Manchester Pride 2016

23rd August 2016 Mark Ward

Manchester

2016

Introduction to Manchester Pride

Manchester Pride is a registered charity that campaigns for equality and challenges discrimination; creates opportunity for engagement and participation and celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) life. The charity fundraises for LGBT and HIV projects in Greater Manchester by staging a number of events throughout the year, including the award winning Manchester Pride Festival, The Manchester Pride Spring Benefit, events recognising International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) and our annual programme of culture, Superbia.

TICKETS

We have a whole host of ticket options now available for you to celebrate and enjoy The Big Weekend. From our 3rd Release tickets priced at £25* for the full four day Big Weekend to Platinum Packages and Family Day Tickets, we’re sure there’s a Big Weekend ticket for you!

*booking fee applies

SATURDAY 27 AUGUST 2016, 1:00PM

A carnival atmosphere will fill the streets of Manchester and is set to enthrall the thousands of spectators – young and old, gay and straight, friends and family – who come down to see the glamorous and the outrageously fabulous people who take part!

PARADE ROUTE

Make sure you grab a good spot along the Parade Route to view all the fabulous floats and walkers as they strut their stuff through the city centre. The map below has suggested Viewing Areas and viewing Vantage Points.

The Parade sets off from Liverpool Road at 1:00pm – so make sure you arrive nice and early to get a prime spot to see the Parade in all its wonderful glory.

Manchester’s Gay Village has a rich and diverse offering for visitors to The Big Weekend. If it’s a cocktail in Velvet you’re after, a quick bite to eat in Taurus, a boogie in Via, or want to party the night away in New York, New York The Village has everything you could ask for.

And over The Big Weekend the bars and clubs go all out to ensure our visitors have the time of their lives, morning, noon and night. From bars to clubs to restaurants, venues host special events over the weekend, from celebrity guest appearances, karaoke sing-alongs, djs and drag artists to special drinks offers and quick bite menus.

EAGLE MANCHESTER

Saturday, August.27th at 15:00

After the Manchester Pride parade, head on straight over to Eagle for a Saturday afternoon packed to the brim with fun.

KY Kelly is on hand to keep things in check, as she serves up a delicious dish of cabaret from BGT semi-finalist Danny Beard and crowd favourite Mary Mac.

Eagle will be open from 1pm – with the fun kicking off from 3.30pm sharp. Be sure to arrive early to ensure entry and to avoid dissapointment.

Cruz 101 hosts The Official Pride Opening Party for the 24th consecutive year! We give you nothing but the best Pop, Chart & Dance from DJs Dazz & Anthony Murray played in the Village’s biggest nightclub from 10:30PM to 7AM.
Expect an awe inspiring light show with all the best Drag Artists bestowing their fabulousness upon this Fairytale Fantasy club transformation. Into The Woods promises to be one of our best Pride sets ever; delivering you an Opening Party that will go down in history!

Downstairs Cha Cha Boudoir hosts the most glitter-tastic event of Pride Weekend with DJ Danny Olsson-Lane playing you an eclectic mix Pop, RnB and Electronica. Whip your wings out and get dousing yourself in pixie dust because we are going to rock the bower this year!

Get ready to experience a night like no other as International DJ Sam Londt takes you on an epic 9 hour journey through the best RnB, Pop and Commercial House at the Biggest Party of the weekend. SAM CALLAHAN performs live on the Cruz 101 stage!

Expect the most fabulous of all the parties as we throw you a drag bonanza with Cheddar Gorgeous hosting and Heroin Amor, Tilly Skreams & Candy Acid with some of their most outrageous performances ever.

With frozen drink prices all weekend, don’t worry about your Saturday night antics, just get yourself here and enjoy our amazing drink offers. Sunday promises to be one hell of a night.

Cruz 101 closes Manchester Pride for the 24th year running with the Official Closing Party guaranteed to be the busiest venue in the village. A surprise performer yet to be announced will bring your weekend to an epic close. Because one last blowout isn’t going to hurt, is it?

DJ Dino camps it up for the final night of Pride as we offer free admission to all Pride Volunteers & Staff, so come end your weekend on a high!

Downstairs in Sub 101 UTOPIA returns with a Trance Classics special as DJ Rob James plays you an amazing selection of Vocal Trance from the glory years of Manchester’s Clubbing scene.

GETTING TO MANCHESTER

COACH

National Express provides services from all over the country into Manchester Central Coach station, which is literally on the doorstep of the Gay Village. You can often bag a bargain with the Megabus, which travels frequently from London.

TRAIN

Great services means getting to Manchester by train easy. For The Big Weekend, hop off at either Manchester Piccadilly or Oxford Road.

Travel to Manchester Pride with TransPennine Express from across the north of England and Scotland with regular departures into Manchester from Newcastle, York, Leeds, Hull, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Save over 50%* when you book in advance.

Booking in advance with TransPennine Express offers great value for money on many longer distance journeys and you get to reserve a seat. Tickets go on sale up to 12 weeks in advance which is when they are at their cheapest.

*Terms and conditions apply

AIR

With Manchester Airport just 10 miles from the city centre, the whole world has Manchester on its doorstep. Getting from the airport is easy, you can either take a cab, jump on a train to Manchester Piccadilly or a Metrolink Tram to a number of stops in the city centre including Deansgate-Castlefield, the newly refurbished St Peter’s Square, Piccadilly Gardens and Manchester Piccadilly – all of which are a stones-throw away from Manchester’s Gay Village.

ROAD

Motorways take you straight into the heart of the city, NCP also have special discounts annually for those attending the festival for their city centre car parks. From the north take the M602 from the M6 which will lead you into the city centre. From the south take the M56 and A5113 into the city.

The postcode for the events site is M1 3HE.

PARKING

Make light work of travelling into Manchester city centre for Pride this bank holiday and pre-book your NCP parking space today.

NCP have car parks throughout the city, so you’ll never be far from the action. The Great Northern 1 & 2 car parks are ideally located for The Parade. And the Piccadilly Gardens and Palace car parks are convenient for The Big weekend.

So pre-book today to spend more time enjoying the celebrations and less time searching for
somewhere to park. To book, please visit here

GETTING AROUND MANCHESTER

METROLINK

Our official travel partner for The Big Weekend 2016, Manchester’s light railway system, runs a fast frequent service and is ideal for getting into the city, or perhaps for a day out exploring in Chorlton or Salford Quays. Thanks to our friends at Metrolink, all Pledge Band wearers are entitled to travel around the City Centre Zone for free from Fri 26 August – Mon 29 August 2016.

FREE BUS

There is a free bus service that operates around Manchester all through the day. The buses start outside Piccadilly train station and travel to key areas including Oxford Road, Deansgate and Spinningfields.

FIRST MANCHESTER

With a fleet of over 600 buses, around 2,200 staff and a network of over 300 routes serving Greater Manchester, including Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham and Tameside we are one of the biggest bus operators in the region. We are part of FirstGroup, the international bus and rail company.

WALKING

When the sun shines, Manchester is an amazing city to discover. The size of the city centre means that most areas are accessible on foot, stroll through the eclectic Northern Quarter, head down King Street or wander around the contemporary Spinningfields area. You could also join a walking tour in the city and discover the rich heritage.

ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR

If you’re planning in venturing out of the City or taking an extended break why not rent a car from our friends at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, an internationally recognised brand with more than 6,500 neighbourhood and airport locations in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, France and Spain, as well as franchise locations throughout the world. Enterprise offers a wide variety of car leasing, replacement rentals, van-pooling, car sharing and hourly rental programs – and local car rental customers are picked up at no extra cost.