PEOPLE from Trafford are being warned that the annual Manchester Pride festival and parade will affect roads in Manchester city centre over the bank holiday weekend.

The theme of this year's colourful event is Love, and stars appearing include Anastacia , All Saints, MNEK and Eurovision's winning bearded 'lady' Conchita Wurst The Village area around Chorlton Street and Sackville Street will be closed to traffic throughout the weekend from Friday morning 22rd to Tuesday morning 26th August.

As a result, bus services 219, 219N, 220, 221, X40, X41, X43, Terravision A40, Transpeak and Metroshuttle 1 will be diverted around the area.

The main parade will take place on Saturday, from 1pm, travelling along Liverpool Road, Deansgate, John Dalton Street, Princess Street and Whitworth Street.

This will mean road closures from 6am on Saturday continuing until the parade finishes by 6pm. Parking restrictions will be in place within the closed routes.

Road users travelling in the area may experience some delays. Buses will be diverted around the area and services are expected to return to normal at around 6pm. All Metroshuttle services will be suspended during the parade.

Metrolink services will operate as normal on Saturday but are expected to be busy and passengers should allow extra time for their journey.

National Express services from Chorlton Street bus station may experience minor delays. Passengers can contact Customer Services on 0871 781 8178.

Supervisory staff from Transport for Greater Manchester, Metrolink and bus operators will join Greater Manchester Police in managing traffic.

Information will be posted at affected bus stops and is available from Traveline, on 0871 200 22 33 (calls cost 10p per minute plus any network charges).