Monday 29-08-2016 - 16:18

For the fourth year in a row, Manchester Met submitted an entry into this year’s Manchester Pride Parade on Saturday 27 August 2016.

This year’s entry was a collaboration between our amazing LGBT Society and the University’s Equality and Diversity Team, and allowed our staff and students to celebrate diversity together.

The parade theme for 2016 was ‘Once upon a time…’ and our entry was based around the notion that once upon a time, not so long ago, LGBT people had no legal protections in the UK. Our float and costumes celebrated some of the famous faces of liberation throughout history, from Emmeline Pankhurst to Alan Turing.

Manchester Pride is one of the biggest, most vibrant celebrations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lives in the UK. Each year, over the August bank holiday weekend, tens of thousands of people head to the city’s Gay Village for four days of festivities and live music, culminating in an emotional candlelit vigil in Sackville Gardens to commemorate those who have died from HIV and AIDs.

The parade is one of the most iconic events of the weekend, which last year saw more than 3,000 participants take to the city centre streets in a vibrant display of solidarity and celebration.

Pride is over for 2016, but get in touch with manmetlgbt@gmail.com if you would like to get involved in planning MMU’s parade entry for next year!

Want to find out more about University support for LGBT students? Take a look at this guide from the Equality and Diversity team, featuring the LGBT Society’s Andy Harmon.