1941

Napoleons, which was Manchester’s first gay bar, opens. Originally owned by renowned Manchester drag queen Fran Foo Foo Lamar, it was sold to new owners in 1972. Located at 35 Bloom Street, Napoleons provided a haven for gay men long before homosexual acts were partially decriminalised in 1967. It became Manchester’s longest serving gay bar, closing in 2024.

1952

Alan Turing is prosecuted for being in a relationship with another man. During World War Two, Turing’s work at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire helped Allied efforts to read secret German messages sent by their Enigma machines. As Deputy Director of the Computing Machine Laboratory at The University of Manchester, he pioneered early computers, artificial intelligence (the Turing Test), and mathematical biology. Turing’s 1952 conviction meant he lost his security clearance and had to stop work at GCHQ, the post-war successor to Bletchley Park. He died by suicide in 1954.

1964

The North West Homosexual Law Reform Committee is founded by Labour councillor Allan Horsfall. The committee campaigns for the recommendations from The Wolfenden Report to decriminialise homosexual behaviour, with their first meeting held in Manchester. Three years later, the partial decriminalisation of sex between men over the age of 21 took place. The North West branch of the National Homosexual Law Reform Committee became the National Campaign for Homosexual Equality in 1969.

1973

The Manchester Gay Alliance is formed by the University of Manchester’s Lesbian & Gay Society, as one of the very first activist organisations in the city. The Alliance brought together various local activists and groups to provide a unified voice for gay men and women in the region, operating initially out of the university and local homes. In 1975 six members of the Manchester Gay Alliance, set up a helpline. Through pamphlets handed out at gay-friendly hubs, they discreetly advertised a phone number offering free, confidential support.

1975

The Manchester Gay Alliance opens the Manchester Gay Switchboard to provide support and information to callers. It originally operated from a residential flat in Longsight and the basement of the University of Manchester. After receiving a council grant in 1978, the scheme found a new home on Bloom Street. By 1990, the switchboard teamed up with The Lesbian Link Helpline to form the Manchester Lesbian and Gay Switchboard.

1978

The first edition of The Mancunian Gay Magazine is published. Over its lifespan (1978- 1986) the Mancunian Gay magazine documented the evolution of Manchester’s gay community. The front pages shed light on a dynamic and vibrant era for queer community activism during the 1980’s, an era equally defined by homophobia, police harassment and the AIDS crisis.

1978

Manchester’s first designated ‘gay centre’ opens in a basement on Oxford Road in 1978. It is used as a base for members of the Manchester Gay Alliance. Whilst it was a hub of activism and support inside, it was discreetly kept away from public assumption. In 1978 an Urban Aid grant application was made to the city council for £5,000 by one of the group’s volunteers, and in 1981 the centre moved into another basement on Bloom Street, parallel with Canal Street. From 1981–1988 it accommodated a huge host of services including several phone lines, a youth club and a late night café called SNAX.

1984

Manchester City Council forms the Equal Opportunities Committee. The numerous equality roles created included a Gay Men’s Officer and a Lesbian Officer, first occupied by Paul Fairweather and Maggie Turner respectively. A lot of energy from the committee was put into campaigning against what became section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act, prohibiting local authorities from ‘promoting’ homosexuality or gay ‘family relationships’. The Guardian published a letter from Manchester’s Labour Group, firmly against the Act, urging MPs to reject the clause at the bill’s third reading.

1985

Manchester Pride is born, following a £1,700 grant from the Manchester City council to put on a two-week celebration, complete with a huge banner adorning Oxford Street. The city’s first Manchester Pride event took place outside the Rembrandt Hotel over the August Bank Holiday in 1985. The inaugural celebration was a fundraising event, raising money for people living with, and affected by, the AIDS crisis. It was a community affair, with a jumble sale, Gay Olympics, egg and spoon races, tug of war and boat races down the canal.

1988

On the 20th February, the Northwest Campaign for Lesbian & Gay Equality organised a large anti-Section 28 march and rally in Manchester. The campaign adopted the name Never Going Underground. Organisers estimated that over 25,000 people took part, making it the largest lesbian and gay protest ever held in the United Kingdom. When Section 28 became law in the May, Manchester City Council produced over 6,000 leaflets that showed how they aimed to prevent LGBT staff and service users from receiving unequal treatment within the law – despite the Act prohibiting local authorities from doing so.

1988

Europe’s first purpose-built Gay Centre is built in Manchester when Manchester City Council approved funding of £118,000. The centre, on Sidney Street, is still serving the community today. The first event to be held at the new Centre was the opening party, on the 27th November 1988, where Cllr Graham Stringer opened the building. While the original building provided services for over 30 years, it was rebuilt and transformed into a modern, golden clad, three-story centre in 2021. Today, the site operates as The Proud Place.

