Brighton. Venues As well as many sporting venues Manchester has many venues for performances and conventions: City of Manchester Stadium - Home to Manchester City F.C., the stadium has a concert capacity of 60,000 - 2nd largest only after Wembley Stadium in London. Manchester Arena - Europe's most capacious indoor arena. Manchester Central - Comprising two separate venues formerly known as the GMEX Centre and Manchester International Conference Centre (MICC) respectively. Bridgewater Hall Manchester Academy Manchester Apollo Old Trafford Cricket Ground The Factory Gay and lesbian Manchester has claimed to have the UK's largest gay population outside London. Gay Village, centred on the Canal Street area, is home to numerous shops, restaurants, bars and clubs. On the last weekend in August it hosts the Manchester Pride Festival (previously known as Mardi Gras and Gayfest). Manchester's gay culture was brought to mainstream attention on television series Queer as Folk and Coronation Street, which are set in the Village. It is also the birthplace of several gay rights organisations including the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, Queer Youth Alliance, the Lesbian & Gay Foundation. Manchester has its own gay sports teams, Village Manchester FC (soccer), Northern Wave (swimming) and Village Spartans (Rugby) which take part in Manchester's annual Pride Games. In the 1990s Manchester City Council gave support to the establishment of a gay centre and employed four lesbians and gay men to help implement their equal opportunity policy. Their work continued in spite of Section 28 and the City Council actively supported the Mardi Gras and other gay events. The year round gay and lesbian heritage trail exhibits Manchester's gay history. In 2003, Manchester played host city to the annual Europride festival. The Lesbian & Gay Foundation, Britain's biggest gay charity, is based on Richmond Street in the city centre. Manchester Metropolitan University has been named the most gay friendly university in the UK. See also Manchester International Festival Manchester Jazz Festival Writers from Manchester References Further reading Sean Bidder (2002) Pump Up the Volume: a history of House Music, Macmillan, Sean Bidder (1999) The Rough Guide to House Music. Rough Guides, Boardman, Harry & Palmer, Roy, eds. (1983) Manchester Ballads: thirty-five facsimile street ballads. Manchester: City of Manchester Education Committee Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton (2000) Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey, Grove Press, Gomes, Maryann (1988) The Picture House: a photographic album of