Manchester Pride 2024
On Saturday 24th August, Creative Support proudly marched in the Manchester Pride Parade. The turnout was incredible, with around 40 staff and people we support flocking in from Doncaster, Leeds, Bolton, Tameside, Salford, Trafford and Manchester.
The official theme for the parade was ‘Buzzin’ to be Queer’; the worker bee has represented Manchester’s powerful community spirit since the beginning of the industrial revolution 150 years ago. The bee also represents progress, inclusivity, and equality, which is what the city’s LGBTQ+ community proudly champions.
When it came to choosing what to wear, everyone dared to be fabulously unique. Some adorned cowboy hats with glitter while others fastened pride flags as superhero capes. Paul from Salford wore bright yellow crocs as he marched in the parade with Creative Support for the first time. Martin in Leeds, who has been coming to Manchester Pride with partner Vicky for 10 years, wore a stunning green dress.
After waiting in the drizzle at the starting line, nearly 200 floats and walking groups set off at 1pm. As if on cue, sunshine burst through the clouds and the joyous procession inched forward. Batir, our Web Manager from Head Office, drove our minibus garlanded with pride flags, demonstrating excellent clutch control.
As we rolled into Peter Street to ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ by Bon Jovi, Marcus from Salford was taken aback by how many people were there to greet us and went to shake a few hands. The crowd erupted, whistling and cheering. Everyone made a huge impact with their high energy, dazzling outfits and welcoming smiles. Marcus said, “I feel famous!”
Vicky from Leeds was excited to see Tia, a British drag queen who won a series of Rupaul’s Drag Race. We also spotted one of our own members of staff in the crowd, a support worker from Ashton who asked if she could have a flag to wave in our name!
We want to thank the people we support for their hard work before and during the event. Stuart from Creative Together, our co-production centre in Manchester, put a lot of work into organising the event and making signs expressing love and joy for people to hold. Ian kindly handed out wristbands, and Head Office volunteer John got everyone’s coats and bags onto the minibus. Martin held the Creative Support banner the entire time.
At the end of the day, we asked people, “What does pride mean to you?”
“Being who you are without discrimination.” – Katy, Tameside
“You’re asking me? You know what it means to me – I’m here every year!” – John, Manchester
“Everybody being together.” – Vicky and Martin, Leeds
“Feeling comfortable.” – Emma-Leigh, Support Worker, Tameside
“Vibes and glitter.” – Caine, Tameside
“As an older audience, it gives me a chance to reflect on those we’ve lost and how far we’ve come.” – Richard, Support Worker, Doncaster
“A great atmosphere and good music.” – Michael, Creative Together
“Going out and being free without criticism.” – Rachel, Tameside
“Sharing warmth, joy and affection with the LGBTQ+ community. At the parade today, you just feel a wall of warmth radiating from the crowd, and this warmth grows each year.” – Anna Lunts, CEO
More and more we see Creative Support staff attending and organising prides more locally. We spoke to Richard, a Support Worker in Doncaster, who organised Harworth & Bircotes Pride in Nottinghamshire with his husband. It started off small, but is now the biggest free music and entertainment event in the area with over 300 people attending. Richard is now planning to get a Pride event going at Creative Support in Doncaster next summer!
As the afternoon came to a close, Richard noted that Pride is a party, but it’s also a protest and homage to the incredible LGBTQ+ figures throughout our history. He said it’s about “standing on the shoulders of those before us, standing up in the name of love.”