1990

Manto opened in December 1990, the vision of Bolton property developer Carol Ainscow and her business partner, Peter Dalton. Its arrival marked a transformative moment for Manchester’s Gay Village, signalling a shift away from the hidden doorways and drawn curtains that had long defined the area. In their place came the architecture, atmosphere and café culture of Europe, creating a bright, welcoming space. Manto tore the front off the traditional gay bar, replacing secrecy and the notion that LGBT life belonged “behind closed doors” with floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows that invited people to see and be seen.

1990

The Albert Kennedy Trust opens in Manchester to support young homeless LGBT people. Albert tragically died after falling from the roof of a carpark in Manchester, after experiencing homophobic abuse simply for being who he was. AKT was launched by local foster carer, Cath Hall, who was inspired by his story, and became the world’s first ever service to support homeless LGBT young
people.

1991

The Village Charity was established and assumed administrative control over Manchester Pride. The new event, Manchester Mardi Gras, taglined ‘The Festival of Fun’, is launched over the August Bank Holiday weekend as a four day event. They introduced comprehensive public markets in Sackville Park, athletic competitions, and musical main stages. It raised £15,000 for Monsall Hospital – a local hospice where people received treatment for HIV and AIDS.

1992/3

Nightclub Cruz 101 opens in 1992, which today is Manchester’s longest-running LGBTQ+ nightclub. Located in the heart of the Gay Village near Canal Street, it revolutionised the local nightlife scene during a time when gay venues frequently faced police raids. The following summer, Peter Dalton and Carol Ainscow opened The Paradise Factory, transforming the former Factory Records headquarters (FAC251) on Princess Street into an iconic Manchester queer nightclub. It transformed the local scene as the first venue to operate beyond 2am and proudly ran under the motto “for fags, fagettes and friends”.

1999

The first episode of Queer as Folk, a drama series based on Manchester’s gay scene, is broadcast on Channel 4. The nightclub Cruz 101 served as the primary filming location for the fictional super-club ‘Babylon’ in Russell T Davies’ groundbreaking TV series. Russell went onto create LGBTQ+ series’ Cucumber (2015), It’s A Sin (2021) and Tip Toe (2026), all of which were filmed in Manchester.

2000

The Lesbian & Gay Foundation is formed following the merger of Healthy Gay Manchester and Manchester Lesbian & Gay Switchboard. Today, LGBT Foundation serves over 45,000 people annually through its helpline, domestic abuse, mental health and drug and alcohol services. The organisation has grown from a single part-time administrator at Switchboard to become the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing charity.

2003

Manchester hosts Europride and for the first time, the entire Gay Village area is gated off throughout the August bank holiday weekend, with an entrance fee charged to get into the event. Attracting around 37,000 ticketed attendees, the 10-day event featured sports, cultural activities and massive musical performances, culminating in the M.E.N. Arena party headlined by Atomic Kitten and Girls Aloud. At the final closing ceremony, it was announced that the event would now be known as Manchester Pride.

2006

Gaydio made it’s first broadcast in Manchester, with a month-long broadcast to support the Manchester Pride festival. ‘Gaydio 87.7’ kicked-off at 7am broadcasting from a temporary studio in the LGF (Lesbian and Gay Foundation) building, just off Canal Street. The first song to play was Music by Madonna, as chosen for by visitors to the station‘s website. The radio station then went on to successfully apply for and launch the UK’s first FM radio service to serve the LGBTQ+ community in 2010.

2016

Carl Austin-Behan made history by becoming Manchester’s first ever openly gay Lord Mayor, and one of the youngest to hold the ceremonial office at age 44. Sworn in on May 18 2016, his appointment was a significant milestone, especially given that he had been dismissed from the Royal Air Force for his sexuality in 1997. During his 2016-2017 term, Carl used his platform to advocate heavily for LGBTQ+ representation, HIV awareness, and the transgender community.

2019

For the first time, elements of the Manchester Pride four-day August bank holiday festival are held outside of the Village when the main music stage is moved to the site of the former Manchester Mayfield railway station. Headlined by Ariana Grande, the festival’s expansion and shift outside the traditional Village boundaries faced some backlash, sparking debate over the commercialisation of Pride and accessibility.

2026

The first Manchester Pride takes place after Manchester Pride Events Ltd entered voluntary liquidation in October 2025. Manchester Village Pride launched in January 2026, becoming a fresh start for the event, which will be co-directed by former Lord Mayor Carl Austin-Behan and Christopher Ravenscroft-Kibbler.
Councillor Bev Craig says: “Pride is much more than the organisation that runs it.”