Sir Ian McKellen to lead this year's LGBT Pride festival in Manchester

The Hollywood actor and star of The Lord of the Rings and X-Men has been announced as the Grand Marshal of this year’s march.

Sir Ian — a patron of Bolton Little Theatre and a former Bolton School pupil — is one of the world’s leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights campaigners and will follow in the footsteps of last year’s popular parade leader, Orange is the New Black’s Lea Delaria.

Sir Ian will lead the parade through the streets of Manchester on Saturday, August 29.

The event will be followed by Bolton’s first Pride festival from October 16 to 18.

Mark Fletcher, chief executive of Manchester Pride said: “We’re privileged that Sir Ian will be leading the parade through Manchester city centre in this milestone year, where we are marking 25 years of charity fundraising events celebrating LGBT life in Manchester.

“Sir Ian is a genuine inspiration for the global LGBT community, not only for his status as one of the world’s most acclaimed actors, but also for his unwavering dedication to campaigning for LGBT rights.”

The theme for the 2015 Manchester Pride Parade is Devotion, and the charity is calling for parade participants and attendees to celebrate and shout about who and what they are devoted to.

Mr Fletcher added: “Manchester is a city devoted to embracing and celebrating diversity, especially the LGBT communities that have helped to shape Manchester’s cultural heritage and landscape over the centuries. We want people to celebrate the fact that the city is proud of its LGBT history and shares in its future.”

This year’s parade is expected to consist of about 2,500 people from across Greater Manchester, with approximately 100 entries from small community groups, to large commercial organisations all expressing their support to the LGBT community.

To find out more about the Manchester Pride you can follow the charity on Twitter @manchesterpride or visit the website at manchesterpride.com