Manchester Pride today announced that the theme for the 2020 Pride Parade

Manchester Pride today announced that the theme for the 2020 Manchester Pride Parade on Saturday 29th August will be March for Peace, as the LGBTQ+ charity shares it’s vision for peace in a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to live and love without prejudice. 

Manchester Pride is calling on the community and its allies to come together, respect the labels, embrace differences, and to recognise that everyone deserves the right to be who they are and live their lives in peace. 

During the summer of 1967, thousands of flower children streamed across America searching for peace. Many members of the  LGBTQ+ communities saw the developments of that time as guiding the way to greater liberation, however, over 50 years later the community - both globally and here at home in the UK - must continue its fight for equal rights. 

While LGBTQ+ people have achieved so much since then, homophobic and transphobic hate crimes have more than doubled over the last five years, with many people still facing discrimination because of their identity. 

More than half of all black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ people have reported experiencing discrimination or poor treatment within their local LGBTQ+ network because of their ethnicity and almost half of trans people have attempted suicide at least once and 84% have thought about it. 

A quarter of homeless people identify as LGBTQ+, with 77% of these citing coming out to their parents as the reason for them being made homeless.

With this in mind the charity has this year chosen to March for Peace, with its message loud and clear: no one is free until we are all free, and no one gets left behind.

Manchester Pride is committed to creating opportunities to engage LGBTQ+ people so that they can thrive and the Parade is a vital part of the charity’s community engagement programme. It provides an opportunity for community members to not only connect with Manchester Pride but also with each other and create lasting relationships, in turn, reducing social isolation. 

It is committed to ensuring that Manchester Pride’s Parade entry is diverse, inclusive and representative of the whole LGBTQ+ community. The charity will hold a number of listening groups and workshops throughout the year for LGBTQ+ people to discover how they can get involved and lead the March For Peace with the charity. Information as to how to get involved can be found at www.manchesterpride.com.

Mark Fletcher, chief executive for Manchester Pride, said: “Every year I am asked do we still need a Pride celebration and every year I say yes we do. Statistics show us that more than half of all black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ people have reported experiencing discrimination or poor treatment within their local LGBTQ+ network because of their ethnicity and whilst we have certainly made great leaps in our mission to rid the world of discrimination it isn’t yet an even playing field. 

“We must support every single member of every single LGBTQ+ community and fight until they feel equal and free to be themselves. This is why this year we will March For Peace as we ask the world to recognise that the fight has only just begun.”

The Parade, which was bigger than ever before in 2019, with just over 17,000 participants in floats and walking entries from businesses and community groups across the region, is one of the festival's most highly anticipated events. Thousands of people march proudly together through the streets of Manchester in front of an estimated 250,000 supporters cheering them along the way.

With organisations taking part last year including Greater Manchester Police, the fire service, local businesses, charities and the stars of Coronation Street, there will certainly be lots to see.

The Manchester Pride Parade starts on Liverpool Road, passing by the Town Hall and the Gay Village before finishing on Whitworth Street. In recent years it has been led by some of the most prominent faces in the LGBT+ world including Orange Is The New Black actress Lea DeLaria, national treasure Sir Ian McKellen and Manchester’s first out Lord Mayor, Carl Austin-Behan.

Applications are now open for those who wish to take part. Businesses that have taken part in previous events have included Autotrader, Barclays, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis..  For more information visit manchesterpride.com/parade.

Last year Manchester Pride announced a brand new format for the Manchester Pride Festival and a new home for the August Bank Holiday event’s live music experience, but the Manchester Pride Parade remains the same as it welcomes hundreds of thousands of revellers to witness the spectacle of LGBTQ+ people marching across the city centre on Saturday afternoon.

Manchester Pride Festival in partnership with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays, takes place over four days in Manchester city centre every August Bank Holiday (28 - 31 August) and is made up of six key elements, extending the reach of the LGBTQ+ event even further and creating new touch points for all LGBTQ+ people across Greater Manchester and beyond.

The internationally renowned festival will come alive across the city with a programme of events curated to appeal to a variety of different audiences to create the charity’s most inclusive event yet.

Tickets to Manchester Pride Festival are available now.  Rainbow passes start at £35 for a day pass and £65 for the whole weekend. A rainbow pass entitles festival goers to access to two days at Manchester Pride Live and four days at the Gay Village Party over the bank holiday weekend.* The Manchester Pride Parade is free to attend.

To find out more about Manchester Pride follow the charity on Twitter @manchesterpride or visit the website at link below

Thanks to Drew Wilby for image

Published: 20-Feb-2020: (5780)