A Manc's gui to: the Gay Village, more than jt a party district

Contents:

• A MANC’S GUI TO: THE GAY VILLAGE, MORE THAN JT A LATE-NIGHT PARTY DISTRICT
• GAY VILLAGE
• GAY FRIENDLY HOLIDAY HOM MANCHTER
• GAY VILLAGE
• GAY VILLAGE HOLIDAY LETTGS

A MANC’S GUI TO: THE GAY VILLAGE, MORE THAN JT A LATE-NIGHT PARTY DISTRICT

One of the UK’s most well-loved gay quarters, The Village is home to a host of bars and entertament venu, all set around the famo Canal Street. By the late 80s, more gay people were g out. At one of the Manchter protts around 20, 000 people marched and what was signifint was that they weren’t all gay.

The vigil aspect me a few years later when the gay people of Manchter started losg their iends, lovers and life partners to HIV/AIDS.

Queer As Folk, a TV programme that dramatised the life of three gay men the Village was aired on Channel 4 and signified that there had been a major shift societal attus towards gay people. Gay Village, Manchter England.

GAY VILLAGE

Known for s late-night clubs and cheap drks als, the Gay Village is popular wh Manchter partygoers - but there's more gog on behd the scen. Today, Manchter’s Gay Village is a verable party district.

The neighbourhood has weled a gay clientele sce the 1940s, but, by all acunts, ’s only the past twenty years or so that thgs have really started to turn a rner, spe homosexualy beg crimalised 1967.

GAY FRIENDLY HOLIDAY HOM MANCHTER

An excerpt om Mancunian Gay magaze 1984 tled ‘Not tonight, Anrton’ tells the story of how one night 20 pla cloth officers stormed to Napoleons and forced everyone attendance to provi their personal rmatn before beg allowed to leave – an cint that was later brand as “an obv se of police victimisatn” a prs release issued by the Gay Centre. In spe of this, the first Gay Pub and Club Olympics event (now thought of as the gural Manchter Pri) still went ahead on the Augt Bank Holiday weekend of 1985.

GAY VILLAGE

Notably, had the support of a new generatn of Labour uncillors elected 1984 – who gave the gay muny their support and appoted Lbian and Gay officers. Inspired by Ken Livgstone‘s early days on the Greater London Council, those new uncillors created an Equal Opportuni Commtee and appoted Maggie Turner and Pl Fairweather what would prove a landmark move for gay rights the north of England.

GAY VILLAGE HOLIDAY LETTGS

1986 saw thgs gradually improve for the muny, as uncillors’ ‘put their arms around’ the gay muny, welg a Northern Pri event 1986 and ntributg public funds towards the celebratns. As the ’80s ntued, Manchter’s fight for gay rights ntued wh the Sectn 28 march 1988 actg as a huge turng pot as the Thatcher ernment’s dranian legislatn brought people out onto the streets to prott their drov.

Still, wasn’t until the early neti that the Gay Village weled s first openly-gay bar and even then police raids the area ntued right up to 1994. The battl agast stutnal homophobia were still beg fought, clearly, and some ntued to ll the Canal Street area ‘Satan’s Square Mile’ – but the openg of new nightclubs like Cz 101 and semal events Electric Chair and Poptastic saw the muny phg back.

Repurposed at the end of the Indtrial Revolutn to a gay quarter that has sce bee one of the most famo the world, Manchter has a lot of thgs to be proud of – and the village is fely up there wh the bt. Habha – A hidn foodie gem the heart of the gay village, the Ethpian rtrant Habha ss above a pretty n-of-the-l takeaway and is que easy to miss.