough American in Jermain Franklin.”
Presale for official Co-op Members goes live from 12 noon on Monday, 17 November, while general admission tickets will be available from the same time the following Wednesday (19 Nov); you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
5th February 2024 
