Manchester Pride accounts: 2007, 2008 & 2009

If you would like to snoop into the accounts of Manchester Pride you can find them here on the Charity Commission website.

Here are direct links to the PDF files for each year: 2007, 2008, 2009.

One interesting thing to note, and something I missed when I looked at the 2007 accounts a while ago, is that they now include a figure for the number of tickets sold each year.

In 2007 ‘attendance at the Manchester Pride Festival increased by five percent with over forty thousand tickets purchased’. In 2008 ‘over thirty eight thousand tickets’ were sold and in 2009 attendance was ‘over forty two thousand’.

For years it was very difficult to find out any information about this. I’ve always estimated a figure of between 35,000 and 40,000 tickets sold, based on the amounts raised in the past and a 2004 magazine interview with Paul Martin of the LGF.

I had thought that ticket sales might be hit due to the recession. But then I realised probably there will always be 35,000 people who will buy a ticket and, if those from within Greater Manchester can’t afford to go to Pride, the organisers will simply increase the budget for foreign advertising and pull in more from abroad.

I don’t think the organisers care who goes to Manchester Pride. Whether straight, gay, British, tourist, black, white…

For an insight into the (lack of) diversity behind this event, take a look at the photographs of the 2010 launch party which was held at Selfridges (ugh) recently. There isn’t an ethnic minority face in sight, except for minor pop celebrity Rowetta who will turn up for the opening of a bag of crisps.

It’s almost like a scene from the 1930’s, when the upper crust would have a black performer at their party.

We noticed the same thing at the launch party of Manchester Pride in 2008. Which was held in the town hall that year.