Queen Elizabeth II is in Greater Manchester today (8 July) visiting the set of Coronation Street.
Her Majesty arrived at the famous ITV Studios set in Salford’s Media City this morning around 11am and will meet with TV bosses there as part of her visit.
She will reportedly speak with Sir Peter Bazelgette, the chairman of ITV, and John Whiston, the managing director of Continuing Drama before taking a tour of the set.
NEW: The Queen is visiting the set of Coronation Street at Media City UK in Manchester. She’s meeting long serving cast members and crew and will of course pop in to the Rovers Return! Corrie celebrated 60 years on air back in December. pic.twitter.com/BIt891K0SD
Her Majesty will also be meeting some of Corrie’s longest-standing cast members during her visit – meeting the TV show’s film crew as she goes round to hear how the show has adapted its behind-the-scenes practices to enable it to keep filming throughout the pandemic.
ITV’s CEO, Dame Carolyn McCall, is also set to escort Her Majesty into Studio 1 to meet a group of cast members in the Rover’s Return, before the Queen heads on to a second engagement in Manchester itself.
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Soccer Aid raises more than £15 million for Unicef as a familiar face stars at Old Trafford
Danny Jones
This past Sunday saw not only the closing night of Parklife and Outbreak Festival here in Greater Manchester, but also Soccer Aid 2025, which raised yet another incredible amount for charity.
It was also one of the highest-scoring games Old Trafford has seen in a while.
This year’s edition of the fundraising match for UNICEF, which has now been running for more than two decades, saw a record-breaking 14th win for the World XI, who have also emerged as champions from the last five Soccer Aid games.
Nevertheless, with more than £15 million raised in charitable donations to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which helps protect children’s rights, provide humanitarian and all-around support to kids across the world in developing countries, that was the real victory.
As you can see, the exact amount generated following donations during this year’s Soccer Aid fixture is £15,280,163, essentially matching the record-breaking figure raised in 2024.
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Better still, this now takes the total raised for UNICEF thanks to the charity match, which became annual back in 2018, to beyond £115m. Incredible stuff.
Top performers on the night included Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, who got the goals underway, ex-Man City Women’s star Toni Duggan and retired England striker Jermain Defo, who managed to score a brace on the night.
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However, despite taking a two-goal lead, it was the World XI’s star man who happened to be both a once-friendly face at the Theatre of Dreams and a familiar foe.
Speaking on the staggering 2025 total, pop star Robbie Williams, who founded the event back in 2006, said: “As an original founder of Soccer Aid, I couldn’t be more proud of UNICEF…
“From the volunteers, organisers and talent, to the team on the ground; everyone who buys a ticket or makes a donation. Together, over the years, we’ve raised over £121m. Here’s to many more games and even more fundraising.”
Well done to everyone involved with another fantastic year for Soccer Aid and UNICEF, including local comedian Paddy McGuinness, who celebrated a record ninth appearance playing between the sticks for England. Big likey, big lighty.
You can watch the game back in full HERE or all the big highlights from Soccer Aid 2025 down below.
Cracking scoreline that. Man United vs Lyon, eat your heart out.
Rising Manchester DJ issues heartfelt statement after Parklife set is cancelled over safety concerns
Daisy Jackson
Manchester DJ Josh Baker has issued a statement after his Parklife set was unexpectedly cancelled.
The rising star techno and house DJ was supposed to be playing on the brand-new Matinee stage on Sunday evening.
But his set attracted some huge crowds, not helped by the sudden downpour as his set was due to begin.
The area around Matinee became increasingly busy and Parklife announced that the Josh Baker performance would be paused on ‘the advice of safety team’.
Josh Baker has now issued a statement on social media to his followers as his Parklife set was due to end, signed off with a row of crying emojis.
He wrote: “Unfortunately I will not be performing at Parklife due to reason outside of my control.
Josh Baker has shared a statement after his Parklife set was cancelled. Credit: Instagram, @joshbaker
“I deeply apologise. I can’t really put into words what today was going to mean to me.”
Next on the Matinee stage should have been Chris Stussy, another name that was predicted to pull in a big crowd.
At the time of writing, The Matinee Stage remains closed but there are again large queues of fans waiting to re-enter the space.
Georgina Pellant -
8th July 2021 
