Manchester Gay Pride 2007 - Pix 1
Tash [alan lodge] | 28.08.2007 16:40 | Culture | Social Struggles
Saturday on the August Bank Holiday. Starting on Deangate at 2pm, the parade including 200 floats, snaked it's way round the city centre, finishing with an event at Princess Street / Canal Street area.
On the way, the parade passed thousand of people waving and cheering and the Mayor doing a bit of judging. Not sure what the pizes were. The God Squad turned out, telling everybody they were evil, and a contingent from the right-wing, hanging about being all intimidatory. However, this year was the smallest turnout from this mob, that I've ever seen. Personally, I know which group were having more fun.
Plenty of exhibits and loads of lovely people. Letting it all hang out. Next to Afro-Caribbean Carnivals, I think these events are the most colourful and exuberant that we have in this country.
Cheers from the crowd, went to the public service workers. The NHS, Fire Service and Ambulance Services and the Gay Police Association in full dress uniforms, don't they look smart. And now the Probation and Prison Services had floats. Now the military of course, reckon themselves all liberated.
Some of us are a little distressed that although we're all in favour of liberty at work, the idea of recruitment to military services under the cover of such a celebration, is not right. Last year, people at Brighton Pride did protest at these developments. [see:
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/southcoast/2005/08/320582.html]. All this on top of the rampant commercialisation that is now so obviously represented there.
Nottingham 2007 Pride
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/07/377404.html http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/07/377425.html Nottingham 2006 Pride
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/348508.html http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/348529.html Nottingham 2005 Pride
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/07/319629.html http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/07/319652.html Nottingham 2004 Pride
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/07/295272.html Manchester Pride 2006
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/349780.html http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/349801.html Manchester Pride 2005
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/09/322251.html http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/09/322272.html http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/09/322293.html Manchester Pride 2004
http://tashcamuk.fotopages.com/?entry=542032 ____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email:
tash@gn.apc.org Web:
http://tash.gn.apc.org Member of the National Union of Journalists [No: 014345]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
Tash [alan lodge]
e-mail:
tash@indymedia.org
Homepage:
http://tash.gn.apc.org
Additions
Get Bent Manchester
29.08.2007 17:30
http://www.get-bent-manchester.com/ http://www.myspace.com/getbentmanchesterqueers Manchester Pride 2007 parade - a protest about profiteering
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_f6qXcIDSAM The Get Bent Manchester Collective Ethos Statement 2007
* Get Bent is a summer festival celebrating the diversity of queer communities.
* Get Bent is a safe space for all genders and sexualities and seeks to engage with and foster the possibility of creating queer-positive spaces.
* Get Bent challenges the notion that you have to act or dress a certain way to be accepted.
* Get Bent follows a DiY ethic, creating wide variety of programming by supporting diverse people to create diverse events.
* Get Bent provides an alternative to commercial gay spaces by creating a queer autonomous space that is sex-positive without being sex-centered, doesn't depend on alcohol to have a good time, and is unafraid to put the politics back into pride.
* Get Bent fosters a sense of community by being inclusive: all ages, all incomes, all abilities, all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, regardless of HIV status, those who are comfortable in commercial gay spaces and those who aren't.
* Everyone is welcome to participate in this free celebration of queerness!
Tash
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