Forget about the calm before the storm, the first night of offered what many deemed to be the party after the Putting the earlier remnants of Storm Lilian well and truly to rest, Manchester’s lit up with a congregation of celebration as revellers flocked into the city early to enjoy what is now one of the country’s biggest celebrations. Friday is usually a tamer start to proceedings for most people who choose to conserve their energy for Saturday’s parade and the rest of the weekend’s festivities, but this year the temptation of seeing , Banksie, Gok Wan and The Greatest Showman star Keala Settle proved to be too much of a temptation to ignore. Speaking about this year's festival, Manchester Pride CEO told a crowd at an opening event: "Manchester Pride is not just an event that takes place once a year, it’s not something we only see as we’re dancing around the Gay Village having a wonderful time, Pride exists all year round.
" Weeks before this year's Pride, it was reported that a number of acts on the line-up had dropped out due to Pride’s main sponsorship Booking.com, which has been alleged to have listings on its website located within the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Addressing the situation, he said: "There’s been quite a lot of noise as we run up to Pride this year, and there is always a lot of noise as we run up to Pride every year - we are proud, passionate people who have an idea of how Pride should be, what Pride should be, and how Pride can be bet.