Pride

Report for Police 1 July 2016

Introduction Manchester Pride is the UK’s leading LGBT (, , bisexual and ) festival. A registered charity, Manchester Pride is charged with raising money for LGBT and HIV charities and organisations in Greater Manchester, since 2003 the charity have successfully raised and distributed over £1.3million.

Manchester Pride aims to challenge on the grounds of sexuality, champion equal rights and celebrate the diverse community, both in Greater Manchester and the UK as a whole.

Manchester Pride has been at the forefront of LGBT celebrations for many years and now attracts a strong international audience to the event.

There are a number of elements that Manchester Pride deliver year on year, some of a political nature, others as a celebration.

Superbia An annual programme of culture from Manchester Pride, Superbia, launched in 2015, showcases, supports and celebrates LGBT and relevant arts, comedy, debate, film, literature, music, sport, theatre, family and community led projects within Greater Manchester with the aim to encourage engagement, wellbeing, and culturally enhance our communities.

The Big Weekend The most prominent element of Manchester Pride’s annual calendar, the Big Weekend spans for four-days over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Delivering a strong programme of live music, community activities, trading and parties. An estimated 40,000 visitors attend each day and notable performers have included Dannii Minogue, All Saints, Anastasia, Kelis, Steps, Pixie Lott, Alison Moyet and Sam Sparro.

The Candlelit Vigil The spiritual heart of the festival, the Candlelit Vigil closes the annual festivities. Held in Sackville Gardens, a tranquil, moving event brings together the community in remembering those who we have lost to HIV and those living with the disease.

The Manchester A colourful, spectacular parade weaving its way through the streets of Manchester city centre. Over 100 parade entries and an estimated 3,000 participants, makes it one of Manchester’s largest annual parades.

The Manchester Pride Spring Benefit The charity’s red-carpet fundraising event was held in May 2016 at The Bays at Victoria Warehouse Hotel. The event attracted a number of celebrities, national and local businesses and raised over £24,000 for the Manchester Pride Community Fund.

Impact and Legacy The estimated impact on Manchester’s economy is between £19million - £25million.

Hotels within the city reach an occupancy rate of approximately 88% over the four days of the Big Weekend, comparative to the previous weekend in August 71%. The Parade day in 2014 reached 98% occupancy level across the city.

MANCHESTER PRIDE Manchester One / Suite 9C / 53 Portland Street / Manchester / M1 3LF / United Kingdom T: +44 (0)161 831 7700 / Email: [email protected]

VAT number: 915888380 Company number: 4671318 Registered Charity no: 1117848 The Big Weekend in particular presents Manchester to an international audience, attracting up to 40,000 visitors per day. The Parade sees the streets of Manchester lined with tens of thousands of spectators from Manchester and beyond.

The event has successfully received media attention from some of the nation's largest media outlets and with Manchester Evening News as our media partner and national publications such as Attitude, Diva and Gay Times. In addition, Marketing Manchester facilitate press trips to the city for the celebrations, key areas have included the US and Europe.

As a registered charity, Manchester Pride has raised and distributed over £1.3million since 2003. Following a hugely successful year in 2015, the charity distributed a record breaking £147,000 in grants via the Manchester Pride Community Fund. The money from the Manchester Pride Community Fund supports the following projects:

Free Condom and Lube Packs The fund supports the Lesbian and Gay Foundation in the production of over 600,000 free condom packs per year, these are distributed for free across gay venues in and around the city. HIV Welfare Fund Manchester Pride provides vital funding the HIV welfare fund administered by George House Trust. The fund offers small one-off payments to those living with HIV suffering financial hardship. Community Grants In addition to the projects above, each year, Manchester Pride invite applications from community groups and charities to apply for funding to support the work they do. Around 40 groups across Greater Manchester receive funding from us each year.

Manchester Pride not only deliver events and activities throughout the year, we also act as a portal for promoting events and community groups in and around the city, maximising the reach for this.

The charity employs three full-time members of staff, has a board of directors of thirteen, and employs up to 700 freelance staff and contractors per year. The charity is also supported by over 100 volunteers.

Since 2003, the charity have been awarded a total of thirteen awards ranging from Best UK Event, to Tourism Experience of the Year. Notably in 2013, Manchester Pride won the international award for ‘Best Activities Calendar for the LGBT Tourist’ with Ragap in Madrid.

Manchester Pride has a long standing and successful relationship with Greater Manchester Police (GMP). GMP offer support throughout the year by working closely with the Event Management Team on planning for the Big Weekend. GMP Officers from the Events Team, Licensing and Neighbourhood Policing attend quarterly Safety Advisory Group Meetings as well as other necessary meetings by request. GMP show support by having entries in the Manchester Pride Parade with the LGBT staff network 'Police with Pride'.

The Manchester Pride Big Weekend has for many years been statistically the safest weekend in The Village throughout the year with the lowest number of arrests and incidents. This is due to the good working relationship and systems put in place by Manchester Pride and GMP as well as Manchester Pride's chosen security provider.

In the past, Manchester Pride have kindly been offered the full 50% abatement on Policing costs for the event. We hope that GMP can continue this support as this enables us to continue our work with LGBT organisations and communities in Greater Manchester.

MANCHESTER PRIDE Manchester One / Suite 9C / 53 Portland Street / Manchester / M1 3LF / United Kingdom T: +44 (0)161 831 7700 / Email: [email protected]

VAT number: 915888380 Company number: 4671318 Registered Charity no: 1117848