Pride with Purpose: Putting community back at the heart of celebration
13 November 2025

Rachel Pound 
Senior Recruitment Specialist
Research Opinions

During the summer, MRS was lucky enough to march in London Pride and it was a great chance for LGBTQ+ professionals and allies in the market research industry to be visible and stand up with our strong perspective that research without representation is not research at all.

Having the opportunity to march in London Pride made us realise how much we wanted to do the same in other cities, to really branch out across the UK as a whole. The next city on our list was going to be Manchester.

Manchester has a rich LGBT history: from the campaigns that led to the Sexual Offences Act 1967, to Manchester City Council being one of the first local authorities to agree on an HIV/AIDS policy in 1986, to being the base of the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ charity, The LGBT Foundation. Canal Street and Gay Village are at the centre of the queer community in this city. To be able to show up in Manchester for our industry means even more.

However, with the news of Manchester Pride going into liquidation, our plans have changed. For the better, it has made us rethink how to show up as an industry at pride.

It’s a glaring reminder that whilst big pride weekends are fun and often put on a good show, the origin and purpose of pride, its core, needs to be prioritised – that pride is a protest, that all prides should be accessible and inclusive for all, that all prides should focus on being a space for LGBTQ+ people and allies to be free and open – the community itself must come first.

Big pride events can feel too corporate, like the point of pride has been missed. As an industry based on people’s experiences and opinions, we don’t want to add to pride losing its meaning. We want to celebrate inclusivity in our industry and celebrate the voices of every LGBTQ+ participant and professional.

Whilst it’s a shame to hear that big pride events struggle with funding, it is important for us as individuals to know there are other pride and support available for the LGBTQ+ community. There are lots more local prides throughout the UK, where community is really at the heart of these events. In Manchester alone, there are a number of other prides – Salford, Withington, Levenshulme, Stockport to name a few.

For anyone in Manchester who may want some support or guidance information:

• The LGBT Foundation https://lgbt.foundation/
• The Proud Trust https://www.theproudtrust.org/the-proud-place/

Similarly, here are some UK wide organisations:

• Mermaids https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/
• Switchboard LGBT+ https://switchboard.lgbt/
• AKT https://www.akt.org.uk/