Manchester, UK
Introduction
Many of you who live outside of the U.K. probably had your first taste of Manchester queer life thanks to the infamous T.V. show, Queer as Folk. The original (and much superior!) version of this show was based on life in and around the Manchester gay village, and showed the world what all Mancunians already knew: queer life in Manchester rocks!
In my opinion, Manchester has one of the best gay villages in the world. I know it’s a bold statement, but until you’ve walked along Canal St. on a summer Saturday night, you really can’t imagine what it’s all about. The village is also fun because it doesn’t only go along one main street. Even though Canal is the most famous street, the village is basically made up of about six huge square blocks, with everything in easy walking distance. In reality, the gay village here is one of the largest gayborhoods in Europe and it’s also one of the most inclusive with a healthy mix of the L,G, B and T.
This inclusiveness goes all the way to City Hall, where there is one elected city councilor responsible for gay rights and welfare and a second one for lesbian rights and welfare. There is also have a full-time city employee who works exclusively to ensure that lesbian rights are being enforced and respected in the city of Manchester. Seriously. And throughout the city centre you’ll find mosaic rainbow tiles ingrained in the sidewalk, indicating that spot plays an important role in Manchester’s queer history.
Manchester also takes its LGBT culture quite seriously hosting one of the best Prides anywhere, along with Queer Up North, a leading queer arts and culture festival and Sparkle, the biggest transgender festival in Europe. So it’s time to put all those dreary, industrial city thoughts of Manchester behind you and discover what this northern British town has to offer.
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