One of the biggest highlights in Manchester’s events calendar, Manchester Pride 2025, is ready to take over the city centre for the party of a lifetime.
Manchester Pride 2025 is upon us, and we’ve got everything you need ahead of this fun-filled, glitter-covered, disco-driven big weekend.
This event isn’t just a party – it’s a spectacular coming together of a community who aim to spread love and joy through various celebrations, with glorious music from some truly incredible artists and acts to look forward to.
The four-day occasion consists of a city-wide parade, a lineup of music performances, and closed out by a poignant candlelit vigil which each year commemorates members of the Queer community who sadly lost their lives to HIV.
Here’s everything you need to know about Manchester Pride 2025.
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Here’s everything you need to know about Manchester Pride 2025 / Credit: Supplied
Manchester Pride 2025 – Parade
The parade on Saturday 23 August will start on Deansgate near Beetham Tower at 12pm, before making its way onto Liverpool Road and Oxford Street.
This route then sees the parade make its way onto Portland Street and Princess Stree, before finishing off on Whitworth Street and Fairfield Street – a stone’s throw away from Mardi Gras.
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Check back soon for all the information you need to do about Parade route road closures.
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Tickets for Manchester Pride Festival 2025
There are two options for tickets if you’re looking at attending Manchester Pride Festival 2025.
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If you’re after dancing the night away to an impressive live music lineup at Mardi Gras and continuing the night at the Gay Village Party, then you can buy a ticket which covers you for both HERE.
Anyone who’s after boogying til the sun comes up at the Gay Village Party, but skipping the live music can bag themselves a ticket or two HERE.
Crowds at Manchester Pride Festival on Canal Street / Credit: Supplied
Once you’ve purchased your preferred ticket, you can trade them in for your official Manchester Pride Festival 2025 wristband at two city centre locations.
The first box office can be found at Depot Mayfield – where Mardi Gras is taking place – and will be open from 12pm to 7pm on Saturday 23 August, and 12:30pm to 7pm on Sunday 24 August.
An alternative box office can be found in the Gay Village, which will be open across all three dates Friday 23, Saturday 24, and Sunday 25 August from 12pm to 11pm.
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Who’s on the lineup at Manchester Pride 2025?
Four huge names are fronting the bill for Manchester Pride 2025 – with each and every one of them being a certified hitmaker.
Saturday’s lineup sees a headline slot for former Little Mix star, now solo sensation, Leigh-Anne, who will be playing discography classics like ‘Don’t Say Love’, ‘My Love’, and her latest single ‘Been A Minute’.
Broadway star and highly-successful artist, Billy Porter, joins the pop princess and Manchester’s biggest festivals of the year, and you best believe he’ll make ‘Everybody Say Yeah’.
UK Eurovision entry and certified ‘Sweet Talker’, Olly Alexander, is playing out a selection of bangers on Sunday’s lineup, and he’s ready to ‘Shine’ to his heart’s content.
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Nelly Furtado completes the headline slots – and yes I did ‘Say It Right’ – as the ‘Maneater’ herself was recently announced as the surprise headliner to close out Sunday’s celebrations.
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How to get to Manchester Pride Festival 2025?
Transport to Manchester Pride Festival 2025 / Credit: TfGM
By tram – The easiest way to get to and from Manchester Pride Festival is using Metrolink. The nearest stops are Piccadilly Gardens (for the Gay Village Party), and Deansgate-Castlefield or St Peter’s Square (for the Parade).
By train – The closest train stations to the event are Manchester Piccadilly or Oxford Road.
By bus – Take a bus to Manchester Piccadilly Gardens. From there, the Gay Village Party event site is a two-minute walk and just across the road.
By plane – From Manchester Airport, you can take a train or the Metrolink tram to Manchester Piccadilly. Alternatively, you can take a bus to Piccadilly Gardens from the airport.
By car – Manchester will be very busy with a number of road closures in place over Manchester Pride weekend, so if you really need to drive, you might want to look at using a ‘park and ride’ and completing your journey by tram.
Mercury Prize 2026 review: RAYE takes home the crown as Newcastle celebrates the very best in music
Clementine Hall
One of the biggest nights in music kicked off last night as the Mercury Prize 2026 was awarded.
If there was ever a night to fall head over heels in love with British and Irish music, the 2026 Mercury Prize made a very convincing case.
Bringing together some of the country’s most exciting artists under one roof in Newcastle, this year’s ceremony was a reminder of just how much talent is packed into the current music scene.
