Manchester Pride owes thousands in unpaid fees, performers say

Only Pride events in London and Brighton typically draw bigger crowds than those in Manchester.

While marches, protests and rallies form a major part of Pride around the world, live music and performances are put on to draw even bigger crowds.

Parts of Manchester Pride are free to attend but ticket prices for others varied from £15 to over £200 for “VIP experiences”.

Headliners this year included former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne, Nelly Furtado and Olly Alexander.

Newsbeat contacted Manchester Pride to share Saki, Chris and other people’s experiences and offer the charity an opportunity to comment.

Its Instagram statement said it knew “moments like this can raise questions and emotions”.

“We ask that people treat our staff, from the CEO to the interns and volunteers, with kindness and respect,” it continued.

“It is the board that takes responsibility for our decisions based on advice and guidance, and not our staff.”

Manchester Pride added that it hopes to provide more information by 22 October.