The spooky season is finally here, and Halloween in the City is returning to Manchester this weekend to celebrate.
With so much happening over the two-day festival as part of the annual Halloween in the City celebrations – which are organised by CityCo and Manchester Business Improvement Distict (BID) – visitors to the city centre this weekend are being encouraged to “dress up, join in, and get gruesome” to look the part.
It won’t be something you see every day, but everything from ghastly ghouls, to wicked witches, curious cats, and more will all be welcome in Manchester city centre this Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October.
The more people in spooky fancy dress, the better.
While the Halloween in the City celebrations will be largely taking place over this weekend, if you’ve got a keen eye, then you may have already noticed that giant inflatable monsters with hanging tentacles, fanged teeth, and bloodshot eyes have been starting to take over the rooftops of Manchester this week.
Dotted at eleven different locations across the city centre, you’ll be able to go on adventure to discover them at places like KAMPUS, Selfridges, the Manchester Arndale, Great Northern Warehouse, Printworks and The Royal Exchange Manchester, Spinningfields, and at the ‘spooktacular’ Cathedral Gardens outdoor ice rink.
And then on Halloween weekend itself, there’ll be even more monsters set to pop up on the ground, so keep your eyes peeled around Exchange Square.
The monsters are just the tip of the iceberg of events happening at Halloween in the City this weekend though – think a welcome procession of roaming monsters, a monster carnival, top monster bands, monster DJs, a monstrous photo trail across the city
Here’s a round-up of everything you can get involved with.
Credit: CityCo / Manchester BIDCredit: CityCo / Manchester BID
A ‘monsters welcome’ procession
Walk The Plank, who also create the annual Manchester Day parade, are putting on a crazy procession of monster puppets, stilt walkers and a five-piece band across the Halloween weekend – and everyone is invited.
Visit the home of Manchester’s mad-for-it scientist, Dr. Mancenstein, encountering dragons, giant marauding crows, Mr Arsenic the castle butler and eerie groundskeepers along the way whilst dodging the man-eating plants.
Free to attend, her garden and cemetery is also home to a menagerie of creepy characters.
Get up close and personal with giant monster Scary Gary at this year’s Monster Lab, located in Exchange Square. You can also make your own slime at the Monster Slime School and create your own mini monsters to take home.
Dr Mancenstein’s radioactive lab assistant will be on hand to help with all your weird and wonderful experiments.
Billed as a ‘family-friendly freakshow’, New Cathedral street will be transformed for spooky season with roaming circus monsters, sideshow stalls, a kids’ carousel and a traditional helter-skelter.
You can also get up close and personal with the inflatable monster, Creepy Annie.
A trail of spooky photo opportunities across the city
Discover eight different spooky backdrops scattered across the city, ranging from a ‘monster invasion’ Manchester skyline, to depictions of the Grimm Reaper, aliens, zombies, the marshmallow man, dragons and creepy castle gates.
There will also be backdrops featuring Cbeebies and CBBC characters – perfect for the little ones.
Known as ‘The Keeper’s Nests’ these giant magpie puppets draw inspiration from the rhyme “One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told…”.
The pair will stalk the streets at a height, looking down from their rickety nests in search of secrets.
DJ Ghostman isn’t the first selector to hide his identity, but he might be the first to do so with a bed sheet. Find him playing a host of Halloween hits and monster bops from the Monster DJ Truck on Market Street across Halloween weekend.
Don’t forget to follow the fun over on Halloween in the City’s socials too – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Featured Image – CityCo / Manchester BID
What's On
Chester Zoo’s FREE family festival returns next weekend – with wildlife shows, live music, and more
Emily Sergeant
Watching live wildlife shows and building dens are just some of the things you can get stuck into at Chester Zoo next weekend.
That’s because the UK’s biggest charity zoo’s free family festival is returning for another year.
Scientists recently revealed that more than half of all UK species are now in decline, including hedgehogs, butterflies, and wildflowers, Chester Zoo has announced that its Nature Fest is back by popular demand next weekend – with the two-day event boasting a jam-packed lineup of interactive events for all ages.
