Manchester Pride Festival 2024 has announced its final headliner, with girlband icons Sugababes added to the huge line-up.
Rita Ora has also been announced as a special guest, joining Jessie J and Loreen on the massive billing.
The huge LGBTQ+ celebration will return to Manchester over the August bank holiday weekend, centred around the four-day Gay Village Party and the parade through the city.
Also added to the Manchester Pride 2024 line-up is The Greatest Showman actress and singer Keala Settle.
This year’s Manchester Pride Festival will kick off on Friday 23 August with Brit-award-winning popstar Jessie J – her first performance in Manchester in six years.
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Keala Settle will also perform on Friday, belting out classic Pride anthems with a live band on the Alan Turing Stage.
Also on the Friday you’ll see drag artist BIMINI, Trans Filth & Joy and Runway by Banksie, Manchester’s very own 7-foot drag supermodel.
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Moving onto Saturday 24 August, and The Village Stage will be headlined by two-time Eurovision winner Loreen.
Rita Ora has just been added as a special guest to the Saturday line-up – the global star delivered an unforgettable performance at Manchester Pride back in 2018 and will be back for an exclusive pride performance in 2024.
Also on Saturday, the Indoor Arena will pay homage to Manchester’s warehouse clubbing legacy and will host the Gaydio Dance Arena. Headlined by DJ Paulette, there’ll be a line-up of Gaydio DJs including Dave Cooper and Forbid.
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There’ll be disco, house and funk galore at The Village Stage when Black Pride MCR takes over, while the Queer Asian Takeover returns to the Alan Turing stage.
Sugababes. Credit: Publicity picture
Then on Sunday, Sugababes will deliver a nostalgic performance with a headline appearance on The Village Stage.
They’ll be joined on Sunday 25 August by Atomic Kitten’s Natasha Hamilton with Danny Beard & Friends; and Steps’ Claire Richards over on the Alan Turing Stage, alongside Pride Divas with Misty Chance.
As Sunday draws to a close, audiences can expect to be dazzled by, Queenz: The Show with Balls, reigning Drag Race UK champion Ginger Johnson, and so much more at Danny Beard & Friends on The Village Stage.
The festival will conclude on Monday 26 August with, as always, the Candlelit Vigil in the sacred setting of Sackville Gardens.
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In collaboration with George House Trust, this special moment will honour those we have lost and stand in solidarity with those living with HIV. This heartfelt experience will be a powerful reminder to combat stigma and come together as a community in unity and support.
Second Release Weekend and VIP tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster now from £27.50 for a day ticket and £42.50 for a weekend ticket.
A fixed donation of £2.50 from every ticket sold goes directly to the Manchester Pride Community Fund, ensuring that LGBTQ+ causes and projects in Greater Manchester receive vital support with grants that are distributed throughout the year. Pledge Band tickets must be purchased to facilitate the event.
More information about Manchester Pride Festival 2024 and ticket purchasing can be found on the Manchester Pride website.
Gig tickets, signed merch and more up for grabs in important Headstock charity fundraiser
Daisy Jackson
Some huge music-related prizes have been announced as part of a major charity fundraising campaign for the music industry.
Headstock, a Manchester-based music and mental health social enterprise, is running a Crowdfunder campaign with prizes including tickets to huge arena shows, signed merch, and loads more.
Headstock has announced the campaign to raise funds for the support of MUSIC 85258, a 24/7 confidential text support service launched last year to support those working in the music industry.
The text support service is run in partnership with Music Minds Matter and delivered by Shout.
Headstock’s mission since its inception has been to deliver music-led solutions to tackle the growing mental health crisis, both within the music industry and beyond.
The dedicated mental health text support service has already drummed up loads of support, including being signposted back-of-house in key venues like the AO Arena, Co-op Live, and Warehouse Project.
Now, Headstock is running a fundraiser campaign to keep this vital service thriving, pulling together some major prizes across multiple prize draws.
These prizes have been donated by local Manchester bands and venues, and include VIP Parklife tickets, VIP to shows at the AO Arena and Co-op Live, season passes for WHP, and signed merch from the likes of Elbow, Courteeners and New Order.
To enter each prize draw, make a donation to the Crowdfunder – the bigger your donation, the more entries you will receive.
You can see all the prizes up for grabs and make a donation below – or you can just donate to Headstock HERE.
All the prizes in the Headstock fundraiser
Aitch – A pair of tickets to see Aitch’s headline show at Mayfield Depot + 4x signed albums – HERE
Parklife – 2x pairs of VIP tickets to Parklife 2026 – HERE
All money raised will be donated to mental health charity, Shout, who deliver MUSIC 85258 – a free, confidential and 24/7 text support service for anyone working within the music industry.
MUSIC 85258 is a de-escalation service for anyone working in the music industry who is struggling with their mental health. It is a partnership between Headstock, Music Minds Matter and Shout, with Mental Health Innovations providing the underlying service through Shout’s network of trained volunteers. To use the service, anyone that is struggling simply needs to text the word “MUSIC” to 85258 to connect with a volunteer for in-the-moment support.
Richard Ashcroft announces all-North West lineup of support acts for Alexandra Palace headliner
Danny Jones
Wigan’s finest, Richard Ashcroft, has announced an all-North-Western lineup for his upcoming headline show at ‘Ally Pally’.
The former Verve frontman is not only riding a fresh wave of popularity thanks to supporting Oasis on their incredible Live ’25 world tour, but also recently released his long-awaited new album, Lovin’ You.
Not just a Manc music icon but one of the biggest names to have come out of his borough, specifically, the legendary lyricist is finally getting more like the kind of recognition he deserves, and is making sure to pay that exposure forward in the best way possible.
He could have picked from all manner of big British acts as supports at Alexandra Palace, but Richard Ashcroft has chosen to keep flying the regional flag by picking a group he’s spent the last few months with, as well as a fellow Greater Manchester act.
That’s right: as well as signing up Liverpool’s very own Oasis Live ’25 openers, Cast, as one of the warm-up acts, the 54-year-old has also chosen another native Wigan artist in the form of The Lathums to join him for the momentous headline show.
Much-loved not only in their hometown but across Manchester and beyond, the indie favourites – who also released their latest studio LP, Matter Does Not Define, back in February – the young band are only getting better and becoming more established as time goes on.
Having already played the likes of the AO Arena here in Manchester and booked numerous big festival slots of the past few years, we reckon you can pretty much bank on them headlining this historic and bucket list venue for themselves in the future.
In terms of Cast, the scousers continue one of the busiest years for touring in their career by supporting ‘King Richard’, having followed up supporting ‘LG’ in 2024 to both Gallagher brothers over the summer.
As for Ashcroft himself, we’re glad to see him back releasing new music, and can confirm his seventh record is a great listen.
By no means our favourite, but just a taste of his latest sound.
Now, if you were wondering why we’re talking about this show over any of the other gigs (namely the Northern ones) on his upcoming UK run, it’s because most of the tour has now sold out.
His Co-op Live date was obviously the first to go, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium going shortly after, and extra dates being added in the likes of London, Liverpool and over in Leeds.
If you do happen to be in the capital already or are willing to make a trip to London for the show, there are still some tickets left for Richard Ashcroft at Ally Pally in July 2026.
Cannot wait to hear how this sounds in that storied room:
Daisy Jackson -
14th June 2024 
