The Gay Village

A beacon of celebration in the city, the Village is a welcoming community of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and businesses open to all. Centred around Canal Street, you can expect to find a flourishing queer scene with entertainment for all persuasions on every night of the week.

Alan Turing statue

Computer science pioneer Alan Turing worked at the University of Manchester and is honoured with a statue in Sackville Gardens. Every year on Turing’s birthday, a candlelit vigil remembers his pioneering work in computing and the persecution he faced for being gay.

Richmond Tea Rooms

Manchester’s iconic tea rooms have opened at a new larger venue on Sackville Street on the edge of the Gay Village – set over two floors, this enchanting ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed dining experience is everything you want from an afternoon (LGB)Tea…

Top picks in the Village

The Molly House is a cosy bar and tapas restaurant nestled behind Canal Street and is adorned with a mural featuring gay icons such as Anna Phylactic, Alan Turing and Quentin Crisp. Along the main street, Oscar’s offers non-stop show tunes from musicals, whilst Via is one of the older venues on Canal Street with dark wood interiors and regular performing drag queens. For a women’s safe space, try Vanilla, one of the UK’s leading lesbian bars.

LGBT+ nightlife outside the village

Whilst the Gay Village is centre of LGBT+ life, fringe venues across the city have popped up providing alternative queer nights; in the Northern Quarter, Kiss Me Again takes place at Soup Kitchen, whilst Bollox goes all out in queer protest at Deaf Institute; and Hidden – an industrial warehouse turned club hosts Homoelectric in the middle of a Salford industrial estate. Elsewhere, The Refuge regularly welcomes all to Come As You Are at its queer parties, whilst HOME exhibits LGBT+ cinema and art.

Manchester Pride

Held every August Bank Holiday Weekend, Manchester Pride is a four-day celebration featuring a festival-style programme of music with headline acts performing in atmospheric former railway station Mayfield Depot; with further events around the Gay Village including the Pride Parade, 14+ Youth Pride, a candlelit vigil to remember those lost to HIV, and culture, music, yoga and art at the Superbia Weekend. Throughout the year the LGBT+ community is also celebrated in events such as The Sparkle Weekend for celebrating trans pride, The Great British Bear Bash, and Queer Contact Festival.

Top LGBT+ photo spots

Follow the LGBT Heritage Trail rainbow mosaics scattered across the city and along the way you’ll discover rainbow bees on street bollards and street art murals around Canal Street. Elsewhere, find the rainbow stairs in bohemian emporium Afflecks, which display messages of no hate, transphobia and homophobia.