EXCLUSIVE The extent of Manchester Pride’s financial difficulties have been revealed in documents seen by the Manchester Evening News
(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
International pop star Nelly Furtardo is among a host of artists and organisations owed more than £1.3m by Manchester Pride, according to to documents seen by the Manchester Evening News.
Last week, its Board of Trustees issued a statement following speculation about the future of the LGBTQ+ event.
This followed claims by a number of performers they had not been paid for their appearances over August Bank holiday weekend.
Trustees said it was with ‘enormous sadness’, that the organisation behind the LGBTQ+ event was ‘no longer financially viable’.
This had followed a decline in ticket sales, rising costs, and the response to this year’s ‘ambitious refresh of the event’s format’. On
October 22, it was confirmed Manchester Pride had begun the legal process of voluntary liquidation.
In the aftermath, eight members of staff were made redundant, and hundreds of artists and suppliers have still not been paid.
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Now, the extent of Manchester Pride’s financial difficulties have been laid bare in documents seen by the M.E.N.
A Statement of Affairs and Directors Report from KR8 Advisory, the company overseeing the liquidation, shows more than £1m owed to creditors spanning event management companies, venues and performers, including a company owned by Pride’s 2025 headliner Nelly Furtado.
Nelly Furtado performs during Manchester Pride 2025 (Image: WireImage)
Within the documentation a summary of liabilities states that Manchester Pride has a total of £269,291 cash in the bank, but the total debts to creditors stands at £1,306.683.
The list of organisations and individuals owed by Manchester Pride extends to nearly 200. This includes Mayfield Depot, which is where this year’s Mardi Gras event was held.
Documents show it is owed more than £330,000.
Nelstar Touring Inc, Nelly Furtado’s indie music label, is owed £145,755.75.
Practical Event Solutions, which looks after security for events is owed more than £167,000, and St John Ambulance is owed £47,330.
Manchester Pride is one of the biggest LGBTQ+ events in the UK, outside of London, and celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year.
Olly Alexander was one of the big headline acts at Manchester Pride 2025(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
The festival is attended by hundreds of thousands of people each year, and attracts big-scale performers, with Olly Alexander, Leigh-Anne and Nelly Furtado headlining proceedings just this year alone.
However, concern over payments arose in mid-October when hundreds of Pride performers revealed they had not been paid for their work and involvement in this year’s event.
Many said they had agreed to 60-day terms, but some acts, like RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Banksie, had agreed to 31-day terms with the cut-off dates since passing allegedly without payment.
The 60-day payment terms were criticised by the Equity union and the Charity Commission said it had since launched an investigation into Manchester Pride’s finances.
The M.E.N. understands organisers approached Manchester Council after this year’s event for help with existing debts But the board said they could not find a ‘positive solution’ and that they were ‘sincerely sorry for those who will now lose out financially from the current situation’.
Manchester Pride is considered to be one of the biggest LGBTQ+ events in the country(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
According to its most recent annual report, Manchester Pride raised £105,854 for LGBTQ+ groups and organisations across Greater Manchester in 2023, supporting 81 projects.
In the same document, the organisers reported a consolidated deficit of £468,000 for 2023. By December 31 in the same year, the consolidated funds deficit was £356,000.
In 2023, Manchester Pride’s total gross income was at £2.72m, however its total expenditure, as reported by the Charity Commission’s record was £3.18m – an increase in expenditure from 2022 of £580,000.
Earlier this year, it was announced that the team behind Manchester Pride would bid for the city to host EuroPride in 2028. The event had been budgeted at around £3.2m, of which a large portion was expected to have come from local government and nationwide grants, as well as through sponsorship channels.
However, earlier this month, 70 per cent of voting members backed the West of Ireland, making them the host location for the 2028 event.
The organisation behind Manchester Pride had, just months earlier, pitched the city as host for EuroPride 2028(Image: Manchester Pride)
In their statement announcing the liquidation, the Trustees cited their unsuccessful bid as a contributing factor in the organisation ‘no longer being financially viable’.
This was after around a year’s worth of time and resources, the M.E.N understands, was spent on preparing the bid, which had first been confirmed in August 2024.
The last statement issued by Manchester Pride in relation to administration was on Wednesday, October 22 when it announced it was entering voluntary liquidation.
The charity said it regretted the delays in communication the current situation, but that it did not want to jeopardise financial opportunities while discussions were ongoing.
They added: “We were proactive and determined to identify solutions to the financial issues. We’ve been actively working with several partners, including legal and financial advisors, to do everything we could to find a positive solution.
Manchester Pride is one of the biggest LGBTQ+ events in the country, outside of London(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“We had hoped to be able to find a way to continue, and, most importantly, to support our artists, contractors and partners. Despite our best efforts. sadly, this has not proved to be possible. We are sincerely sorry for those who will now lose out financially from the current situation.
“The volunteer Board of Trustees are devastated at this situation and sad to share that our staff team will be made redundant.”
In regards to the latest information relating to the voluntary liquidation of the charity, a holding message from Manchester Pride states: “We are no longer responding to media or other enquiries from this mailbox. All creditors, including artists, will be contacted directly by the liquidators.”