Taking place across the zoo’s six-hectare nature reserve, conservationists hope the weekend-long event will connect festivalgoers with nature, all while raising awareness of precious UK wildlife.
Open to everyone for free of charge, Nature Fest will have hands-on activities, workshops, talks, and performances – including the interactive Hedgehog Hideaway adventure, which teaches participants how to make their gardens more hedgehog friendly.
Chester Zoo’s free family festival returns next weekend / Credit: Chester Zoo
There’s also opportunities to take on conservation volunteering tasks like habitat restoration, take part in interactive wildlife talks at the Picnic Patch, and even blend together art, music, and nature.
Now in its ninth year, the 2025 event is part of Chester Zoo’s Networks for Nature initiative, which recently received a £4 million boost from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to expand its community-led conservation work across the UK.
“Chester Zoo’s nature reserve is open to people all year round, but Nature Fest is a chance to shine a spotlight on this vital part of the zoo,” commented Ruby Merriman, who is the Estate Biodiversity Manager at Chester Zoo.
“As one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth, British wildlife needs just as much support as species abroad, and Nature Fest offers a way for aspiring conservationists to learn how to get involved.”
There’ll be wildlife shows, interactive hands-on activities, live music, and more / Credit: Chester Zoo
Christopher Ablett, who is the Community Volunteer Coordinator, added: “These experiences help people of all ages build a personal connection with UK wildlife and understand the role they can play in its protection.
“We want people to know that small actions matter, community makes a difference, connectivity is key and that, while UK wildlife is facing serious challenges, everyone can help, and you can find out how at Nature Fest.”
Nature Fest takes place on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September from 11:30am to 4:30pm.
The Nature Reserve is located at the far end of Chester Zoo car park and parking is free. You do not need to book either, so you can just turn up on the day.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
What's On
Ed Sheeran announces ‘intimate’ Manchester date later this year
Danny Jones
The king of contemporary male pop music, Ed Sheeran, is returning to Manchester for one of his biggest dates ever, as well as his venue debut.
Yep, Teddy’s coming to Co-op Live.
The 34-year-old solo star and songwriting extraordinaire hasn’t played a standalone Manchester show since 2023, when he played the legendary AO Arena barely a year on from playing four sold-out nights at the Etihad Stadium.
And now he’s back for more with his first-ever gig at the city’s newest and Europe’s biggest indoor entertainment space.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 3 September, Ed Sheeran is set to play just a small handful of huge headline spaces this winter, including dates in Paris, Munich, Coventry and Dublin, as well as here in Manchester.
Announced ahead of his new LP and eighth studio album, Play, of which we’ve already heard four new tracks: ‘Sapphire’, ‘Old Phone’, ‘A Little More’ and ‘Azizam’ – the latter of which went straight to number one and stayed there for five whole weeks after it dropped.
These upcoming shows will be an extra and rare chance to see Sheeran before his all-new ‘Loop’ stadium tour, which kicks off in Australia next January.
Revealing details about the limited number of EU dates via his own social media channels, Sheeran wrote: “Coming to play some shows in Europe. These shows will be more intimate than a stadium show, obvz, but still will be incredible.”
We don’t know how he plans to make a room as big as the Co-op Live arena ‘intimate’, but we’re looking forward to seeing what he has in store…
He went on to add that he loves “playing these venues so much”, urging fans to pre-order the new record if they want to get their hands on tickets ASAP.
Play releases on Friday, 12 September, and those who pre-order the album exclusively through Amazon.co.uk before 7pm BST this Sunday, 7 September, can put themselves in with a chance of securing pre-sale tickets.
Elsewhere, early access will also be available to official Co-op members next Wednesday (10/9/25) ahead of general admission going live on Thursday, 11 September.
You can get ready to grab your tickets for Ed Sheeran at Co-op Live on Sunday, 7 December HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
26th October 2021 
