Covid: Manchester Pride plan 'in-person' summer return

A plan to bring Manchester Pride back to the city's streets and venues is being worked on, organisers have said.

Covid-19 moved the "celebration of LGBTQ+ life" online in 2020, with about 114,000 people joining a virtual event.

However, chief executive Mark Fletcher said the government's plan to drop restrictions by 21 June meant an "in-person" event should return in August.

He added that should "England's roadmap" change, there were "secondary plans" for a socially-distanced event.

A spokesman for the festival said it would run from 27 to 30 August and end with its traditional candlelit vigil on Bank Holiday Monday.

He said the ticketing capacity for the festival would be cut by 50% compared to that of 2019 and details of the programme, including the line-up, would be revealed "over the coming weeks and months".

Organisers also plan to bring back the free annual parade, which sees floats celebrating people and organisations driven through the city centre, and stage dedicated Youth and Family Pride events.

The announcement came as Pride organisers in Brighton and Hove and London, which were also affected by coronavirus, revealed they would be returning in August and September respectively.

Mr Fletcher said he was "delighted" to announce the plans.

"On 22 February, the prime minister outlined England's roadmap out of lockdown, offering hope that live events will return this summer," he said.

"This has put us in a position where we can work towards a plan that would see us come together and celebrate in person."

He added that it was impossible to "predict the future and we know that we could find ourselves in a situation in the coming months where we are unable to deliver an in-person festival".

"Should this be the case, we are prepared and we will revert to our secondary plans... incorporating socially-distanced events and digital elements."

The festival spokesman said tickets for the August event would be released over the coming months and those who bought tickets for 2020 and rolled them on to 2021 will receive details from a ticket agent.

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