Snatching At The Pink Pound
50 quid just to march in Gay Pride. Now that’s inclusive:
Fury over ?50 charge to join gay pridemarch
By Ian Herbert
Published: 18 July 2006, Independent
The organisers of one of Britain’s best-known gay pride marches have been accused of profiteering after insisting that all those who take part must pay ?50 for the privilege.
Next month’s 10-day Manchester Pride festival, now in its 12th year, is expected to attract 100,000 people to the city centre. But for the first time, organisers are insisting that the costs of crowd control and additional policing, which have grown with the event, demand that individuals or non-commercial groups on the event’s march through the city must pay.
[…]
Manchester Pride, which organises the three-day weekend festival and has raised more than ?400,000 for charities in Greater Manchester over the past three years, insisted the flat charge of ?50 plus VAT was justifiable. “I would love to throw the biggest and best event in the world, but you are acutely aware that every pound you are spending is a pound less going to charities,” said the event’s chairman, Andrew Stokes. “These things always have a cost attached and there are all sorts of health and safety costs. And, while it is not directly attributed to this, we don’t currently have a parade sponsor. “
[…]
“Those early years were great, it was a real charity event with everyone having a great sense of community,” one festival regular said. “Now it’s too big and commercial. The biggest amount of money made is by the businesses and not the charities, which is after all what it’s all about. It should be about gay pride and not about money.”
Perhaps the Manchester plod should just ask the Home Secretary for a Section 44 order. They can find money pretty swiftly if the magic word terrorism is invoked.
Of course, Pride attendees would have to accept random intimate searches from muscular officers in tight-fitting uniforms, but then isn’t that what Pride’s all about?
