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This article was first published on Monday 25th August 2003.

The tenth Europride was held in Manchester this year and we at AstaBGay.com went along to witness the event. This lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender festival took place between 15th – 25th August and had more than something for everyone. It has already been declared the best EuroPride ever - we would certainly not argue with that! – It was spectacular!

On Saturday 23rd it all kicked off with the Key 103 parade. The parade was magnificent with about sixty groups going past us in the 50 minutes it took to see it all. Many well-known names were there including Cruz 101, Essential, Stonewall, Body Positive and Clone Zone, to name but a few. All the displays won cheers and applause but without a doubt the biggest appreciation was for the Gay Police Association in which uniformed Gay and Lesbian police officers proudly marched under their banner.

Some of the single people on foot, sporting there own costumes on which it appeared no expense had been spared, were truly outstanding, There were two sets of Wizard of Oz characters (that we saw) and it appeared that even Her Majesty the Queen had turned out at one point, but of course it was only a brilliant look-alike, as were many of the Super heroes like the impressive Lara Croft that we saw. But, it was the real Sir Ian McKellen who waved to the rapturous crowds from an open top sports car.

The electric atmosphere was heightened further when a massive jet of confetti-style paper, all colours of the rainbow, was regularly blasted skywards from one of the floats and showered down on us as if we were at some Deity’s wedding. Others floats filled the air with masses of bubbles launched from machines, the bubbles fighting with other bubbles, ones from the little bubble guns that had been bought by the crowds, all jostling for prominence as they soared upwards into the fairyland sky.

Perhaps the most amazing site of all was the long Rainbow flag which was a quarter of a mile long and needed more than 200 hundred people to carry it. The flag, which itself was a quarter of the original, was again split into two sections because of the sheer length and weight of it. It was proudly paraded at each end of this enormous parade.

Manchester’s Gay Village, made even more famous by the hit TV series, Queer As Folk, had been completely enclosed by fences and barriers, and it was in here that, for the modest sum of £10 which covered the whole four days of The Big Weekend, one could find all the gay entertainment you could ever want. Bars, clubs, stages, tents, eating places – everything! And London take note: We weren’t ripped off once! All the drinks ranged from extremely cheap (even by Blackpool standards) to reasonable, and we found the food was good and certainly not expensive.

We watched the number one hit band, Girls Aloud on the main stage and along with everyone else found them fantastic. They were just one of the many great performances that we witnessed on that stage that day. The Fast Food Rockers performed a few lively songs including their Number one hit, The Fast Food Song. Martin had an embarrassing few moments during their last song when, to the enjoyment of the crowd who went hysterical, his flies let him down (see our gallery). It was several minutes before he realised that he had exploded open and then, red-faced, struggled to get his zip, which seemed to have jammed, safely secured. Other names that hit the BMIBaby.com stage included the Diva herself, Hazel Dean, who as always amazed the audience with her fantastic singing and charisma. State of Grace appeared twice due to popular demand, and other fantastic artists like Jaqui Cann, Maria Rubia, Coco, Lara Harding and the unforgettable Aussie Rock Diva, Kelly Wilde. The show was very nicely rounded off by a big favourite in the gay scene, the fabulous Supersister who performed three tracks including the memorable hits Coffee and Shopping. I forgot to mention that the whole show was started by the London Gay Men’s Chorus who went down extremely well. Their performance of Lady Marmalade was brilliant!

The whole “feel” of the event was truly wonderful; a great atmosphere. Prices for drink and food were normal, if not lower, and everybody was friendly. There were masses of security guards and police present to keep us all safe; all of them appearing so relaxed, friendly and eager to assist.

After the main stage show was over, around ten o’clock, there were parties everywhere in the clubs and bars; at least one was going on right through the night and into the next day, and most of the pubs in the enclosure were advertising their 4.00am licenses.

We found two places we would recommend amongst the watering holes that we used that day: New York, New York had a great relaxed feeling, good prices and service - thanks Sylvia! The other: Thompsons, which had the best music for us, extremely cheap drinks and excellent service from some of the hardest working barmen we’ve ever seen!

Considering there were over 150 events and more than 250,000 people visiting Europride over the ten days (most on this Saturday) the whole place was remarkably clean, with the portable toilets (often an unpleasant experience) astoundingly still quite clean, stocked up with all that’s needed, smelling sweet and acceptable even late into the night.

Manchester – you did us proud! Our thanks goes out to all the people who made this event happen, from the volunteers to the artists to the cleaners, everyone, and not forgetting the Security and the Police who were remarkable. A very special thanks to Jane Price, Communications Co-ordinator, and all the others who worked so hard assisting the media – it has really been appreciated. Thanks a million!

            Best overall float:                  Prairie Dogs.
            Best HIV Awareness entry:   Body Positive.
            Best Community float:          Prairie Dogs.
            Best walking entry:              Greater Manchester Police.