After the iconic LGBTQ+ festival – which historically takes over the city each August Bank Holiday weekend – had its 2020 edition cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, organisers have today announced that Zara Larsson, Sigala, Annie Mac, Gabrielle, Katy B, Example and Eve will all lead a stellar lineup set to appear at this year’s event taking place on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August.
The festival, which is being hosted in partnership with Virgin Atlantic, is set to feature six key strands – Activism, Equality, Arts and Culture, Youth and Family, Community and Party.
Heading the lineup is Swedish singer Zara Larsson, who will be joined on stage on the Sunday night by songwriters Ella Henderson, Gabrielle, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Lucy Spraggan, alongside stage hosts Danny Beard, Cheddar Gorgeous, Anna Phylactic, The Manchester Queens and House of Blaque.
On the Saturday, English DJ, record producer and remixer Sigala, BBC Radio 1’s ‘Dance Party’ legend Annie Mac, singer-songwriter Katy B, and musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer Example, will all take to the stage hosted by La Discothèque and House of Ghetto.
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There is also another major artist set to be announced as headline performer on the Saturday, but the charity “will not be in a position to reveal their identity until 27th August”, right before the Bank Holiday weekend show.
The venue for MCR Pride Live will be announced in coming weeks.
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Manchester Pride
The lineup for the “ultimate street party celebration”, the Gay Village Party, has also been announced today, with incredible performances, markets and parties set to take place over all four days of the Bank Holiday weekend.
This year, the festival will include Trans Creative presents Trans Pride Rally, plus live performances across the Alan Turing Stage in Sackville Gardens, MancUnity Stage, Playground Stage and Superbia presents Queer Music Stage.
Highlights are set to include Danny Beard and Friends, Black Pride MCR Takeover and Fat Pride.
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If you’ve already got your tickets for this year’s festival – which went on sale last month, with the weekend ‘MCR Pride Live Rainbow Passes’ selling out in less than an hour – ticket holders can also expect the return of old favourites such as the silent disco, sing-along cinema, the marketplace and the fairground rides.
Don’t worry if you’ve missed out though, as a limited number of weekend and day passes will be released at 12pm today.
Rainbow Passes – which allow access to MCR Pride Live Festival and four days at the Gay Village Party – start at £55 for a day or £84.50 for the weekend, and Gay Village Party tickets are £17.50 for one day or £25 for all four days.
Wikimedia CommonsWikimedia Commons
Speaking on the lineup reveal today, Mark Fletcher – CEO of Manchester Pride – said: “I’m really happy that we are able to share this announcement today.
“With many artists having decided not to tour this year, my team has worked twice as hard to secure a first class lineup of performers who are each excited to be able to celebrate LGBTQ+ life with us, in person this year – and unless the roadmap to recovery changes, we can’t wait to come back together once again.
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“MCR Pride Live will be in a new home, with a reduced capacity but the standard of talent on the stage remains exceptional and we know that our loyal and excited audience will love the programming across all of the events.
“Tickets to MCR Pride Live are very limited now and the Gay Village Party is selling fast, so I urge everyone that wants to come to buy them before they sell out”.
You can find more information about the full lineup, and grab your tickets here.
Featured Image – Manchester Pride
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Blossoms to play special ‘intimate’ 10th anniversary gig at The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Danny Jones
Local indie and alternative lads Blossoms have announced a special one-off anniversary show at none other than The Deaf Institute right here in Manchester.
Coming to the iconic small-cap venue this summer, the Stockport band will be marking the 10th birthday of their self-titled debut album by playing one of the smallest gig spaces in the centre, but one that was a massive milestone for them back in the day.
Now a full decade on from the breakout LP, released on 5 August 2026, Blossoms will be rolling back the years by playing the biggest hits from the record, along with a selection from the many other bangers that they’ve gone on to release since.
This is going to be one very special night for the SK natives.
