Events in Britain have been on pause for the best part of a year, meaning we didn’t get to see thousands of bright-red, sweat-soaked, smiling faces bobbing over the finish line at Deansgate in 2020.
The most recent edition of the Great Manchester Run – which was set to be one of its biggest yet – was sadly cancelled due to COVID risks, but event organisers are already prepping to reboot in 2021.
Great Manchester Run is hoping to return with a bang in the year ahead – laying out some tentative dates for the main event itself.
Instead of taking place in May, the Great Manchester Run 2021 has been scheduled for Sunday 26 September.
A gap of nine months gives organisers the best chance of ensuring the event goes ahead this time around – but they’ve put plenty in the calendar between now and then to give Mancs a way to get fit and healthy before September.
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The Great Run team have launched a ‘Run Away From 2020’ challenge to kick things off – letting people put a glum year permanently behind them with a series of exercises.
The challenge is to complete 21 activities (run, jog, walk) of any distance in January.
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The challenge is for all abilities that celebrates all activity, and participants will be rewarded with a snazzy 2-in-1 medal.
The challenge is happening right now, ending 31 January.
You can join at any time from now up to Monday 11 January at 10am, when entries close.
2021 will hopefully be a bigger, better, healthier and happier year for everyone.
Let’s get training…
Entries for the Great Manchester Run 2021 are due to open soon, but you can sign up to the Reminder Service to get the latest event news here.
What's On
Manchester’s new £2.5m indoor activity park is offering 50% off tickets over half term
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s newly-opened indoor activity park is offering families the chance to visit for half price this spring holidays.
In case you missed it, Salford was chosen by Oxygen Activeplay as the location for its next venture, an officially opened the doors to its newest state-of-the-art equipment facility above bustling food hall Kargo MKT, inside the former site of I’m a Celebrity Jungle Challenge down at Quayside MediaCity in mid February.
Since opening to the public, Oxygen MediaCity has already been helping lots of local families stay active and have fun at the same time.
Following a £2.5 million investment, the new park features more than 30 trampolines, a mega-air bag, a high ropes course, a ‘Rollglider’ aerial ride which flies over the facility, and Oxygen’s signature illuminated sensory experience ‘Excite Tunnel’, along with even more “epic” activities.
A series of optional games and dance parties are also on offer during each play session, and the new Manchester park also hosts ‘Peaceful Play’ sessions designed for neurodivergent guests, who prefer a calmer and quieter playing environment, as well as there being a ‘Toddler Venture Zone’.
A cafe serving drinks, snacks, and meals also overlooks the park, so once you’re all bounced out, you can recharge with a full feast from the new menu before heading home.
Manchester’s new £2.5m indoor activity park is offering 50% off tickets over half term / Credit: Jamie McPhilimey
And thankfully, once schools are out for the spring holidays in a couple of weeks time, families can get themselves one of Oxygen at MediaCity’s Easter Holiday Pass, which gives pass holders the chance to visit the park on any five days of the two-week break – including on weekends and bank holidays – for 60 minutes of ‘Open Play’.
For a limited time only, you can save some pennies and take advantage of a half price offer and get your hands on an Easter Holidays Pass for only £30.
Little Simz announces biggest-ever Manchester gig ahead of new album
Danny Jones
The queen of British rap, the one and only Little Simz, is coming back to Manchester for what will be her biggest headline show in this city to date.
A whole three years on from her last album No Thank You, the rapper from Islington is heading back out on the road after wrapping up the recording of her sixth studio LP, Lotus.
The first single ‘FREE’ has already dropped, and despite the release date itself being pushed back, news of a new Little Simz tour later this year more than makes up for it, if you ask us.
Little Simz already has two NME Awards to her name for Best British Solo Act and Best British Album, not to mention a BRIT itself for Best New Artist in 2022; oh yeah, and she won the Mercury Prize as well as a BET Hip Hop Award over in the States for ‘Best International Flow’ – all before she turned 30.
With that in mind, you can understand why so many are frothing at the mouth to hear her new record when it does finally drop.
There doesn’t appear to be any problems with the album itself: Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, to use her full name, is simply busier than ever and has just booked a role in a film because, yes, she acts too.
Lotus will now drop on Friday, 6 June, just in time for fans to get learning the lyrics ahead of festival season, which we have no doubt she’ll play a big part in.
You can hear the first taste of the next chapter down below:
Little Simz returns to Manchester for a Co-op Live debut on 16 October with tour supports still yet to be announced.
Pre-sale goes live on Wednesday, 9 April from 10am for official Co-op members and general admission will be available from the same time on the following Friday (11 April).
The Manc -
6th January 2021 
