Equity wins £15k for unpaid Manchester Pride performers 2026

Key Points

• Equity has received £15,000 for over 50 performers that were left unpaid after Manchester Pride entered administration in 2025.
• The money was provided by a ‘social action pot’, funded by businesses and arranged by the council of Manchester City.
• £15,000 covers about 20% of the £70,000 that Equity claims is owed by their members. Individual claims range between £150 and £5,000.
• In addition to that, a crowdfunder organized by Equity member Nathaniel Hall managed to raise £12,500, raising the total number of funds raised to £27,500, which is about 40% of the amount that was supposed to be raised.
• Equity is currently contacting the 50-plus performers who claimed their rights in 2025 and will give a percentage of unpaid fees to each performer.
• Manchester Village Pride event in 2026 was organized on new conditions, including payments as deposits, 30 days payment terms and no unpaid work.

Manchester (Manchester Mirror) September 03, 2026 – After months of campaigning, performers’ union Equity has secured £15,000 in funds for artists left unpaid when Manchester Pride went into administration last year. The money comes from contributions by businesses within a “social action pot” put forward by Manchester City Council, with the council and union stressing it is not public money used to pay the debts of a failed commercial entity.

While the sum does not meet the full £70,000 Equity says is owed to more than 50 performers, it provides around 20% of unpaid fees. Coupled with a crowdfunder run by Equity member Nathaniel Hall that raised £12,500, the total raised for unpaid Pride performers now stands at £27,500 – almost 40% of the monies owed. Equity is contacting the 50-plus performers who came forward after Manchester Pride collapsed, leaving professional performers out of pocket by between £150 and £5,000 each, and aims to distribute a percentage of unpaid fees to each artist.

How much money has been raised for unpaid Manchester Pride performers?

As reported by multiple outlets including the Manchester Evening News and Equity’s own statement, approximately £27,500 has now been raised for performers affected by the 2025 collapse. This comprises £15,000 from the council-facilitated social action pot and £12,500 from the public crowdfunder. Equity has said around £70,000 is owed to its 50-plus members who worked at the 2025 festival, though wider unpaid bills across artists, staff, suppliers and contractors are believed to total about £1.3 million following the liquidation of Manchester Pride Limited.

Karen Lockney, Equity North West Official, said:

“This is great news for the many performers who were left high and dry last year when Manchester Pride went bust. Lots of people thought they’d never get anything for these gigs they worked over a year ago, but it just goes to show that you should never give up.”

She added:

“Performers are so often the people who end up out of pocket, dismissed and treated badly, but there would literally be no Pride without performers.”

Nathaniel Hall, an Equity member, creative producer, performer and activist who organised the crowdfunder, said: “It’s uplifting to hear that Manchester City Council has allocated £15,000 to assist creatives who are out of pocket due to last year’s Manchester Pride collapse. While this won’t cover all losses, the gesture is greatly appreciated.” He added that Equity members had worked “diligently for months to achieve this outcome” and that LGBTQ+ Equity members could “take pride in having a union that supports them during challenging times”.

What did Manchester City Council say about the £15,000 payment?

Cllr Garry Bridges, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “We’ve been clear throughout that we sympathised with the plight of performers left unpaid when the former organisers of Pride went bust.” He continued: “We’ve been working with Equity to find a meaningful way to help those worst affected without using public money to meet the debts of a failed business and I’m pleased that we’ve been able to reach this constructive solution together.”

Bridges added: “The event and its performers have a bright future under new organisers Manchester Village Pride and it’s great that they have strong arrangements in place to ensure that performers can have confidence going forwards and similar issues can’t happen again.” The council has previously said it could not use public finances to settle the debts of a “failed commercial entity”, referring to the voluntary liquidation of the organisation that ran Manchester Pride.

What was the role of Equity and the crowdfunder in securing funds?

Equity has represented more than 50 performers – many of them local to Manchester – who worked at Manchester Pride 2025 and were left without payment. Outstanding payments ranged from £150 to £5,000 each, totalling more than £70,000, with more coming forward as the situation developed. The union collected contractual information to pursue all options to recoup money owed and held in-person sessions on Canal Street to help affected workers complete claims forms.

Alongside union campaigning, Nathaniel Hall ran a crowdfunder that raised £12,500 for unpaid performers. The combination of that public fundraising and the council-facilitated business pot means nearly 40% of the identified £70,000 owed to Equity members has now been raised. Equity plans to allocate a portion of the council’s funding to each of its impacted members, distributing a percentage of unpaid fees rather than paying individual claims in full.

How did Manchester Pride collapse and what debts remain?

Manchester Pride Limited managed the city’s flagship LGBTQ+ festival from 2003 until October 2025, when its leaders announced the celebration was no longer financially sustainable due to insufficient ticket sales and rising costs. The organisation entered voluntary liquidation, with reports indicating that performers from the 2025 event remained unpaid and suppliers were met with silence over outstanding invoices. Equity described the development as “hugely concerning to those owed money” and urged any unpaid performer or creative to contact the union.

Beyond the £70,000 owed to Equity members, about £1.3 million remains unpaid to artists, staff, suppliers and contractors who participated in the 2025 event, according to reporting on the liquidation. The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into the organisation’s finances, while international singers including Ariana Grande and Nelly Furtado – who have performed at Manchester Pride in previous years – were among those still not paid following the collapse.

What changes were made for Manchester Village Pride 2026?

The 2026 Manchester Village Pride (MVP), which took place over the August bank holiday weekend, was one of the first Pride events ever to operate on a union agreement after Equity and MVP signed a house agreement setting minimum terms and conditions for performers. The smaller event, run under a new Community Interest Company rooted in Manchester’s Gay Village, saw dozens of performers land gigs, with tickets selling out ahead of opening.

The Manchester Village Pride and Equity union house agreement sets out trade union-negotiated terms for drag and burlesque performers engaged by MVP, including minimum 20% deposits, 30-day payment periods and a guarantee that no performers will be asked to work for free. The agreement was forged in the aftermath of the 2025 collapse and was endorsed unanimously by Equity members. This year’s four-day event included a parade with around 12,000 participants, alongside barovers, family fun and a vigil, with the CIC structure ensuring profits are directed to five LGBTQ+ organisations and charities.

Lockney said:

“We’re grateful to Manchester City Council, and to everyone who donated to the crowdfunder, and we’re especially pleased that Manchester Village Pride went ahead this year on an Equity agreement.”

She added that the union was “encouraged by the promise of discussion on worker representation at other events in the city, which we hope will lead to more union agreements and better terms and safety standards for all workers”.

Background to the Manchester Pride payment dispute

The dispute over unpaid performers emerged in autumn 2025 as financial troubles mounted around Manchester Pride. Equity intervened quickly, branding extended payment terms as “unnecessarily long” and warning of contract breaches, while urging organisers to begin an ongoing dialogue to help find a resolution for everyone still out of pocket. In October 2025, Manchester Pride entered voluntary liquidation, prompting Equity to collect contractual information and pursue all options to recoup money owed.

Through late 2025 and into 2026, Equity repeatedly called on Manchester City Council to ensure performers left unpaid were paid for their work, noting that the annual event had generated over £104 million for the city between 2021 and 2025 and that the council benefited financially as well as supporting the event. Despite “encouraging initial conversations”, communication reportedly ground to halt at points, with no material progress made for months in securing funds for performers – many of them local Mancunians – left unpaid for their work. The council maintained that it could not use public money to meet the debts of a failed business, leading to the eventual solution via a business-funded social action pot.

Prediction: how this development may affect performers and future Pride events

This development is likely to affect performers, organisers and local authorities in several ways. For performers, the partial payment reduces immediate financial harm and may restore some confidence in taking booked festival work, though the fact that only around 40% of identified Equity claims have been covered underscores the risk of working for large events without robust payment protections. For future Pride events in Manchester and other cities, the Manchester Village Pride union agreement sets a precedent that could encourage more festivals to adopt minimum deposit requirements, shorter payment terms and explicit no-unpaid-work clauses to avoid similar disputes.

For Manchester City Council and other local authorities, the case highlights the tension between supporting high-profile cultural events and avoiding liability for commercial failures. The use of a business-funded social action pot rather than direct public funds may become a model elsewhere, allowing councils to facilitate support for affected workers without formally underwriting private event debts. Over time, if more events adopt union agreements and clearer payment safeguards, the frequency and scale of unpaid-performer disputes at Pride and similar festivals could decline, improving conditions for freelance creatives across the sector.