Pubs in the UK will be allowed to open later than usual over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, the government has announced.
Venues in England and Wales will be granted permission to extend their opening hours from 11pm to 1am over the celebratory long weekend, which will run from Thursday 2 June to Saturday 4 June.
The plans come in preparation for a long weekend of festivities, designed to mark 70 years since Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne.
Whether you are a royalist or not, it will be a huge historical moment for the country – marking Queen Elizabeth II as the longest-reigning incumbent monarch and the longest-reigning female monarch in history.
Even if you don’t want to celebrate the royals, you can still enjoy a few extra hours in the pub this June as a perk.
It’s been reported that the Queen likes a bit of a tipple herself, and is a particular fan of martinis.
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According to former royal chef Darren McGrady. she starts her day off with a cocktail of gin and wine-based aperitif Dubonnet, served with ice and a slice of lemon.
At lunch, she takes a glass of wine or a gin martini, and later reportedly enjoys a glass of champagne or two with her dinner.
It has been reported separately in Vanity Fair that she also enjoys another martini after dinner.
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Image: The Crown and Kettle
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Elizabeth II became Queen on 6 February 1952 and officially became the UK’s longest-reigning monarch in 2015 when she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.
When she commemorated 65 years on the throne with her Sapphire Jubilee in 2017, she was the first British monarch to ever do so. Now, this summer, she will break another record as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee.
As part of the celebrations. the BBC has announced plans to host a special ticketed concert at Buckingham Palace this June, with performances from global pop and rock stars, opera singers and a full, live orchestra.
Image: The City Arms
Celebrities will celebrate some of the most significant moments from HRH’s reign, with 10,000 tickets available on a first-come-first-served basis.
The extended pub licensing hours for the Platinum Jubilee could possibly be a sign of things to come in Britaingoing forward.
It has been said by the minister for policing, Kit Malthouse, the government wants to relax closing times for pubs more generally.
Speaking to The Independent, the minister said that an impact assessment is currently being prepared by officials to make amends to Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003.
The Act currently permits extended hours at moments of local, national and international significance, but it’s been suggested that the government intends to relax these further.
Feature image – Sadler’s Cat
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The Tour de France is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
It’s official: both the male and female Tour de France are coming to Greater Manchester and nine other destinations across the UK in 2027.
As one of the biggest locations on the list, it’s another big sporting landmark for us Mancs.
Confirmed on Thursday, 15 January, the men’s race and the Tour de France Femmes (TdFF) will be passing through our region next summer.
Revealing the news in an exciting announcement video on social media, you can see the other cities and towns that the world-famous endurance event will be hitting here:
With Greater Manchester boasting not only the National Cycling Centre, but having already hosted the Tour of Britain – which has passed through Altrincham on multiple ocassions – we’re well-versed when it comes to the sport.
It’s been more than a decade since the Tour de France last took place in the UK, with London and Yorkshire hosting three stages of the biggest date on the annual cycling calendar back in 2014.
Fast forward a dozen years, and not only will they both be participating again, but Great Britain will see dual Grand Départs for men and women for the very first time.
Not only are we buzzing that the racing will be returning to our friends in Leeds and Sheffield, but also nice to see other Northern regions lending their roads and stunning landscapes, such as the Lake District and wider parts of Cumbria.
You can see the full route map broken down below.
🇬🇧 Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, London 🇬🇧
💛 Grand Départ Great Britain 2027: in the footsteps of the pioneers!
— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) January 15, 2026
Speaking in an official press release, race director Christian Prudhomme said: “The UK has always welcomed the Tour with passion and pride, and the route details we are revealing today reflect the beauty and diversity of Britain’s terrain.”
“Bringing both Grand Départs here is a testament to the strength of our partnership with British Cycling and the enthusiasm of the UK.”
TdFF counterpart, Marion Rousse, added: “The UK has played an important role in the history of women’s cycling, with champions such as Lizzie Deignan.
“Starting the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in Leeds is a strong choice, closely linked to this heritage and to the enthusiasm of a public that knows and loves the Tour. These stages clearly reflect the race’s ambition: to continue growing women’s cycling and to inspire future generations.”
Manchester Airport to launch seven new ‘exciting’ routes across the world in 2026
Emily Sergeant
Mancs will soon get the chance to travel to some of the most beautiful and underrated places on Earth for the first time.
Now that 2026 is here and well underway, the new year is shaping up to be ‘groundbreaking’ for Manchester Airport – especially with its decade-long, £1.3 billion transformation of Terminal 2 due to be completed in a matter of weeks, and a project to redesign and improve other areas and terminals also rapidly progressing.
But if that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the promise of seven new flight routes to destinations across the world being added into the mix should do it.
Four of the destinations are even completely brand-new to the Airport too.
Manchester Airport has launched seven new routes for 2026 / Credit: Daphne Richard | Denilo | Henrique Ferreira (via Unsplash)
Already described as being ‘the UK’s global gateway in the North’, Manchester Airport offers a route network that’s unparalleled outside London, with more than 200 destinations served by 50 airlines – but that network is set to widen again this year, with seven new services already confirmed from the likes of easyJet, Jet2.com and Ryanair.
From stunning French cities and Italian islands, to Greek landscapes and even the chance to see one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, there’s so much to choose from on the roster of new destinations.
easyJet’s service to Montpellier – one of the biggest cities in southern France, offering an array of cultural and archaeological sites, museums, galleries, beaches, and more – launches on Monday 30 March, while Jet2 begins flying to the Canary Island of La Palma form Friday 3 April, and the first direct service from Manchester to Palermo, the largest city on the island of Sicily, starts on Friday 1 May.
2025 has brought exciting developments for our airfield and Terminal 2! ✨
Manchester Airport is looking better than ever and there is still more exciting improvements to come.
Preveza and Samos, both in Greece, the Spanish city loved by locals, Castellon, and the ancient Turkish gem of Bodrum round out the list of new destinations.
More routes are also expected be confirmed over the course of this year too, so keep your eyes peeled for announcements.
“Our route network is unrivalled, with more than 200 destinations across the planet,” commented Chris Woodroofe, who is the Managing Director at Manchester Airport.
“Here we have a list here of what we refer to as our biggest unserved destinations – that’s the destinations that we don’t have direct flights to but have the greatest demand, demonstrated by people from the region travelling to them either on connecting flights or from other airports.”
Georgina Pellant -
22nd March 2022 
