31 Jul 2014

easyJet and Manchester Airport announce their joint sponsorship of Manchester Pride's Big Weekend

easyJet, the UK's largest airline, and the third biggest airport, Manchester Airport, have announced today they will be sponsoring Manchester Pride, taking the headline spot at the Big Weekend. It is the second time that both companies have come together to sponsor, and the third consecutive year at the event for both.

The Big Weekend is predicted to be bigger than ever with more than 100,000 visitors expected to attend. easyJet will be boosting the numbers carrying more passengers into the city during Pride compared with last year. In the three days running up to the event, easyJet will be flying in over an estimated 10,000 passengers with many expected to be attending the Big Weekend. During the Bank Holiday weekend Manchester Airport is set to see 324,103 passengers come through the airport.

As part of the Big Weekend, staff from easyJet and Manchester Airport will be taking to the streets on Saturday 23 August for the 'Love' themed parade which makes its way through Manchester City Centre from 1pm with a colourful and eye-catching float encouraging the thousands to celebrate with colour, fly orange!

Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive of Manchester Pride, said:
"We're really pleased to welcome aboard the UK's largest airline and Manchester Airport as this year's lead sponsors of the Big Weekend. easyJet and Manchester Airport are perfect partners to help us fly the Pride flag and it's great to receive their continued support."

"Our aim this year is to make the Big Weekend more accessible than ever, packed with inspiring and colourful events for the LGBT community and ensure Manchester lives up to its reputation as one of the UK's leading cities for celebrating LGBT life whist raising essential funds for LGBT and HIV groups and charities throughout the region."

Ali Gayward, easyJet UK Commercial Manager, said:
"easyJet is proud to be at Manchester Pride 2014 as we celebrate our third year of sponsorship. It is testament to the strong relationship we've built with the festival and the local community, as well as Manchester Airport, where we have continued to grow our presence.

"With 35 routes now on sale from Manchester Airport, we expect to be flying in over 3,000 passengers a day in the run up to the Big Weekend. With crowds being drawn in from far and wide, this is sure to be a fantastic event celebrating diversity and we're excited to be a part of that."

Andrew Cowan, Chief Operating Officer of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), said:
"We are pleased to jointly sponsor the Manchester Pride festival, alongside one of our largest airlines, easyJet, as we prepare to welcome thousands of international visitors to the region over the Bank Holiday Weekend. We hope the event will be a great success and wish everyone - staff taking part and members of the public - a great time."

easyJet and Manchester Airport are official sponsors of the Manchester Pride Big Weekend which takes place from Friday 22 to Monday 25 August. Tens of thousands of people from across the UK and Europe flock to Manchester's world-renowned Gay Village for the event and to watch the parade.

easyJet has 35 destinations on sale from Manchester Airport, including the LGBT community holiday hot spots of Mykonos, Amsterdam, and Berlin.

Manchester Airport is home to 65 airlines, serving 200 plus destinations and has over 21 million passengers a year.

ENDS

Contact details:

For easyJet enquiries:
For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office on 01582 525252, log onto www.easyjet.com or follow @easyJet_Press

For Manchester Airport enquiries:
Seb Thompson, MAG Press Office - 0161 489 2705 / seb.thompson@manairport.co.uk

Notes to editors:

About easyJet:
easyJet operates Europe's No. 1 air transport network with a leading presence on Europe's top 100 routes and at Europe's 50 largest airports.

easyJet carries more than 63 million passengers annually, of which 12 million are travelling on business.  

easyJet flies over 200 aircraft with more than 700 routes on sale across 32 countries and over 130 airports. More than 300 million Europeans live within one hour's drive of an easyJet airport, more than any other airline.

The airline takes sustainability seriously. easyJet invests in the latest technology, operates efficiently and fills most of its seats which means that an easyJet passenger's carbon footprint is 22% less than a passenger on a traditional airline, flying the same aircraft on the same route.

About Manchester Airport:
Manchester Airport is the global gateway for the North of the UK and the largest airport outside London with over 200 destinations served by 65 airlines.

Manchester Airport's long-haul catchment area places around 24 million people and 60% of all UK businesses within a two-hour drive time - it extends north through the Lake District into Scotland; east across Yorkshire and the North East; south to Birmingham and the Midlands; and west into Merseyside and Wales.

MAG serves over 43 million passengers and handles almost half a million tonnes of air freight every year through its ownership and operation of the airports of London Stansted, Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth airports.
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