Manchester Pride has revealed the theme for this year’s legendary Parade, and it’s set to celebrate “the power of love”.
A week after it was announced that tickets to the popular Gay Village Party had gone live, and with the charity aiming to encourage people to show love to ourselves and the LGBTQ+ community, Manchester Pride has revealed that the theme for the 2023 Parade will be celebrating love in the 10th anniversary year of marriage equality.
Titled ‘Queerly Beloved’, the Parade will see the city’s streets become awash with colour and celebration on Saturday 26 August.
🌈MANCHESTER PRIDE PARADE🌈
Join us at the Parade on Sat 26th Aug 2023 as we march loudly and proudly through the streets of Manchester, celebrating our progress and protesting for LGBTQ+ liberation in a kaleidoscope of queer joy and colour🌟
The Parade is always one of the festival’s most highly-anticipated events every year, as people march proudly together through the streets of Manchester in front of tens of thousands of supporters cheering them along the way.
The charity says the 2023 Pride Parade theme has been chosen to mark the 10th anniversary of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act being passed on 17 July 2013 – which enabled civil partners to convert their partnership to a marriage, if they wish.
It also gave individuals the option to change their legal gender without having to end their marriage.
Manchester Pride reveals theme for 2023’s Parade celebrating ‘the power of love’ / Credit: Manchester Pride
Manchester Pride CEO Mark Fletcher says the charity is “very excited” about this year’s Parade theme, explaining that: “Queerly Beloved celebrates the wins for the LGBTQ+ community but also poses the question – how far have we really come?
“We will be marching for love, and our message is clear – our love is powerful, our love is resistance, and love should be celebrated for all.”
The Manchester Pride Parade route this year is set to start on Liverpool Road, before passing by the Town Hall and through Gay Village, and finishing on Whitworth Street.
Hundreds of young LGBTQ+ people – including the charity’s own Youth Pride MCR group and their allies – lead the Parade through the city last year, but this year, it’s expected that even more will join the celebrations, which is why Manchester Pride says it is “actively encouraging” walking entries in an aim to make the Festival “even more environmentally-friendly”.
The city’s streets will become awash with colour once again this August Bank Holiday weekend / Credit: Manchester Pride
As always, Manchester Pride Festival 2023 takes place over four days in Manchester city centre on August Bank Holiday weekend (25-28 August), and is made up of several fringe events that all provide opportunities to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, engage families and young people, and to celebrate queer arts and culture.
All events are free to attend, with the exception of the Gay Village Party – which tickets are available for now here.
£2.50 from every ticket will be donated to the Manchester Pride Community Fund, with the money going directly to LGBTQ+ causes and projects in Greater Manchester through the distribution of grants.
Fancy taking part in this year’s Pride Parade? Find out more and apply here.
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.
Emily Sergeant -
14th March 2023 
