I have had such a hectic bank holiday weekend! I’ve been out and about all weekend and on Monday (31st August), I managed to drag myself to Manchester and make the very last day of Manchester Pride.
This is now the third year I have been to Manchester Pride and I absolutely love it! It is a very vibrant, lively festival and most importantly, it is held every year in celebration of the LGBT community. Manchester Pride is now in its 25th year running so of course it had to be bigger and better than ever before. And it did not disappoint!
For just £12.50 for the Monday day ticket, it was a total bargain for what was included; live music such as the likes of former X Factor contestants Lucy Spraggan and Union J, access to Canal Street and all the bars and clubs, and lots of entertainment throughout the village to name but a few.
The majority of the day was spent pub crawling around Canal Street (c’mon, you can’t go to there without experiencing the nightlife) and although the alcohol was a lot more expensive than I’m use to, I had such a fun time experiencing the city life.
After going in to several bars, me and my friends decided to have a wander to the main stage where we saw Big Brother contestants, Simon ‘Showbiz’ Gross, and Nikki Grahame. Mr Showbiz was putting on a very flamboyant show and singing away to all the karaoke classics, including YMCA. He also had two skinny lads dancing around in skimpy “barely leaves anything to the imagination” underwear too because… Why not? To be honest, I was not a massive fan of him when he was in Big Brother but I have to say, his time on the Manchester Pride Main Stage was mildly entertaining. Although he said “showbiz” way too many times for it to be acceptable.
Afterwards, me and my friends wandering back around the clubs and went in to a club called Kiki, where three drag queens were performing. It was honestly one of the best things I have ever seen; they were strutting around on stage, lip-syncing to songs, and were full of character and charisma. I could have easily have watched them all day, although I envy them for having better legs than me, and being able to walk and dance in heels better than I’ll ever be able to do. They were highly entertaining and put on a phenomenal show and they had everyone singing and laughing along with them.
And then on to the highlight of my night; watching Lucy Spraggan perform on the main stage. I absolutely adore her and her music and I always try to see her every time she is performing in the North West of England. I think she is such a talented musician and I love her songs. The last time I saw her was probably at last years Manchester Pride so it was great to listen to all her best loved songs again, including Last Night, Tea & Toast, and Unsinkable.
Spraggan put on an incredible show and really worked the crowd. If there is one thing she does well, it is putting on an excellent show for her audience and she certainly delivered on Monday.
After Spraggan’s set, the main acts of the night arrived in the form of former X Factor’s contestants, Union J.
Union J are a guilty pleasure of mine so I was really excited to see their set and I thought they were fantastic. They are great performers and so cute! Listening to them play their very first single after the X Factor, Carry You, all the way to their newer songs from their latest album was amazing. I absolutely loved dancing in the crowd to all their songs and thoroughly enjoyed it. They have definitely won my heart!
Now, being near the end of the night, me and my friend managed to go back to Kiki and have a nice little dance (and a few more drinks) before we had to rush back to the train station to get our train home. And when I saw rush, I mean we had to have a 20 minute jog back to the station and boarded the train about 30 seconds before it pulled off.
For everyone who has never been to Manchester Pride before or is thinking of going, I would highly recommend it. For the past three years, I have always had an excellent time there and it is one of my favourite events of the year. Everyone is extremely friendly and its such a lively and entertaining event. And its for a good cause too!
I am determined to go to every day of Pride next year.
Did any of you go to Manchester Pride this year? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Paradise Spice 