Union urges council to pay Pride performers

Performers' union Equity says its unpaid members are "the heart of Manchester Pride"

The union representing 50 performers who have been left unpaid due to Manchester Pride going bust has called on the city's council to reveal when it knew about the charity's money trouble.

Equity said it believed the authority knew organisers might not be able to pay acts, but Manchester City Council has refuted this.

The trade union has urged the authority to make "good faith payments" to the performers.

But a council spokesman said: "We 100% reject any suggestion that we were aware that performers at this year's Pride might not be paid."

Karen Lockney from Equity said: "The council must come clean on what it knew."

The trade union said outstanding payments to its members ranged from £150 to £5,000 each, totalling more than £70,000 and rising as more come forwards.

It has set up a petition urging the council to foot the bill.

Singer Nelly Furtado is owed more than £145,000

Equity said Pride's liquidation notice showed informal conversations between the companies behind Manchester Pride and liquidators took place on 30 April 2025 - four months before the event.

The union said "some performers were told as they finished their acts to get their invoices in quickly as it was already known that not everyone would be paid".

It has lodged a Freedom of Information Request to the council.

Ms Lockney said the union's members were the "heart of Manchester Pride" and many performers lived "from gig to gig", meaning they had been left without money for rent and bills.

'Private debts'

The council said it had no knowledge of the extent of Manchester Pride Events Limited's financial problems until after this year's event.

A spokesman added: "While we were aware that they were operating in a challenging trading environment, we did not know that they would be unable to meet some of their imminent liabilities."

He said the council wanted Pride to succeed but it could not "use its limited resources to take on the private company's debts".

The council has agreed to meet Equity "to discuss the extent of issues facing their members, what avenues are open to alleviate any potential hardship" and how Pride events can be successfully staged in the future, he added.

BBC Newsbeat revealed on Tuesday that Manchester Pride owed a total of £1.3m to performers, suppliers and venues, according to a report outlining its finances.

The report said headline act Nelly Furtado's company is owed £145,775.75 while first aid charity St John's Ambulance is owed £47,330.40.