Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has spoken out after Manchester Pride revealed it had gone bust last week (October 16), leaving many artists and performers unpaid.
One of the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ events, the announcement came after BBC’s Newsbeat was informed that at least one of this year’s headline acts hadn’t been paid. After this, dozens more businesses and performers came forward to say they also hadn’t been paid.
The charity behind Manchester Pride later confirmed they have gone into voluntary liquidation.
In a statement shared with “Pride artists, contractors and suppliers”, Manchester Pride said they made the announcement with “enormous sadness”.
It continued: “A combination of rising costs, declining ticket sales and an ambitious refresh of the format aimed to challenge these issues has led to the organisation no longer being financially viable.
They went on to express their “regret” with “the delays in communicating the current situation”, adding that they “had hoped to be able to find a way to continue, and, most importantly, to support our artists, contractors and partners.”
They added: “We are sincerely sorry for those who will now lose out financially from the current situation.” You can read the full statement here:
Posted by Manchester Pride on Thursday, October 16, 2025
Burnham later responded to the news on Mike Sweeney’s BBC Manchester show this morning (October 23).
When asked by a listener if there was anything he could do to help, he replied: “It’s a sad situation, isn’t it, for obviously everyone, for the employees and also for the performers who I think haven’t been paid as they should have been,” he began. “So, it’s a regrettable situation and a sad one because Manchester Pride has built, built, built over the years.
“It was an amazing Pride this year, actually. I was there and, to be honest, it was a completely uplifting afternoon really in what sometimes feels like a divided time. Pride was, as ever, a fantastic event.
“I think it’s primarily for Manchester City Council, but we will work closely with them. My organisation has provided some funding with regards to the cultural component of Pride, so we have supported them in the past.”
Manchester Council’s leader, Bev Craig, also made a statement on the situation, saying the council had tried to do “everything we could” to support Pride, but realised it “had become unsustainable” (as per the Manchester Evening News). The council later promised it would work on getting the event to run next year.
Addressing this, Burnham added: “It was great to see that statement from Bev. To be clear, what she is saying is that there will be a Manchester Pride 2026, so that’s not in doubt. There’s a difference between Pride as an occasion we know so well and the organisation that runs it.”
This year, Manchester’s Pride was headlined by Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne, former Years & Years frontman and one-time Eurovision hopeful and solo star Olly Alexander. Others performing included Billy Porter and rap pioneer Big Freedia.
In 2024, Jessie J and Loreen headlined two of the four nights at Manchester Pride alongside Katy B, Chinchilla, Drag Race UK winner Ginger Johnson, Steps’ Claire Richards and Atomic Kitten‘s Natasha Hamilton.
