“`html
Saki Yew recalls feeling “joyous” after her performance at this year’s Manchester Pride.
The former Drag Race UK contestant dedicated weeks to rehearsals and costume design for her set at Sackville Gardens in August.
She considered it a worthy investment for one of the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations, a sentiment amplified by the enthusiastic crowd.
However, she alleges that requests for payment from Pride organizers were met with silence.
This week, the charity behind Manchester Pride declared insolvency, leaving numerous performers, vendors, and crew members unpaid.
In a statement confirming the liquidation, officials cited “a combination of rising costs, declining ticket sales and an ambitious refresh of the format aimed to challenge these issues.”
Yet, some insiders believe that repeated warnings regarding the event’s financial viability were ignored.
Manchester Pride originated in 1985 as a two-week fundraising initiative.
It has since grown significantly in both scale and influence, becoming the first UK organization to incorporate black and brown stripes into the rainbow flag, representing LGBTQ+ individuals of color.
By 2023, Manchester had established itself as one of the UK’s premier Pride events, alongside the annual celebrations in London and Brighton.
This growth attracted prominent performers, including Ariana Grande, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Anastacia, and Zara Larsson.
This year’s event featured a star-studded lineup, including Nelly Furtado, Olly Alexander, and former Little Mix member Leigh-Anne.
However, sources involved in this year’s event suggest that underlying issues were present.
Event manager Abbie Ashall, who has been involved with Manchester Pride since 2023 and served as a project manager for this year’s parade, told BBC Newsbeat that many charities experienced difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that Manchester Pride was also affected.
Ashall stated that she was given strict budgets and observed that departing colleagues were not replaced.
Simultaneously, Pride’s organizers launched Mardi Gras this year, a two-day, ticketed event at Manchester’s large-capacity Mayfield Depot, according to Ashall.
Attendees reported sparse crowds, and Ashall characterized the event as unsuccessful.
Chris O’Connor, a contractor who worked at Manchester Pride for five years as a runner, described his role as a combination of organization and “troubleshooter-slash-firefighter.”
He said that working in the lead-up to previous Pride weekends had been “a joy,” but that 2023 was fraught with “red flags” and “major issues” from the outset.
He believes Manchester Pride, which reported a loss of approximately £468,000 in 2022, should have exercised greater financial control.
Both O’Connor and Ashall stated that they are still owed money for their work on the 2023 event.
O’Connor claims that the lack of payment prevented him from visiting his son, who recently began university in Ireland.
Yew told Newsbeat that she has “a life outside of drag” and “bills and groceries to pay for.”
Like O’Connor, Yew believes Pride’s organizers should have been more transparent about their financial difficulties while people awaited payment.
“It’s highly disrespectful,” Yew stated.
“You’ve kept us in the dark, you’ve just disrespected every single person on what they do and what they provide for you.”
Some suspect that the lack of communication from Manchester Pride’s organizers regarding payment is linked to its unsuccessful bid to host the 2026 Europride.
This international event typically attracts large crowds, and Ashall believes that Pride officials were counting on “the funding that would have come with that from Manchester City Council and beyond.”
When Limerick and Clare, in Ireland, were announced as the winning bid earlier this month, hopes for potential Europride investment vanished.
“I think they took a massive swing and it was a miss,” Ashall said.
The exact details of the circumstances leading up to Manchester Pride’s liquidation remain unclear.
However, the Charity Commission, which oversees organizations in England and Wales, is “assessing concerns” after Pride’s leadership submitted a “serious incident report relating to its finances.”
Questions also remain regarding future events in Manchester and their potential format.
On the streets of Manchester, many attendees of this year’s Pride expressed a desire for the celebration to continue.
Kieran, 24, from Oldham, believes that “it’s something that everyone in Manchester looks forward to.”
“It brings all types of culture and people together,” he said.
Lexi agreed that Pride is “a big part of not only the culture of this city, but so important for the community itself.”
“If we don’t have Pride, what else do we have?”
Lexi stated that attending Pride events shortly after coming out was “a really important time” and that “it would be horrible for people to lose that opportunity.”
Manchester City Council has pledged to “support a new chapter for Manchester Pride weekend, which will take place next August.”
Lexi is optimistic.
“I would be happy to put my money into something, especially if it’s going to go back to the community,” she said.
There have been concerns about staging events outside Manchester’s gay village and prioritizing spectacle over supporting LGBTQ+ causes.
“Maybe there’s a way around it in creating a cheaper, more sustainable Pride,” Lexi hopes.
However, for the workers who depend on it, trust has been lost along with money.
“This charity is there to platform and support queer artists and practitioners,” Ashall stated.
“For all of those people to be at a loose end when this is the charity that is meant to raise them up more than anybody – that’s where it’s deeply frustrating and really upsetting.”
The BBC reached out to Manchester Pride for comment but did not receive a response.
In a statement shared on social media, Manchester Pride’s Board of Trustees expressed “regret” for delays in communication, but said it was “keen not to jeopardise financial opportunities while our discussions were ongoing”.
It said it had hoped to find a way to continue to support those who had contributed, and was “sincerely sorry for those who will now lose out financially from the current situation”.
“We have put our hearts and souls into the celebration and community activities over two decades,” it added.
“We hope and believe that this leaves a positive and lasting legacy for the Pride movement in Greater Manchester.”
Additional reporting by Georgia Levy-Collins.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.
Nurse Maureen Wallis joined the NHS in 1975 and has since worked for many years in West Yorkshire.
Betsy, who has a brain condition, is fundraising for machines which prepare children for MRI scans.
Jess Farnham, 24, said swapping her smartphone for an old-style flip-phone was “life changing”.
Lemn Sissay says he had a “beautiful” experience producing a poem featuring Manchester City players.
Witnesses say they felt the ground shake and heard “a loud bang” as the building collapsed.
“`