Equity has made a bid to acquire Manchester Pride’s brand assets after news last week that the assets were being sold off to the highest bidder by liquidators. The sell-off follows the collapse of the organisation that ran the event in October 2025.
Offering a symbolic £1 for the assets, which include the Manchester Pride brand name and associated domain names, the bid has been made to give workers the opportunity to decide the future of the event. The move is also to prevent a repeat of 2025, which left Equity members more than £70,000 out of pocket in unpaid fees.
Our bid is about protecting Pride as a community asset, not a commercial one. Allowing the people whose labour was used to build this ‘asset’ to decide how the trademark of Manchester Pride is used in the future
Nick Keegan, Equity Variety Organiser
Equity organiser Nick Keegan warned that selling the Manchester Pride brand to a commercial buyer risks undermining the values of the event and the community that built it. It could also leave performers and workers vulnerable to further exploitation.
“Manchester Pride was initially started in the 1980s by the LGBTQ+ community of Manchester as a response to the AIDS crisis and rising queerphobia caused by Section 28" a representative of the Drag Network explained, "It’s not just a city-wide party. Its roots in protest are as important today as then.”
Nick Keegan, Equity’s variety organiser, who placed the bid on behalf of Equity’s North West Drag Network, commented:
“Manchester Pride was built by the LGBTQ+ workers of Canal St and beyond who provide a space and a community for LGBTQ+ people all year round. The event should not be treated as a commodity to be bought and sold off to the highest bidder.
“The cultural workforce are at the heart of Pride, without them, there is no festival. After what happened in 2025, with members left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket, we don’t want to see history repeat itself.
"If successful, the workers will have control over who the "asset" goes to. Our bid is about protecting Pride as a community asset, not a commercial one. Allowing the people whose labour was used to build this ‘asset’ to decide how the trademark of Manchester Pride is used in the future will help protect them from further exploitation, as well as preserve the values and the longevity of the event itself."
