Barclays offers Superbia support for Manchester Pride

Bank To Sponsor LGBT+ Cultural Calendar

Barclays, the transatlantic consumer and wholesale bank, has signed up as headline sponsor for Manchester Pride’s year round calendar of cultural events Superbia and the Superbia Weekend which forms part of the August bank holiday weekend event The Manchester Pride Festival.

Superbia has been created to provide LGBT+ people across Greater Manchester with a portal of easy to access listings for relevant events, from theatre to youth engagement work, book launches to faith groups, exhibitions to activist and community work.

It also aims to support, promote and curate events that are by, for and about LGBT+ people with the aim to culturally enhance lives across Greater Manchester.  The provision of Superbia Grants helps get projects that otherwise may not have been successful get off the ground.

The Superbia Weekend is a recent addition to The Manchester Pride Festival and provides a free to attend, dry alternative to The Big Weekend. Its three day programme of events take place in a welcoming fully accessible, alcohol free space at the former Cornerhouse building, now part of Manchester Metropolitan University.  

This new offering from the charity was born out of extensive consultation with LGBT+ people across Greater Manchester - many of whom reported that they didn’t feel that partying of the The Big Weekend was for them. They wanted to access more cultural, wellbeing and art focussed events as part of their involvement in The Manchester Pride Festival. Now in its third year it has been a huge success since its conception in 2016.

The bank’s sponsorship will help to enable the charity to deliver one of  its key objectives for 2018 which, along with delivery of the Superbia Weekend, include the award of grants to LGBT+ events taking place across Greater Manchester, a series of digital and life skills workshops for both 16 - 25 year olds and 50+.  The year’s programme of events aims to reach and engage with 40,000 LGBT+ people throughout the region, creating opportunities for engagement and reducing social exclusion and isolation.

The partnership will provide opportunities for Barclays’ staff to get involved in the programme as volunteers and they will again march in the Manchester Pride Parade for the 14th year. 

Mark Fletcher, chief executive for Manchester Pride, said; “Barclays has been a long term supporter of Manchester Pride for many years and we consider the business to be an integral link in our engagement with LGBT+ people both here in Greater Manchester and further afield.  

“To welcome Barclays on board as the principal sponsor for Superbia and the Superbia Weekend is an important and very welcome step for us.  The sponsorship will enable us to deliver our key objectives for Superbia 2018/19 and reach over 40,000 people with vital events and initiatives which we believe will deepen engagement increase levels of social inclusion for LGBT+ people in Greater Manchester  amongst people that very much need it throughout the year”

Mark McLane, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Barclays, said; “Barclays supports customers, clients and colleagues across the broad spectrum of diversity of sexuality and gender identity. Within the workplace, we not only celebrate the diversity of the LGBT+ community, but we also aim to create an inclusive work environment where colleagues feel confident bringing their whole selves to work.  Our employee-led LGBT+ network, Spectrum, has a vision to drive LGBT+ inclusion in the company, making Barclays the bank of choice for colleagues, customer and clients. 

“Our sponsorship of Superbia will not only show our commitment to this initiative amongst colleagues and the wider community but will also enable us to contribute to a wider development across the region thanks to the fantastic work of Manchester Pride with LGBT+ people in Greater Manchester.”

For more information about Superbia visit via link below

Published: 12-Jul-2018: (4967)