A super spicy wing eating contest is returning to our city by popular demand this year, and you can now put your name down to take part.
Big fan of wings? Consider yourself somewhat of a chicken wing connoisseur? Fancy uniting with thousands of other wing lovers at the world’s biggest chicken wing festival in just a couple of months? Well, you’re in luck – Wing Fest is returning to a popular Greater Manchester location this September, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
Wing Fest 2022 is set to bring together the UK’s very-best to serve up a whopping 200,000 wings over a two-day period.
In what is always one of the biggest events in the calendar for the region’s foodies, Wing Fest 2022 will this year taking place at The Trafford Centre on Saturday 24 – Sunday 25 September, and here you’ll find 20 different street food traders, restaurants, BBQ teams, and pop-ups from across the country serving up their signature bites, as well as the UK’s finest chicken experts showcasing their culinary skills in a bid to be crowned the ‘Wing King or Queen’.
There’ll also be bars selling different bourbons and beers, axe-throwing stations, fairground rides, and live music and DJs to set the party atmosphere across the weekend.
But the festival itself is not the only thing making a comeback – what is Wing Fest without an eating challenge?
Wing Fest 2022 is set to bring together the UK’s very-best chicken experts and wing lovers / Credit: Wing Fest UK
If you really claim to be a true wing aficionado, and reckon you can handle the heat, then you’ll probably want to consider taking part in the event’s popular wing eating competitions, which take place on both days of the festival.
The Lava Wing Challenge – which is this year hosted by Food Review Club and hot sauce legends Clifton Chili Club – sees brave and hungry individuals compete against one another on the main stage to see who can eat the most, and festival organisers proudly say it “causes carnage every year”.
It’s also considered to be “the hottest wing eating challenge in the UK”.
But just how hot are the Lava Wings then? Well, Clifton Chilli Club brews and strengthens the infamous Lava Sauce over a 12-month period and use 15 years of chilli-growing experience to deliver this world-beating, and apparently quite tasty, liquid of fire.
The rules for the eating challenges are simple.
The Lava Wing Challenge sees brave and hungry people compete on the main stage to see who can eat the most / Credit: Wing Fest UK
All you’ll need to do is eat eight Lava Wings as quickly as possible, with the bones sufficiently cleaned, and then you have to wait and feel the burn of the spicy sauce for two minutes, with the first person to complete the two minutes being crowned the winner.
While you can’t drink any milk or water during the challenge, and will need to wait until after, all participants will be provided with safety equipment.
And remember – do not touch your eyes.
Those taking part in the challenge this year will be up against the two-time champion of the Manchester Wing Fest Lava Wing Competition, Andrew McJimpsey aka The Dizzy Scot, who has confirmed he will be back for more in 2022, and he’s already calling the event the “highlight of [his] year”.
Offering some tips for those looking to take him on, Andrew said: “I think that goes without saying that you have to love wings – but in addition, you have to love the burn. The wings themselves are unbelievably hot.
“Think of the hottest thing you have ever tried and times it by 100 and you’re still not even close to how hot they are.
It’s considered to be “the hottest wing eating challenge in the UK” / Credit: Wing Fest UK
“My secret is something you can’t teach.
“When my body says “give up” my mind says, “this is where winners are made” and when the mind says, “give up”, my heart says “this is where champions are made.”
“As I always say, “you may take my tastebuds, but you will never take my freedom.”
Keen to give it a go then? To get involved in the Wing Fest 2022 Manchester Lava Wings Challenge, you’ll just need to grab a ticket for the festival and then sign up on the day at the event to enter the challenge.
Bohemian FC are giving away five of their viral Oasis football shirts
Danny Jones
Irish football club and growing cult favourite footy fashion industry-leaders, Bohemians, recently dropped a limited edition Oasis shirt to celebrate the Live ’25 reunion tour.
Now, if you were at the Heaton Park dates or any of the comeback shows, you will likely have seen a fair few gig-goers donning the Bohemian FC x Oasis kit collab.
In fact, even if you’ve walked through Manchester city centre over the past couple of months, the chances are you passed someone wearing one of these Britpop-inspired shirts, which have quickly gone down as music culture collectables.
And while pretty much every bit of Oasis’ official adidas Originals clobber and countless other bits of merch continue to sell out, ‘The Bohs’ are offering you lucky lot the chance to cop a free kit. If you’re interested, keep reading…
The Bohemians x Oasis collab shirt is one of our favourites of the year. (Credit: Bohemian Football Club (supplied)
For anyone unaware of the background behind this crossover, the Bohemians are a 100% fan-owned, not-for-profit organisation, who also happen to be the oldest club in the League of Ireland.
