Unpaid artists and provider invoice is £1.3m | EUROtoday

Manchester Pride owes a complete of £1.3m to performers, suppliers and venues, in response to a report outlining its funds.

The charity behind the occasion introduced it had gone bust final month as a rising variety of folks complained that they had not been paid for his or her work.

A monetary report shared with BBC Newsbeat reveals that 182 corporations and people are owed quantities starting from £30 to £330,329.

It additionally particulars the organiser’s last-ditch makes an attempt to safe Pride’s future as soon as it turned clear the 2025 occasion had misplaced cash.

According to a report ready by enterprise restructuring specialists KR8 Advisory, headline act Nelly Furtado’s manufacturing firm is owed £145,775.75.

An organization linked to headliner and ex-Eurovision contestant Olly Alexander is listed as being owed £48,000.

The record additionally consists of an entry for first assist charity St John Ambulance – owed £47,330.40 – whereas the corporate in control of occasion venue Mayfield Depot is claimed to be owed £330,329.

It additionally says safety agency Practical Event Solutions has not been paid £167,892.

The new data additionally reveals among the background to Manchester Pride’s resolution to enter liquidation final month.

It says administrators sought authorized recommendation in early September after ticket gross sales for its August Bank Holiday weekend occasion had been decrease than anticipated.

The charity unsuccessfully explored “rescue proposals” earlier than saying it could go into liquidation on 16 October, in response to the report.

The report mentioned Manchester Pride started 2025 in “challenging circumstances”, and likewise needed to cope with the cost-of-living disaster and points affecting the broader occasions business.

Organisers had hoped the launch of the Mardi Gras occasion at Mayfield Depot would assist to shore up the charity’s funds and create a template for future years, it provides.

“But as delivery of the festival drew closer, the pace of ticket sales did not accelerate as expected,” the report says.

Ultimately, the Mardi Gras occasion was not profitable, the report says, and the losses it generated cancelled out earnings from the annual Gay Village Party within the metropolis.

Once it turned obvious it had misplaced cash for a 3rd 12 months in a row, the report says bosses sought monetary recommendation and had been instructed they need to not make funds to suppliers till their monetary place turned clear.

It additionally mentioned the charity ready a “compelling” bid to Manchester City Council looking for assist, however the authority was unable to assist after weeks of deliberation.

During this time, it was additionally ready to be taught whether or not it had been chosen to host EuroPride 2028.

Winning the bid would seemingly have meant “significant grant funding and sponsorship support would be available”, the report says.

After studying that they had been unsuccessful on 11 October, the report says Manchester Pride’s bosses known as an emergency assembly the place they explored remaining choices to maintain the charity going.

Ultimately, the report says, they opted to position the charity into liquidation.

Manchester Pride was one of many UK’s largest LGBT occasions, with solely London and Brighton drawing larger crowds.

Its organisers have apologised for delays in communication with unpaid acts and contractors.

They had already introduced plans to carry subsequent 12 months’s occasion over the August Bank Holiday, as per custom.

Manchester City Council has mentioned it’s going to “support a new chapter” for the occasion and is hopeful it’s going to return in 2026.

Entertainment union Equity mentioned it was taking authorized recommendation to find out “the best way forward”, and the federal government’s Charity Commission was additionally wanting into considerations round Manchester Pride.

Equity, which represents entertainers and performers, instructed Newsbeat extra folks contacted it about cash owed after Manchester Pride posted on social media saying it was taking authorized and monetary recommendation to find out “the best way forward”.

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