Entertainment union Equity makes £1 bid for Manchester Pride to protect workers from ‘further exploitation’

Performing arts and entertainment trade union Equity has made a £1 bid for Manchester Pride.

You may remember that, back in October last year, Manchester Pride – the charity / organisation that ran the Manchester Pride Festival – entered into voluntary liquidation, and news emerged last week that the assets were being sold off to the highest bidder by liquidators.

By offering a ‘symbolic’ £1 for the assets – which include the Manchester Pride brand name and associated domain names – Equity says its bid has been made to give workers the opportunity to ‘decide the future’ of the event.

The bid is also said to have been made to prevent a repeat of 2025 – which apparently left Equity union members more than £70,000 out-of-pocket in unpaid fees. 

Equity’s variety organiser, Nick Keegan, warned that selling the Manchester Pride brand to a commercial buyer risks ‘undermining the values’ of the event and the community that built it.

He worried it could also leave performers and workers ‘vulnerable to further exploitation’.

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“Manchester Pride is not just a city-wide party,” Mr Keegan explained. “Its roots in protest are as important today as then.”

He added: “Manchester Pride was built by the LGBTQ+ workers of Canal St and beyond who provide a space and a community for LGBTQ+ people all year round. The event should not be treated as a commodity to be bought and sold off to the highest bidder. 

“The cultural workforce are at the heart of Pride, without them, there is no festival.

“After what happened in 2025, with members left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket, we don’t want to see history repeat itself.”

Equity says that if its bid is successful, the workers will have control over who the ‘asset’ goes to.

Read more:

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• Manchester Pride releases statement after performers say they’ve still not been paid

“Our bid is about protecting Pride as a community asset, not a commercial one,” the union’s statement continued. 

“Allowing the people whose labour was used to build this ‘asset’ to decide how the trademark of Manchester Pride is used in the future will help protect them from further exploitation, as well as preserve the values and the longevity of the event itself.”

Featured Image – Manchester Pride (Supplied)