Manchester Pride 2023: line-up for Gay Village Party at festival announced including pop stars & local talent

Manchester Pride has announced the line-up for the Gay Village Party at the 2023 festival which will see thousands of revellers descend on the city for a rainbow celebration of LGBTQ+ people and community.

The festival says it has worked with communities in Manchester to draw up the programme for this year’s event and is consequently hoping for the ost representative and diverse line-up it has ever had.

Some of the big names who will be coming to Manchester for the event include Brazilian drag artist Pabllo Vittar, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard and pop starsNatasha Bedingfield and Lisa Scott-Lee from Steps.

Here’s what you can expect from the Gay Village Party if you’re heading to Manchester Pride this year as well as information on how you can book tickets.

What is the line-up for the Gay Village Party at the 2023 Manchester Pride?

Manchester Pride says it is looking forward to showcasing its most diverse line-up to date over the four days of the festival, which takes place over the August bank holiday weekend (25 to 28 August). Acts will be taking to three stages: the Village stage, the Mancunity stage and the Alan Turing stage.

Organisers say the line-up puts local talent alongside renowned international performers. Following the Pride In Our Future report the festival says the emphasis is on promoting queer artists and celebrating communities, with 96% of performers being queer (the other 4% are LGBTQ+ allies), 54% being women, 51% being people of colour and more than 42% being from the trans and non-binary communities.

One of the headliners is Pabllo Vittar from Brazil, who is the world’s most followed drag queen on social media with four million people following on Spotify.

Another performer taking centre stage is American singer and songwriter Jake Shears, best known as a member of the band Scissor Sisters. He is currently pursuing a solo career and has an album out later this year. Other pop stars performing include Natasha Bedingfield and Lisa Scott-Lee from the group Steps.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard is a regular at Manchester Pride and will be at the festival once again in 2023, with last year’s runner-up on the show Cheddar Gorgeous also on the line-up as well as series four contestants Black Peppa and Dakota Schiffer.

There will be a Queer Asian Takeover event for the first time, with DJ Gok Wan headlining alongside local talent including The Bitten Peach, a gender-diverse, pan-Asian collective showcasing joy and excellence, Gracie T who runs a South Asian creative collective and platform for unrepresented artists, and House of Spice, an LGBTQ+ South Asian and Middle Eastern performance house.

Trans Filth andJoy returns for a night of DJs, drag, burlesque, cabaret, activism and music all curated and led by the trans community, with drag queen Bimini headlining.

Black Pride MCR will celebrate the black roots of house music, disco, funky house, vocal and tribal, while Fat Pride will be an evening of dancing, partying, showing off and feeling good.

There will also be a cabaret stage featuring acts such as female and non-binary theatre and cabaret company Pecs Drag Kings, Queeriosity Cabaret, Cutie-POC Cabaret and Disabled Queer Joy Cabaret.

Other things happening at Manchester Pride include Youth Pride MCR and Family Pride MCR with performances and events for all ages.

What has been said about the Manchester Pride line-up and how do I book tickets?

Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride, said: “We have worked closely with our communities to offer a line-up that is for the community, by the community. As a world leading city and an organisation that is spearheading the global Pride movement, our aim is to provide a platform which elevates and showcases local queer performers alongside renowned international LGBTQ+ talent, with a little support from our allies. This is Manchester and this is how our communities want us to celebrate our Pride. ”

“We are so proud to announce that our line-up consists of 96% queer performers, 54% female performers, 51% people of colour, and over 42% trans and non-binary performers.”

The Gay Village Party is the only part of Manchester Pride which requires tickets to be purchased. There are weekend and Friday, Saturday and Sunday day tickets available, as well as tickets at reduced cost for people on low incomes. To find out more or book, visit Ticketmaster.