From established legends to the names shaping what comes next, it was an absolute belter.
Images: Audio North
Held at the Newcastle Utilita Arena for the second year running, I think everybody in that room felt very lucky to be there to see firsthand who took home the coveted prize.
The shortlist brought together an impressive mix of artists, with Florence + The Machine, Olivia Dean, JADE, Suede, Pulp, Dave and Sir Paul McCartney among the big names making the lineup very star studded indeed.
Suede kicked things off with ‘Dancing With The Europeans’, bringing their unmistakable energy to the ceremony, while Pulp delivered ‘Begging For Change’ as part of the HELP(2) charity compilation.
It was a line-up that demonstrated the sheer range of music being made across the UK and Ireland, from contemporary pop to established rock and even jungle thanks to Bradford’s own Nia Archives.
And of course, there was one woman who had every reason to leave with a smile on her face.
RAYE took home the coveted Mercury Prize for THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE., an ambitious, genre-hopping album that blends jazz, soul, R&B and classical influences into something so fabulously unique.
Image: Audio North
Newcastle’s own Knats performance was definitely a highlight of the evening, combining slick jazz with spoken-word poetry against a projection of The Tyne Bridge.
A fitting image, and one that underlines the importance of holding such huge events in the north and highlighting the obvious talent that thrives here.
The 2026 Mercury Prize was a brilliant showcase of the country’s music at its best.
And with RAYE taking home the trophy, it’s clear there is plenty of ‘hope’ left in British music.
The most magical Christmas displays have now landed at one of the North West’s best garden centres
Emily Sergeant
Christmas has officially arrived at one of the best garden centres in the North West, and it’s just as magical as you’d hope it would be.
Just outside of Greater Manchester in the village of Glazebury in Warrington, you’ll find Bents Garden and Home – a multi award-winning destination garden centre that’s often voted one of the region’s best. It’s great place to visit all year round, but as anyone who has ever made the trip there will tell you, this place really comes alive during the festive season.
Bents first started out life all the way back in 1937, when Alfred and Margaret Bent began growing and selling roses in the front garden of their terraced house in Glazebury.
Ever since then, the business has gone from strength to strength – opening its first dedicated garden centre building in the early 1950s, and then undergoing several expansions in the 60 years that followed to create the place we know and love today.
A place that’s home to everything you need to kit out your home and garden, several cafes and restaurants, a food hall, a cook shop, a children’s boutique, and plenty more.
Christmas has arrived at Bents Garden and Home for 2026 / Credit: The Manc Group
And then at Christmas time, you can also get to wander around all the magical festive displays and stop for a bite to eat at the winter food markets.
Christmas at Bents originally began in the 1970s, establishing what would become one of the garden centre’s most successful – and favourite – times of the year, with people travelling in their thousands from all across the North West to visit, making it an annual tradition in the festive events calendar for many families.
With a jaw-dropping display to suit everyone’s festive decor tastes, Christmas at Bents really does need to be seen to be believed.
Expertly decorated trees form the centrepiece of each display, with all the baubles and decorations adorning them for sale by the side for you to recreate yourself at home.
Walking around the centre, you’ll also find every type of artificial tree (both normal and pre-lit), an array of fairy lights, wreaths, and garlands, before you arrive at what is sure to be one of the best Christmas Lemax Model Village set-ups you’ve probably ever seen.
A trip to Bents is an annual festive tradition for thousands across the North West / Credit: The Manc Group
Then, once you’ve filled your basket up with all the decs you need, you have to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before you head home.
There’s a wide array of different street food options to choose from like bratwursts, giant filled Yorkshire puddings, loaded fries, nachos, mac and cheese, crepes, churros, and build-your-own crumble, before taking a pew in one of the little wooden huts and washing it all down with festive-themed hot chocolates and mulled wine.
Don’t forget to stop off at the food hall, farm shop, and deli counters to stock up on plenty of goodies there before you leave too.
Basically, if you’ve never been to Bents before, we honestly cannot recommend it enough – even more so during Christmas time.
Don’t forget to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before heading home / Credit: The Manc Group
But it is really important to note that it does get very busy here, especially on weekends and at peak times like the run up to Christmas.
So you may have to be prepared to patiently wait for parking spaces and cooperate with your fellow shoppers, as well as join queues at the cafes and restaurants, all while respecting the hard-working staff at all times.
Let’s be as respectful as possible, and make this a place where everyone can enjoy a magical festive experience in 2026.
Thomas Melia -
20th August 2025 
