Manchester Pride 2025 line-up and day splits revealed with Little Mix star and Olly Alexander

The line-up for this year’s Manchester Pride has been unveiled - and it will feature an American legend, a former girl band member and a Eurovision icon.

Hailed as one of the country’s biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations, the event will take place across the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 22 to 25) with an array of live performances, peaceful protests,

As previously announced, this year’s event will feature a new Mardi Gras festival space which will take over Depot Mayfield with ‘world-class’ performers, whilst the Gay Village Party will continue the fun but with a reduced capacity as the event’s attendance numbers keep getting bigger.

Headlining the festival this year, amongst a plethora of artists, will be Pose actor and musician Billy Porter, former Little Mix star Leigh-Anne and Olly Alexander, who represented the UK at last year’s Eurovision.

There will also be performances across the Gay Village and Depot Mayfield from the likes of drag royalty Danny Beard, alongside B*Witched, Samantha Mumba, Louisa Johnson, Ghetto Fabulous, Tulisa, Big Freedia, and Sister Sledge featuring Kathy Sledge.

Little Mix star Leigh-Anne will be performing at Manchester Pride (Image: Getty Images for Bauer)

In addition, Manchester Pride has worked alongside a number of community collectives to commission a number of unique and immersive shows. This will include Kulture Cabaret, which will celebrate queer South Asian and Middle Eastern performers, presented by Lucky Roy Singh.

Following roaring success at Aviva Studios last June, House of MCR, will also return with a unique show that brings together dance, singing, lip-syncing, and fashion. More acts and collectives to be announced in the coming months. There will also be an open call offering local artists of all experience levels the chance to perform on its stages.

Performances at the Gay Village will be hosted across two stages – the Alan Turing Stage and the Indoor Arena. The space will include a funfair, market stalls, and pop-up food vendors, as well as unmissable entertainment, including the return of Ginny Lemon’s Dog Show.

Mark Fletcher, CEO at Manchester Pride, said: “Manchester Pride is the city’s celebration of LGBTQ+ life and culture and each year we’re challenged to respond to the diverse needs of our communities.

Pose star and singer Billy Porter will perform at Manchester Pride (Image: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

“Working closely with LGBTQ+ groups and collectives from Greater Manchester we’ve been able to respond to the needs of our communities in presenting a queer focussed, intentional line up of performers who will elevate and lend their support to the rich bed of LGBTQ+ performers that this city has to offer.

“With the introduction of the new Mardi Gras event we needed to make sure that we stayed true to what Pride is about in this city. Our communities were clear that they wanted to see LGBTQ+ performers front and centre and we’re thrilled to announce a line up which serves.

“With so many stages available across the two live music based events we’re confident that there’s something for everyone; whether that be multi platinum selling pop artists, drag queen royalty or ballroom fierceness that you can expect to see at the special House of MCR Show.“

While Mardi Gras and the Gay Village Party are expected to be a big part of the festival, there will be a longer ten-day event running from Friday 15 through to Monday 25 August. The longer event will see the return of the Manchester Pride Parade, The Rally, Candlelit Vigil, Superbia, Family Pride MCR, and Youth Pride MCR.

Many of the events of Manchester Pride Festival 2025 are free to attend, whilst tickets will be required for both the Mardi Gras and Gay Village Party - tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, March 18 via Ticketmaster and the Manchester Pride website.

The day splits for Manchester Pride so far are below.