By Calum McSwiggan

Copyright metro

My frightened teenage self could never have imagined this day (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)

‘This feels like we’re doing something illegal,’ my dad says as we enter the enormous warehouse where the main after-party for Manchester Pride is taking place.

I hesitate for a moment before realising he means that as a good thing.

As they dance their way through multiple DJ sets, I see something change in my sixty-something-year-old parents. They’re reconnecting to their youth.

As a 35-year-old gay man who has already attended a dozen Pride events this year alone, you might think Manchester’s celebration would pale in comparison to the rest.

But this time, things are different, because I’m seeing it through the eyes of my parents as well.

They’d never been to a Pride event before, so when they heard I was following it all over the world, they asked if they could join me.

This was important to me because, like many queer kids, I grew up not knowing if they would accept me. To that scared teenage kid, it’s a dream I never thought would come true.

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Having already visited Pride in far-flung destinations from Mumbai and Sydney to Bangkok and the Arctic, I understand why Manchester may seem an unusual choice.

But covering Pride here in my home country felt just as important. And for the uninitiated, Manchester is just about as queer as a city can get.

I’m of the opinion that Manchester Pride isn’t just one of the best celebrations in the country, but one of the best in the whole world.

The reasons for that are tenfold, but the sheer size of Manchester’s Gay Village is one of the reasons its celebrations stand out. Most gaybourhoods take up the length of a single street – if that – but Manchester’s takes up several city blocks.

The pride flags fly 365 days a year, but for Pride, the whole place transforms into an expansive street party complete with a fairground, multiple stages, and four days of live entertainment.

What I didn’t realise, however, was the extent of the queer history at the heart of this city.

Manchester is about as queer as a city can get (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)

Taking an LGBT+ walking tour, we discover the rainbow tiles etched into the pavement that mark historic moments of queerness and community.

I love seeing my parents take such an interest. I watch them listening intently, their faces shifting with curiosity and surprise as we learn about everything from historic cruising grounds to early pioneers for trans rights.

I see their understanding of our community deepening in real time – it’s one thing for our allies to be supportive, but another for them to come and be present, and actually learn about what really makes our community tick.

When I first came out at the age of 16, they first reacted with concern.

They were worried that my identity would make my life more difficult, and so they wanted me to be ‘normal’ like everyone else. This caused a little tension at first, but within a matter of weeks, they became the most supportive parents in the world. They realised that my queerness was integral to who I was – it had always been there, even if they hadn’t seen it.

In recent years, they’ve gotten to know my transgender best friend, too, and through knowing her, they’ve become passionate allies for the wider community as well. It just goes to show that knowing just one LGBT+ person can dramatically change the way a person thinks and feels.

Pride Around the World

Calum McSwiggan, author of Eat Gay Love, is a man on a mission. He plans to spend 2025 exploring how the LGBT+ community is celebrated everywhere on Earth: 12 months, 7 continents, 20 Prides.
In an exclusive Metro series, Calum will journey from the subzero climes of Antarctica to the jewel-toned streets of Mumbai, telling the story of Pride around the world.
Follow his journey on Metro, in print and on our socials to learn how Pride is celebrated around the world.

My parents join me for the parties (my mum loved Gok Wan’s DJ set), but the city’s varied programming means we can enjoy the quieter and more relaxed events, too.

We catch a sunny outdoor movie screening as part of SCENE, Manchester’s LGBT+ film festival, and we enjoy the absurdly ridiculous queer dog show that celebrates the glorious chaos that unfolds when you combine drag queens and dogs without talent.

Manchester does an exceptional job of catering to queer families, too.

Seeing Pride through my parents’ eyes reminded me how special it can be (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)

Proud Fest takes place on the same weekend, offering a dedicated space for LGBT+ parents and their children. With arts and crafts, bouncy castles, and family-friendly entertainment, it’s touching to see a space carved out for queer families to exist.

The kids seem to love it, too – combining children’s entertainment with LGBT+ education, it’s encouraging to watch dozens of excited kids bopping along to a Pop ‘n Olly dance storytime show.

‘These kinds of spaces are for all families,’ Founder and Director Olly Pike tells Metro. ‘Here we celebrate what makes us unique, but what we have in common too. All the children I’ve performed for this year give me so much hope. They are proud, ready to stand up for others, and great little dancers too.’

Seeing this through my parents’ eyes reminds me how special Pride really is. For many, it’s the first time they get to experience the broad spectrum of the LGBT+ community.

People from all walks of life, from right across the rainbow spectrum. But in Manchester, there’s one truly special event that I think sets it apart on the global stage.

It’s not something I’ve seen anywhere else in the world, but on the final evening of Pride, the community comes together for a candlelit vigil.

After a long weekend of partying and celebrating, we pay our respects to all the LGBT+ people taken from us too soon.

There’s poetry in seeing the local drag queens queuing up with everyone else to enter the vigil. They’re so often the much-needed comic relief within the community, but tonight, they’re just the same as the rest of us. Here to be present. Here to remember. Here to grieve.

We can’t fully support what we don’t understand (Picture: Calum McSwiggan)

Inside, people of all ages gather, candles are sold for a few pounds each, raising money for the George House Trust, a local HIV/AIDS charity. As we light our candles and stand together, the collective losses of the queer community weigh heavily.

From the HIV/AIDS epidemic that stole countless queer lives in the 80s and 90s, the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub that took 49 beautiful queer lives just a few years ago, to the more recent murder of Brianna Ghey, the transgender teenager whose life was taken by two of her classmates.

I think of those queer people I knew personally, too. One lost to substance abuse, another to depression, another to a senseless act of terrorism right here in Manchester. I think of Shaun Dykes, the teenage boy who threw himself from a building at the first Pride I ever attended.

The sound of people chanting for him to jump still haunts me. LGBT+ people have learned to live with grief and loss. We’ve never had any other choice.

I watch as a young man places his hand on the shoulder of someone twice his age. Strangers, but they embrace one another with tears in their eyes, united in a mutual knowing and understanding.

‘I think I finally get it,’ my dad says to me after the weekend has finally ended.

‘Seeing it with my own eyes, experiencing it firsthand, I think I finally understand now.’

And that’s the unspoken power of Pride.

We can’t fully support what we don’t understand, but seeing our community united has the power to shift perspectives, change minds, and open hearts for good.

Things to do in Manchester beyond Pride

Where to stay

Wilde Aparthotels (£)
Clayton Manchester City Centre (££)
Manchester Portland (£££)

These hotels all proudly display the Travel Proud badge after completing Booking.com’s LGBT+ inclusivity training.

SCENE: This week-long LGBT+ film festival is a love letter to queer stories on the big screen. From open-air screenings of cult classics to intimate screenings of independent documentaries, this festival has something for everyone.
Queer Lit: Holding the largest selection of LGBT+ books in Europe, this enormous queer book shop and café serves as a vibrant hub for the community.
Free Manchester Walking Tours: There’s so much more to this city than originally meets the eye. Queer walking tours of Manchester’s Gay Village run most Saturdays at 3pm.
Places to eat and drink
Washhouse: If you’re looking for Instagram-worthy drinks, this secret spot has you covered. It’s disguised as a laundrette, but it promises so much more.
Mackie Mayor: This former Victorian meat market is now filled with artisan food vendors. Undoubtedly the best Thai food I’ve had outside of Thailand.
Sexy Fish: Following in the footsteps of its sister restaurant in London, this show-stopping eatery features extravagant sculptures of sea creatures and the best sushi in town.