POP IDOL - BETH, BETTY AND BELINDA HEADLINE MANCHESTER PRIDE

This year's Manchester Pride festival will draw an eclectic lineup after Beth Ditto's The Gossip and Betty Boo were named among the headliners.

The north's premier gay and lesbian summer festival will also see 80s star Belinda Carlisle and Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates perform over the August bank holiday.

Other acts to play at the Canal Street venues taking part in the Big Weekend include Clapham diva Angie Brown, Big Brother-winner-turned-DJ Kate Lawler and Britain's 2000 Eurovision Song Contest entrant Nicki French.

The weekend will also feature festival favourites Four Poofs and a Piano, X-Factor's Rowetta, Coronation Street's Beverley Callard and her band and Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills.

Andrew Stokes, chairman of Manchester Pride, said: "The acts that perform on the main stage during the Big Weekend have to cater for a wide variety of ages and tastes.

"The lineup we've got for this year's event certainly does that and I’m sure will be a big hit with the crowd.

"And there’s more to come. The team at Manchester Pride HQ are still working hard to get even more well-known faces and artists to appear on stage. In true Manchester style, we’ll be working right up to the last minute to make sure everyone has an amazing time. If we can fit another few acts in, believe it, we will."

Tickets for the event, which runs from Friday August 24th to Monday August 27th, cost £15 and are available online and at venues in Manchester's gay village area.