Get ready to dance the weekend away with noughties nostalgia
BY RAI POWELL, IMAGES BY MANCHESTER PRIDE
Get ready sapphics! Manchester Pride Festival, one of the UK’s leading LGBTQIA charity events, has announced its final headliner of the 2024 Gay Village Party Programme – the Sugababes! Also joining the lineup as a special guest is international star Rita Ora and The Greatest Showman actress and singer Keala Settle. The lineup for the event is set to be the biggest one yet.
Opening the festival on Friday 23 August with a Bang…Bang (pardon the pun) is Brit award winner Jessie J, performing in Manchester for the first time in six years.
Other performers joining on Friday include British drag artist BIMINI and Trans Filth & Joy. Manchester’s very own seven-foot drag supermodel Banksie will be kicking off the Bank Holiday in true Manc style, as they host a runaway showcasing glamorous queer couture and fashion realness.
Two-time Eurovision winner and Swedish pop sensation, Loreen will also headline The Village Stage on Saturday 24 August. Global superstar Rita Ora will be joining the Saturday lineup, returning to Manchester Pride for the first time since her unforgettable 2018 performance.
On Sunday 25 August, Sugababes will be getting ready to push the button on nostalgia with a showstopping performance as they headline The Village Stage. And if that wasn’t enough noughties nostalgia for Sunday, Atomic Kitten’s Natasha Hamilton will join Danny Beard & Friends, and Steps’ Claire Richards will be performing on the Alan Turing Stage.
The festival will conclude on Monday 26 August with the Candlelit Vigil in the sacred setting of Sackville Gardens. In collaboration with George House Trust, this special moment will honour those we have lost and stand in solidarity with those living with HIV. This heartfelt experience will be a powerful reminder to combat stigma and come together as a community in unity and support.
More information about Manchester Pride and ticket purchasing can be found on the Manchester Pride website.
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