The shortlist for the first-ever Gaydio Pride Awards has been announced, and Greater Manchester’s charities, people and organisations have absolutely dominated.
The inaugural awards with Hilton will celebrate the efforts that ‘bring Pride to every corner of the UK’.
Those shortlisted across 10 categories (including Grassroots Pride, LGBTQ+ Champion of the Year, and Music Artist of the Year) were announced this week, including some big names from across our region.
The eventual winners will be crowned next month at Manchester’s Hilton hotel in a glittering ceremony, alongside performances from Raye, Sigala and Danny Beard, all hosted by Gaydio’s breakfast show presenters, Paris and Dave.
Manchester Pride has made the cut in the Major Pride of the Year category, while smaller neighbourhood prides including Salford and Prestwich received recognition in the Grassroots category.
Then both Manchester Village Spartans and Manchester-founded Outdoor Lads are nominated for LGBTQ+ Club or Sports team of the Year.
In the Venue or Event of the Year category, our region has particularly shone, nabbing three of the five shortlisted places with Swagga, Filthy Gorgeous at The Brewers, and The House of Bridget’s in Bury all in the final stages.
George House Trust is down to the shortlist stage for Charity in the Gaydio Pride Awards with Hilton.
Kriss Herbert, Network Content Manager for Gaydio, said: “Gaydio is Where Pride Lives and it feels only right that we celebrate the people, organisations and charities who work so hard to support the LGBTQ+ community all year round.
“We think this shortlist really showcases the huge impact people, charities and communities are making all over the UK, and we can’t wait to announce our winners at the first ever Gaydio Pride Awards with Hilton on 10th February.”
Gaydio listeners and members of the public were asked to nominate the people, charities, and organisations they felt were making a real difference in their area, with the nominees then shortlisted by dedicated community panels, to ensure winners are chosen as fairly as possible, and represent the very best LGBTQ+ people and charities from all over the UK.
The winners of the awards will be revealed at the Gaydio Pride Awards ceremony at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel on Friday 10 February, revealed on air shortly after.
For more information and to buy tickets, head to gaydioprideawards.co.uk and keep an eye on social platforms @gaydio for more exciting announcements.
The full shortlist for the Gaydio Pride Awards in 2023
Major Pride of the Year
Manchester Pride
Pride in London
Birmingham Pride
Brighton + Hove Pride
Grassroots Pride of the Year
UK Black Pride
Trans Pride, Brighton
Prestwich Pride
Chesterfield Pride
Salford Pride
Volunteer of the Year
Michele Ralph (Crawley Pride Volunteer)
Joel Mordi (Nigeria’s First Ever Pride Organiser)
Charlie Watts (Pride in Surrey Volunteer)
LGBTQ+ Club or Sports team of the Year
Gay Outdoor Club
Leicester Diamonds Baseball Club
Manchester Village Spartans
Outdoor Lads
Trans Radio UK Football Club
Employee Pride Network of the Year
Proud at Deloitte
Birmingham women’s and Children’s NHS Trust LGBTQ+ Staff Network
Proud @ Shell UK
JET & Proud – Just Eat Takeaway.com’s global LGBT+ Network
Co-op respect
Bruntwood’s LGBTQIA++ Network
Venue or Event of the Year
Arch, Clapham
Swagga, Manchester
Filthy Gorgeous, The Brewers, Manchester
The House of Bridget’s, Bury
The Werkroom, Stoke-on-Trent
Planet Bar, Edinburgh
Charity
Spencer Trust
Fighting with Pride
George House Trust
LGBTQ+ Champion
Carley Owen
Sab Samuel / Aida H Dee / Drag Queen Story Time
Janusz Domagala (Finalist of Great British Bake Off)
Featured image: Manchester Pride
News
New data reveals a third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday
Emily Sergeant
Surprising new data has revealed that a third of Brits admits to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday.
After a long and tiring week, most of us would love the chance to clock off work a little earlier than usual on a Friday, but for a lot of workers, this isn’t always a possibility – and for some, they even have to work longer at the end of the week to make sure everything has been finished off and tied up before the weekend arrives.
But since there has been a noticeable rise in remote working and working from home, a new survey has revealed that working attitudes have changed.
Virgin Media has released new broadband data that reveals a drop in traffic on Friday afternoons during the summer months – with as much as an 8% dip between 3-5pm compared to the winter, as remote workers clock off early.
A third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday / Credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters | Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
The Friday traffic drop-off comes from Virgin Media’s broadband network analysis, which it says is a ‘reliable indicator’ of the connectivity habits of the British public.
Alongside the network data, Virgin Media also asked Brits about their work policies and working habits ij a bid to fully understand the trend.
Nearly a third (30%) of Brits say they have a formal early Friday finish in place during the summer, but despite almost half of UK adults (48%) saying they’re not authorised to finish early on a Friday, 32% have admitted to regularly logging off with or without official permission.
Surprising new data has revealed Brits’ working habits / Credit: Chuttersnap (via Unsplash)
Many Brits have also confessed to working ‘on the move’ on a Friday afternoon too.
15% admitted to having worked from the train station as the weekend creeps nearer, as well as 14% from the park, 10% from the pub, and many as 30% of 18-24-year-olds worked from the car while travelling for the weekend.
“Our network traffic analysis is revealing changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays,” commented Jeanie York, who is the Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2.
“We’re continuing to boost our fixed and mobile networks so whether Brits are working from their local park, or finishing their work at home, we’re ready to keep them connected.”
Featured Image – Israel Andrade (via Unsplash)
News
Tiny Manchester pub brilliantly condemns ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Daisy Jackson
A micropub in Manchester city centre has spoken out about an ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech.
The Victoria Tap, a tiny little boozer at Manchester Victoria train station, strongly condemned any racist, homophobic or sexist conversations taking place in its venue.
The pub said ‘there is absolutely no room for it’ within its walls.
In a statement – which has been met with praise from customers and followers – they added that anyone bringing hate speech to the pub ‘can let the door kick you on the way out’.
The Victoria Tap wrote: “We’ve noticed an alarming rise in racist, homophobic and sexist slurs/comments/conversations lately and we just want to say that there is absolutely no room for it here.
“This is a safe space for everyone.
“If you, or someone in your group, want to disturb this philosophy, you can let the door kick you on the way out.”
The Victoria Tap has brilliantly condemned ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Praising their statement, one person wrote: “Great to read this. There is NO place for this. All public spaces should be welcoming.”
Another said: “Pubs should be welcoming environments for people of all walks of life. There’s no room for misogyny, racism or discrimination of any kind. Those who espouse those thoughts need a good hard look in the mirror.”
Someone else commented: “That’s how I see the Vic Tap. Great place for a safe quiet pint. Keep up the great work guys as it’s a fantastic venue.”
The Victoria Tap opened at Manchester Victoria back in 2023, completely transforming a space that was previously a bin store.
As well as its cosy interior, it has a small beer garden which overlooks the tram tracks in and out of the train station.
It’s operated by the same team behind the Piccadilly Tap and the even newer Oxford Tap.
We know exactly where we’ll be heading for our next pint now. Good work, Victoria Tap.