Manchester Airport revealed as headline sponsor of Wilmslow Pride 2026

Manchester Airport has announced it will be the headline sponsor of Wilmslow Pride 2026, due to take place in the Cheshire town this weekend.

The event, which returns by popular demand after a hugely successful first year in 2025, promises a weekend of celebration, community and connection in the heart of Cheshire‍. It will offer a packed two-day programme of live entertainment and performances, community stalls and activities, hosted at various venues across Wilmslow.

The sponsorship will see representatives from the airport’s Fly With Pride colleague group work with Wilmslow Pride organisers to build awareness of the event and champion values of inclusivity and diversity, both within the local community and within the airport’s 20,000-plus workforce.

Cat Davys, Talent & Diversity Director at Manchester Airports Group (MAG), said: "We are delighted to be supporting Wilmslow Pride this year as its headline sponsor. This is an event rooted in its local community that is going from strength to strength, and it's important to us that we support community-led initiatives in areas like Wilmslow, ensuring they feel the benefit of having a major hub like Manchester Airport on their doorstep.

"Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are also extremely important values to us as an employer - last year we launched a five-year EDI Strategy with ambitions to become an industry leader in this area - so partnering with Wilmslow Pride is a great fit for us. We share the event's ethos of connecting local people from all walks of life and encouraging them to celebrate difference and be their authentic selves."

Brian Wood, who leads the airport’s Fly With Pride colleague community, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be the headline sponsor of Wilmslow Pride, a beautiful, blossoming celebration happening right on our doorstep.

“From its very beginning, this event has been rooted in love, inclusion and community, and that’s exactly why it matters so deeply to us. Wilmslow Pride is proudly family‑led, joy‑filled and welcoming, creating a safe and affirming space where LGBTQIA+ people of all ages can be visible, celebrated and embraced for exactly who they are.

“It brings neighbours, friends and families together under a shared rainbow, reminding us that pride is about connection, kindness and belonging. Supporting Wilmslow Pride is our colleague community’s way of standing loud, proud and united with the LGBTQIA+ community today, tomorrow and always.”

Richard Dash, a co-founder of the event, added: “Wilmslow Pride was born from something personal. Growing up in a small town in Cornwall with very little queer representation around me, I know first-hand how much it matters to see yourself reflected in the community you call home.

“Together with an incredible group of people, we built Wilmslow Pride from the ground up. What we didn't fully anticipate was just how much this community would embrace it and the response has been overwhelming.

“Pride isn't just an event. It's a message to every young person in this town who might be quietly wondering whether there's a place for them here. There is, and there always was. Wilmslow Pride exists to make sure they know it.”