When the Manchester Gay Pub and Club Olympics took place during the 1985 August bank holiday weekend, it was heralded as a success. The small event featured tug-of-war and egg-and-spoon races in a bid to raise money for local and crucial charities.
Held in the midst of the AIDS epidemic, it provided a sense of community and belonging to those facing hostility and prejudice on a daily basis. Just a year on from the Gay Olympics, Manchester’s Chief Constable James Anderton would describe gay people as ‘swirling about in a human cesspit of their own making’.
But the event, and subsequent annual celebrations of its sort, would aim to carry on the mantra of activism and community, while raising money for those working hard to break down barriers faced by LGBTQ+ people. Through a series of changes over time, it would lead to what we now know as Manchester Pride.
