Manchester Pride is planning to go ahead in 2021, organisers have confirmed.
The LGBTQ+ festival – which historically takes over the city for a whole weekend every summer – had its 2020 edition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But following the government announcement that most COVID regulations could be lifted by June 21, Manchester Pride representatives said they are “doing everything they can” to ensure the event returns this summer.
The festival, held in partnership with Virgin Atlantic, is scheduled to take place in the Gay Village and surrounding areas – running for four days from August 27 – 30 (Friday to Monday).
The programme will include “all of the traditional elements”, albeit MCR Pride Live will have a 50% smaller capacity.
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Manchester Pride Festival 2021 will include:
THE GAY VILLAGE PARTY, 27 – 30 August 2021
MCR PRIDE LIVE, 28 – 29 August 2021
MANCHESTER PRIDE PARADE, 28 August 2021
THE CANDLELIT VIGIL, 30 August 2021
SUPERBIA WEEKEND, 28 – 29 August 2021
HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM, 29 August 2021
YOUTH PRIDE MCR, 29 August 2021
FAMILY PRIDE MCR, 28 August 2021
🌈MANCHESTER PRIDE FESTIVAL 2021!🌈
We’re delighted to announce our plans to host our world-class Manchester Pride Festival over the August Bank Holiday Weekend 2021.
Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride, said the postponement of the festival in 2020 was “necessary but extremely hard”, and expressed his joy at being able to plan for a new edition.
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“Naturally there is some uncertainty over what will happen in the coming months but we have to plan now in order to be able to deliver a festival of this scale,” he admitted.
“We are confident that by reducing the capacity of MCR Pride Live we can deliver the event, as long as the government’s plans for vaccinations and reopening of events and hospitality remain on track. With the health and safety of everyone involved our key priority, we remain cautiously optimistic and have plans in place to respond to a number of potential scenarios.”
The CEO stated the team will attempt to make Pride a Covid-safe, live, and in-person event that sprawls across the city.
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“If this just isn’t possible then we will host an alternative, innovative, world class celebration that incorporates socially distanced events and digital elements to ensure that LGBTQ+ people in Greater Manchester can come together to celebrate and ensure that our campaign for greater LGBTQ+ equality continues at this vital time,” Fletcher added.
Tickets for all events, from Superbia Weekend to Youth Pride MCR, will be released over the coming months.
Tickets for 2020 events have been automatically rolled over to 2021.
Trailer released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed all across Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The first trailer for a new romcom that’s set and filmed all across Manchester has been released.
The film, titled Finding Emily, tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl on a night out, but ends up with the wrong phone number, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, and based on a screenplay written by Rachel Hirons – is produced by Working Title Films, is set in the fictional Manchester City University, and is due to be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures across the UK and internationally this spring.
The talented ensemble cast groups together big names like Minnie Driver with rising stars like Ella Maisy Purvis, Yali Topal Margalith, and Kat Ronney, as well as other established actors including Timothy Innes and Nadia Parkes.
Filming took place in Manchester between August and September 2024.
The two and a half-minute trailer has been shared with the world today, and when we say it’s a Manc film, we mean it… we quite literally lost count of how many of our city’s famous locations can be spotted in just the trailer alone.
The trailer has been released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed in Manchester / Credit: Universal Pictures & Focus Features (via YouTube)
There’s everything from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street and the Gay Village, the Northern Quarter, the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see, alongside what’ll, presumably, be dozens of other famous locations.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Finding Emily is set to be released in cinemas across the UK on 22 May, before it debuts in the US on 28 August.
Featured Image – Matt Squire / Focus Features
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Man jailed following series of ‘violent’ knife attacks in Wigan town centre last summer
Emily Sergeant
A man has been sentenced this week following a series of ‘violent’ knife attacks in Wigan town centre last summer.
Charles McMurray, of Satchel Close in Wigan, appeared at Bolton Crown Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of Section 18 wounding with intent, threatening a person with a bladed article, and threats to kill following a distressing incident in Wigan town centre last summer.
The court heard that McMurray arrived on Wallgate at around 6:33am on 9 August 2025 before entering a taxi office, where he stabbed two men without warning.
The victims fled, and McMurray pursued them towards the town centre.
McMurray then went on to threaten a passer‑by at Wigan bus station and held a knife to the man’s stomach. A short time later, he located the injured victims on Standishgate and assaulted one of them again. Following that assault, he chased after another member of the public with the knife shouting that he was going to kill him.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers arrived shortly after 6:50am and found McMurray in possession of the knife, before he was subsequently quickly arrested at the scene.
McMurray has now been sentenced to nine years and nine months behind bars, which police say is a ‘testament to the brave victims’ who gave their accounts.
Speaking following McMurray’s sentencing this week, Detective Constable Harris from Wigan CID, who led the investigation, said: “This was an entirely unprovoked attack which left multiple victims requiring hospital treatment. McMurray is a dangerous and violent offender who is now safely behind bars.
“Knives have no place on our streets, and we hope today’s sentence shows just how seriously we take knife crime. Our communities should feel safe where they live and work, and we are committed to tackling knife crime to ensure no family has to face their loved ones being harmed.
“It is a testament to the brave victims who not only endured this attack but had the courage to provide detailed accounts together with the impact this has had on them, that we have been able to ensure McMurray has been brought to justice.”
The Manc -
26th February 2021 
