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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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?
ADVERTISEMENT
“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”.
ADVERTISEMENT
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
England head coach Shaun Wane quits ahead of 2026 Rugby League World Cup
Danny Jones
England head coach Shaun Wane has stepped down from his role as the national team setup after more than half a decade in the post.
His resignation comes as the Rugby Football League (RFL) looks to pivot and set out a long-term vision ahead of the World Cup later this year.
The Wigan-born former Warriors manager’s replacement is expected to be merely a part-time appointment as future planning begins.
Announced on Wednesday, 14 January, Shaun Wane’s tenure has ended “effective immediately”.
Sharing an official update online, the RFL wrote: “Wane, who has led England since February 2020, has taken time to reflect on the programme and believes the timing is right for new leadership to guide the team into the next phase, including the upcoming World Cup.
“During his tenure, Wane oversaw memorable series victories over Tonga in 2023 and a star-studded Samoa a year later, as well as a semi-final in the World Cup. He finishes with 14 wins from 19 matches.”
Crediting him as one of “a very small elite number of coaches to have won the full suite of domestic club honours and achieved World Club Championship success”, hailing his experience and longevity both as a player and as a coach.
As for Wane himself, he said: “It has been the honour of my life to coach England Rugby League over the last six years, but after careful reflection, I believe the time is right to step aside and allow the programme to move forward into its next chapter.
England are on the lookout for a new coach heading into the World Cup after being swept in the Ashes.
Coach Shaun Wane has reportedly resigned from the post after a disappointing 3-0 whitewash against Australia last year.
The 61-year-old ex-pro goes on to add, “The privilege of leading my country in a World Cup, an Ashes Series on home soil and securing victories over Tonga and Samoa will live long in the memory.
“I’m incredibly grateful to all the players, coaches and staff I’ve worked alongside during that time; their commitment and professionalism made those moments possible. I wish everyone involved with England Rugby League the best going forward and for the World Cup later this year.”
According to the latest reports online, St Helens boss Paul Rowley is now said to be the favourite to take over in the interim.
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup is still months away (scheduled to take place in October and November), but the governing body will want to get the new setup and coaching in place as soon as possible to prepare for the tournament.
Greater Manchester town named as one of country’s worst at fixing potholes
Emily Sergeant
A town in Greater Manchester has been named one of the worst in the country at managing roads and fixing potholes.
For the first time ever, drivers across England can now see how well their local highway authority is tackling potholes on their roads thanks to a new traffic light rating system published by the Government this weekend.
The new ratings grade local highway authorities as red, amber, or green.
The ratings – which have presented on a new interactive map – are based on current road condition and how effectively local authorities are spending the Government’s record £7.3 billion funding to fix potholes and investing in long-term measures to maintain roads.
The Government funding is meant to allow local authorities to repair potholes ‘effectively’ and move away from short-term repairs that work out to be more expensive – with these fixes meaning more money in drivers’ pockets, as the average repair bill from hitting potholes is said to be around £320.
We’ve launched a Red, Amber, Green rating system, so you can see how well your local highway authority (LHA) is fixing your local roads.
🟢 Green = best practice, long-term preventative plans 🟠 Amber = on the way, but room to improve 🔴 Red = support in place to raise… pic.twitter.com/gRwkEx5kdm
The condition of local roads, how much local authorities are spending on road repairs, and whether they are following best practice in maintaining highways are all key areas taken into account when deciding on an area’s rating.
Those that scored ‘green’, like Manchester, were able to demonstrate they are following best practice, while also maintaining good road conditions and investing significantly into improving local roads, and those that scored ‘amber’ – which the majority of Greater Manchester came under showed that there was room for improvement in individual areas.
However, one Greater Manchester town did not fare well at all, and ended up with an ‘red’ rating… and that town was Bolton.
The colour-coded map showing each local authority’s pothole rating / Credit: OS / Crown Copyright (via gov.uk)
Those local authorities that are rated ‘red’, like Bolton, are not yet meeting the expected standards in one or several areas measured, according to the Government, such as the current state of the roads, their plans for preventing potholes, or investment into maintaining their local roads more widely.
“For too long, drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate,” commented Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander.
“We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3 billion to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for.
“Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely, and for the first time, we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area.”
Emily Sergeant -
14th March 2023 
