With around 80,000 new and returning students set to arrive in the city over these new few weeks, some famous Manchester faces have a word or two for them.
The freshers experience is set to be a very different this year amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
With nightclubs still closed and strict social distancing measures in place in bars – as well as the new rule of six and reports of a 10pm curfew expected to be announced by the government in due course – usual bar crawls and club nights are out of the question.
Concerns surrounding the potential breaching of these current local lockdown restrictions by students is what has prompted a number of famous faces to step in.
Radio DJ Gemma Atkinson, presenter Vernon Kay, Coronation Street actresses Catherine Tyldesley and Brooke Vincent, boxer Anthony Crolla, and reality TV star Scott Thomas are among the Manchester celebrities who have posted videos on social media urging students to “think twice” before hosting or attending any house parties or large gatherings.
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The celebrities involved were approached by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Night Time Economy Advisor Sacha Lord to drive home the importance of following the latest government guidance.
Well-known Boltonian TV presenter Vernon Kay said: “It’s important that we get our region back on its feet, and if you’re thinking about hosting a party or going to a student party, please think twice about doing it.
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“As you’ve heard, Bolton is on its knees and Greater Manchester is struggling, we need to get the cities up and running again and we can do this by preventing the spread of COVID-19.
“If you do your bit, it will have a massive knock-on effect for everyone else.
“Stay safe, enjoy it, I’m very jealous that my further education was many many many years ago, and I enjoyed every minute of it, so you do the same.”
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Corrie co-star Catherine Tyldesley asked students to “sit tight” and added: “We know all the clubs are shut and yeah, it’s depressing, but please please please help protect our amazing city by not hosting or attending house parties.
“Help slow down the virus, because the quicker we do that, the quicker the clubs can open and we can have a belting time.”
Brooke Vincent said: “I know it’s a little bit rubbish and not the start of your uni year that you expected. Manchester at the minute is really really trying to get back on track, to recover, and we need your help.
“If this was another time I’d be at the house parties myself, on the table, with a drink in my hand, but we need to keep everyone safe.
“I assure you, once everything is up and running, I’m pretty damn sure Manchester will do an amazing celebration and you guys can get fully involved.”
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Hits Radio Manchester presenter Gemma Atkinson admitted that things were “a little bit difficult”, but urged people to support each other and said: “Please don’t be that person who has these house parties, it’s not worth it.
“This city needs to get back to normal.
“Let’s all do each other proud and keep safe.”
Scott Thomas – Love Island star, social media figure and director of Manchester-based PR agency The Social PR – addressed students saying: “You must be buzzing, but we must keep our city safe.
“Be patient.
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“The more patient we are, the quicker we will recover.”
These urgent messages of warning to students come after the UK government announced last month that police in England have been given the power to distribute fines to the organisers of illegal gatherings.
Those responsible could be hit with five-figure penalties for playing their part in arranging events with more than 30 people.
For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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The player celebrations from Stockport County’s League Two trophy presentation are glorious
Danny Jones
If you’re a Stockport County fan, you’ve had a very good year as the Hatters have just been crowned League Two champions and will be back in the English third tier next season – safe to say they’ve been making most of the trophy celebrations.
Players and staff very much included.
Edgeley was filled with flares and even people climbing on rooftops when they officially secured promotion back to League One for the first time in 12 years – the second time they’ve managed to go up in three seasons – and there was a great attendance in Stockport town centre for the bus parade.
But it was last week’s trophy presentation back at the stadium that produced some of the most memorable scenes, with County topping off a season of impressive and often high-scoring performances on the pitch with plenty more pageantry. Cue the music.
We still haven’t stopped laughing at Kyle Knoyle.
From bringing Isaac Olaofe’s ‘Tanto’s on fire!’ chant to life to hammering home puns on names like Fraser Horsfall, no matter how obvious, these are the kind of deeply unserious celebrations we expect from a trophy presentation.
County fan or not, you’ve got to admit it looks like a good party.
It’s moments like these that players, fans and staff work hard all season for; to prat around like muppets in front of their adoring supporters. They even got assistant coach, Clint Hill, in the mix and, as it turns out, he proved to be one of the biggest ring-leaders.
We sincerely hope the Hatters keep trickling out more of these party scenes as we know there’s plenty more that fans would love to watch back.
We’re still yet to see captain Paddy Madden, who won Player of the Month for April, and the gaffer himself, Dave Challinor, who has comfortably secured his legacy as one of the club’s all-time greats.
Challinor and the club have made no secret of seriously eyeing up the Championship and who knows what else at County’s momentum continues to build, especially with a huge stadium redevelopment kicking off soon.
What do you reckon, Hatters – do you reckon a third promotion could be on the cards?
Liam Gallagher says he’ll ‘gig in Lidl’ if Co-op Live still isn’t ready – and they sound pretty game for it
Danny Jones
Following the ongoing palaver with Co-op Live, Liam Gallagher has joked that he’d happily play his scheduled gigs in a Lidl if the arena still isn’t ready – at least we think he’s joking…
With Liam Gallagher having been named as one of the first acts booked to play Co-op Live last year, many are now wondering whether the venue will even by June, with the former Oasis frontman set to play four Definitely Maybe 30th-anniversary sets. That being said, he’s come up with a solution if not.
Vintage LG, we’ll give him that.
Obviously a bit of a tongue-in-cheek quip at the venue being sponsored by a supermarket and convenience store chain, it could have been any other competitor that the ever-witty youngest Gallagher brother picked but it somehow made it extra funny that he chose a budget brand like Lidl.
However, with the 51-year-old already having fun with stunts like voicing the tannoys on the Metrolink last year, for instance, we wouldn’t put it past him to take this joke a little further.
Better still, not that we’re getting carried away or anything but Lidl themselves seem pretty keen on the idea too; they even spent the time to build an entire setlist for the fictional show. Fair play.
Can you imagine? Liam Gallagher swapping the occasional tambourine shake for beeps from a barcode scanner as he moves back and forth on the conveyor belt. We know it’s absolute nonsense and we definitely shouldn’t be even remotely considering it… BUT it’s the stuff of dreams and strange things have happened.
A lot of stranger things have happened this week alone. As for the latest with Co-op Live, the Chairman and CEO of key-backers Oak View Group, Tim Leiweke, issued a full statement sharing his “sincere apologies”and insisting that they understand “there is work to be done to rebuild your trust in us.”
With the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Peter Kay, The Black Keys and more having their gigs pulled by the venue due to numerous issues, including an air conditioning unit falling from the ceiling, fans are understandably fearful that other upcoming events could face delays or general misfortune.
Much like the venue itself, we imagine we’ll be playing catch-up on this whole saga for the foreseeable, but here’s a recap of the story so far: