A question of pride in a global community

Since the early 1970s, June has been known as Pride Month. Every year, June marks the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a series of protests that occurred in Greenwich Village, New York City, after police attempted to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, on June 28, 1969. 

As Charity Digital reported, the first London Pride was held in 1972 on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Around 2000 people attended. In 2022, on the 50th anniversary of the first march in the UK, over 1.5 million people attended London Pride. 

As the Pink Times explained, since the late 1980s, fundraising events have been held over the August bank holiday weekend in Manchester, in a bid to raise money for the LGBTQ+ community. 

At the time of its birth, homophobia remained rife and in 1988 an anti-Section 28 protest was held in Manchester, against the law that prohibited the “promotion of sexuality”. The law was in effect until the year 2000 in Scotland and 2003 in England and Wales. 

In the summer of 1991, Manchester’s Village Charity formed the Mardi Gras festival, which raised £15,000 for HIV and AIDS. In 2022, the charity raised a staggering £120,062.38 for LGBTQ+ good causes in the city. 

Manchester Pride will take place between 23rd - 26th August. Across the August Bank Holiday weekend, Pride events contribute around £34 million to Manchester’s economy.