Based in Dublin, the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division side has remained deeply immersed in the local community and its sporting culture throughout their history, and of late, they’ve been further infusing that heritage with their equally deep connection to the arts.
Over the past few seasons, they blended footy with the music world, releasing several exclusive and highly sought-after kits that all tie back into the club in some capacity, including shirts inspired by Bob Marley, compatriots Thin Lizzy and Fontaines D.C. (equally viral), as well as our very own Oasis.
Liam and Noel Gallagher’s following and its Irish contingent, in particular, are as strong as they’ve ever been, so ahead of the reunion shows getting underway last month, Bohemian FC revealed their special FAI Cup shirt paying homage to the Burnage boys.
Featuring the band’s iconic logo in the traditional blue tones of Dublin City, it went down as an instant hit among Oasis and Bohs fans alike, as well as among footy kit culture connosieurs.
Better still, all the profits from the shirt sales are being split between Bohemian FC and two key charities back in the Emerald Isle and in 0161: Music Generation Ireland and Irish Community Care Manchester, based on Stockport Road – not too far from where the Gallaghers grew up.
Now, although the Manc music legends never played Bohemians’ home stadium at Dalymount in Phibsborough, the Gallaghers remain two of the most iconic green and gold-blooded musicians ever.
Having crossed off Cardiff, Manchester, London and Edinburgh off their Live ’25 reunion tour, their Dublin double-header is up next this August, with two shows taking place at Croke Park, less than a mile from the hallowed ground.
Whether or not you’ve got tickets to see them in the ancestral homeland, or anywhere else for that matter and want to look the part, or just want to wear your colours for as long as Oasis mania lasts, you might as well throw your hat in the ring to win one of five FREE Bohs footy shirts.
As for how to enter, it’s all very simple: fill out the competition form HERE; like and share this post on X (formerly known as Twitter), and follow our Audio North music page, as well as the official @bfcdublin account on Instagram.
Oh, and tagging a friend or sharing a pic of your best Oasis memories wouldn’t hurt either.
That’s it; we didn’t want to make things complicated – this is a giveaway not only in the hopes of scoring our readers with a freebie but a charitable one that helps Irish cousins over the water and here in Manchester.
Comedy nights, run clubs, and resident parties – why The Castings is Manchester’s most social city centre neighbourhood
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is a city full of opportunity – and The Castings is the perfect place to live to experience all it has to offer.
As the bustling hub of the north – and, arguably, the UK’s ‘second’ city, depending on who you ask – Manchester has firmly cemented itself as being somewhere people of all walks of life want to live, thanks to the wealth of live music,sport, nightlife, and so much more.
And for those who want to get amongst it, one of Manchester’s newest city centre neighbourhoods, The Castings, has a social life built right in, ready for residents to make the most of.
Currently rated number one on HomeViews, it has been voted by its residents as the best place to live in the city.
And it recently celebrated its first birthday too, in one of the ways it knows best, of course – with a free party for all residents.
A glimpse into life at The Castings’ stunning lifestyle-led apartments / Credit: The Manc Group
If you were unfamiliar withThe Castings until now, it’s a stunning community made up of 352 apartments to rent in Piccadilly East.
With its range of studio, one, two, and three-bedroom homes, The Castings’ design-led spaces are inspired by industrial shapes, flowing forms, and molten textures.
As well as its stunning apartments, the lifestyle-led development also features a fitness studio, high-spec gym, games room, private dining spaces, a co-working hub, and a 21st-floor rooftop terrace with panoramic views of Manchester.
The Castings is one of Manchester’s most social city centre neighbourhoods / Credit: The Castings
It sits in the heart of Piccadilly East is a neighbourhood often touted as Manchester’s next-generation, and named by The Sunday Times as one ofthe UK’s best places to live and The Castings has been ‘bringing new life’ to this up-and-coming area near Manchester Piccadilly stationever since it launched it last summer.
Even though Piccadilly East – which is conveniently-adjacent to Ancoats, New Islington, and the Northern Quarter – is already home to some of Manchester’s most popular food, drink, and liveentertainment venues, residents at The Castings don’t even need to leave the comfort of their own community to get involved with a wide variety of events and make some new friends along the way.
In just the year since the first residents moved into The Castings, it has hosted everything from live comedy nights to regular yoga and fitness sessions, run clubs, and seasonal resident ‘socials’.
One of the biggest highlights in The Castings’ social calendar so far has to be the recent ‘Spring Social’, which helped welcome the new season in style, complete with an ice cream van, DJs, big Jenga, and lots and lots of pizza, making it a ‘standout’ moment of the year.
If The Castings sounds like somewhere you’d love to live, then the final few apartments are still remaining, and you can head online to book a viewing now.
Emily Sergeant -
29th April 2022 