We’re playing an intimate gig at The Deaf Institute on Weds 5th August to celebrate 10 years of our debut album! We’re going to record the show & release it as a special edition double CD of our new album. Pre-order it now for exclusive pre-sale access. https://t.co/ztAkh95RWspic.twitter.com/kuZNnJJBok
Blossoms have never shied away from championing their Stopfordian roots, but neither have they forgotten the city that helped establish them as one of the biggest bands in Britain.
For instance, this upcoming Deaf Institute show – which promises to be a much more intimate show than they’re used to doing these days – comes not even two years on from the mini Manc residency, when they played five nights here in Manchester over the course of a single week.
As we come up to the sixth studio project, Songs From The Wedding Cake, and already have two singles from the next release, we have no shame in admitting we still listen to those first tracks as much as ever.
With that in mind, it’ll be a surreal full circle for everyone, we’re sure, when Tom, Chaz, Myles, Josh and Joe take the stage in that hallowed hometown room with a capacity of just 250 next month; they’re even playing it EXACTLY 10 years on the precise date that maiden outing dropped: 5 August 2026.
Combine this with them pulling stunts like playing people’s weddings and popping up with a surprise set from inside a van outside 42s nightclub on Deansgate, and it’s hard to think of an artist nailing it as well as Blossoms are right now.
Fans can enjoy exclusive early access by pre-ordering the new Blossoms album on their website, and those who have already done so qualify for presale automatically – just keep an eye out for the code in your email inbox.
This limited window will open from 9:30am this Thursday, 30 July, with general admission tickets for their return to Deaf Institute going live at the same time the following Friday (31 July).
Oh, and in case you somehow missed it, they’re also set to play their biggest ever arena shows across the UK later this year, including a huge gig at Co-op Live. Find out all the info down below.
Luke Littler is challenging amateurs to beat him at darts as part of a live Netflix event
Danny Jones
In an unprecedented new sports event in the world of streaming, North West sports star Luke Little is offering people the chance to try and win a game of darts against him live on Netflix.
Best of all, he and the entertainment platform have put up a huge grand prize for anyone who can beat the Warrington wonder.
So, for any of you who fancy yourselves as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor reincarnated when stepping up to the oche down at the local, or if you’re simply bold enough to throw your name in the hat, you’ll want to pay attention for this one…
Announcing the special one-off sporting event on Netflix later this year, Luke Littler has issued the call-out to see if anyone can best him in a game of 501 in front of millions watching at home.
Quite literally the opportunity of a lifetime for fans of the arrows, this exclusive livestream is like nothing that the media giants have done before.
Having dipped their toes into the likes of live boxing fights over the past few years, they’ve definitely got a few live events under their belt, but this exciting and crucially interactive series of matches feels like something genuinely new for Netflix.
Most notably of all, using the name of the popular darts game played not only live on telly at competitions throughout the year but also at countless pubs across the country to set the prize fee, a prospective winner could potentially win £501k this autumn.
Imagine: half a million pounds for one (admittedly very tough) game of darts.
The only major caveat aside from, you know, him being an absolute phenom and already a serial winner is he also happens to be in the form of his life – his words and virtually everyone else’s.
"This is the best version of myself… I'm playing SO WELL!"
Luke Littler listens to some of the records he's broken in his ridiculous World Matchplay campaign 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EVQSrHxSHf
Having smashed Gerwyn Price to defend his World Matchplay Darts title on Sunday evening, cruising to an 18-9 victory with so many 100+ visits and finishes that he broke the tournament’s record average, which has stood since 2010, anyone who does come up against him is currently praying for a miracle.
Price himself told Sky Sports that the youngster’s performance looked ‘effortless’, quipping, “I hope there’s nobody else like him coming through!”
Still only 19, the local lad is the toughest of tasks for even the best on the pro circuit, but if you still somehow fancy your chances, heats will be taking place in Manchester and London, where the top 20 players will get their shot at the man himself on Friday, 30 October.
You can find out all the important information and sign up right HERE.
For now, why not see just how good Littler is playing at the minute and watch back his highlights from a record-breaking final this weekend?
Not that he’s ever truly cooled off, but he really is on fire at the minute.
Emily Sergeant -
30th April 2021 
