Manchester Pride Festival headliner Bimini pulls out of LGBTQ+ celebration

Bimini, one of the headliners of this year’s Manchester Pride Festival, has pulled out of performing due to the event’s main headline sponsor.

The drag artist, who placed as runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, said in a statement this week that they ‘cannot in good conscience perform at this year’s event’.

Bimini wrote that the ‘tough decision’ had been taken because of Manchester Pride Festival’s headline sponsor Booking.com, which is alleged to have profited from the occupation of Palestine (it’s been reported that the platform had listings in the Occupied Palestinian Territory between March 2021 and May 2023).

They said in their statement that ‘as an artist and activist, I stand for justice and accountability’.

Bimini is a familiar and popular face at Manchester Pride, having also nabbed a triumphant headline spot last year.

The line-up for Manchester Pride 2024 also includes Sugababes, Jessie J, Eurovision star Loreen, Rita Ora, Katy B and Keala Settle, alongside a staggering list of LGBTQ+ performers and talent.

Bimini is the fourth artist to pull out of this year’s huge celebration, with BollyWitch, Felix Mufti and Dan Chan also refusing to perform for similar reasons relating to the event’s headline sponsor.

Booking.com has said it’s ‘incredibly disappointed’ to head that Bimini has pulled out of Manchester Pride Festival.

Manchester Pride, the charity behind the huge August bank holiday festival, added that it ‘respects and understands’ Bimini’s decision and added that it continues to ‘engage in meaningful dialogue’ with Booking.com.

Bimini said in their statement: “After careful consideration, l’ve made the tough decision to withdraw from headlining the Friday night at Manchester Pride this year. This choice is not taken lightly; I deeply value the Manchester community and the celebration of love and diversity that Pride represents.

“However, after learning of allegations against one of the event’s sponsors, Booking.com, I have decided I cannot in good conscience perform at this year’s event.

“Booking.com list vacation homes in disputed territories and has been blacklisted by the United Nations Human Rights Council as a company that has human rights violations concerns.

“As an artist and activist, I stand for justice and accountability. Bimini”

A spokesperson from Booking.com said: “We are of course incredibly disappointed, but we continue to engage with Manchester Pride on this topic to help understand the context behind our position.

“We firmly believe that it is up to travellers to decide where they want and need to go. Our role is to ensure that people can make an informed decision that’s right for them, and that includes accurately labelling listings in areas that are disputed or affected by conflict.

“We also remain steadfast in our commitment to making travel easier for everyone, regardless of who you love or how you identify, and to our many partnerships with organisations like Manchester Pride that share in that inclusive vision.”

In a statement shared with the Manchester Evening News, David McGovern, the Chair of Trustees at Manchester Pride, said: “We respect and understand Bimini’s decision to withdraw from the Manchester Pride Festival. Manchester Pride has always valued the principles of freedom and liberation, and we honour each individual’s right to protest in their own way.

“The team at Manchester Pride stands in solidarity with all those suffering from the devastating war in Gaza and all the innocent people subjected to violence in Palestine and Israel. At our core, we value liberation and believe nobody’s free until everybody’s free.

“After extensive discussions with Booking.com to understand their stance and actions regarding accommodation listings in occupied territory, we are continuing to engage in meaningful dialogue with them and our other sponsors.”

David also explained that, as a charity, Manchester Pride must utilise commercial revenue streams to fund their vital events, community work, and other charity objectives.

He continued: “Manchester Pride and the LGBTQ+ community have a long, proud history of protest. We fully recognise, respect and support any artist’s decision to perform or not perform at the Manchester Pride Festival and we continue to stand by, facilitate and champion our communities’ right to protest.

“We are a listening charity, we continuously engage with our communities to ensure our programme of activities and grant-making meets the needs and priorities of intersectional LGBTQ+ people living in Greater Manchester. We continue to consult with our artists and communities to be able to provide authentic, meaningful support in the run-up to our vital celebration of LGBTQ+ life.”

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