If you order a takeaway with Deliveroo next week you could just be lucky enough to end up with a free holiday this summer too.
The delivery service is celebrating its seventh birthday in the city next week with a week-long ‘Deliv-air-roo giveaway’, which will see 21 different flight tickets, each worth £500, snuck into people’s takeaways at random.
Each day between 9 and 15 May, the delivery platform will celebrate one of Manchester’s most ordered global cuisines – and any customer who orders from participating restaurants in the offer will be in with a chance to win a free trip to the home country of the dish.
Throughout the week, Deliveroo will celebrate the cuisines of Italy, America, Greece, Thailand, Mexico, Germany, and Portugal, teaming up with some of Manchester’s favourite restaurants including Burgerism, Rudy’s and Just Natas.
There will be 21 different prizes up for grabs from 21 different Manchester restaurants, with three different holidays randomly given away in orders each day.
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These will come in the form of 21 Deliveroo branded flight tickets, which will be snuck into delivery bags by members of the Deliveroo team at random to ensure that the competition is fair.
New Deliveroo customers in Manchester that sign up to Deliveroo from today will also get £10 off their first delivery when they spend a minimum of £15, using the code ROO10OFF.
image: The Manc Eats
Which Manchester restaurants are participating?
Monday 9 May will see Italian cuisine celebrated with a strong focus on pizza, with prizes up for grabs for those ordering from Nell’s, Rudy’s and Corner Slice.
Tuesday 10 May will focus on American dishes, with Deliveroo partnering with Yard and Coop, Burgerism and Fat Hippo on the second day of its big birthday giveaway.
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Wednesday 11 May will look towards Greece, with Laros, The Athenian and The Real Greek all confirmed as taking part.
Image: Just Natas
Image: The Real Greek
Thursday 12 May’s prizes will be geared around the world of Thai food, with flight tickets hidden in orders from Rosa’s Thai Cafe, Tampopo, and My Thai.
On Friday 13 May, it’ll all be about Mexican food with Dons Tacos, Tortilla and Chilango all taking part in the big giveaway.
Saturday 14 May will see Deliveroo celebrate German food in Manchester, working alongside Donershack, Gyroland at Cargo and German Doner Kebab.
And to round off a big week of prizes, Sunday 15 May will be all about Portuguese dishes with tickets randomly hidden in orders from Just Natas, Pepe’s Piri Piri and Franguitos.
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Image: Rosa’s Thai Cafe
How can winners claim their prize?
The symbolic Deliveroo flight tickets will all have instructions on the back to tell the customer how to claim their prize.
Winners will be asked to send in a selfie of themselves with the flight ticket and tell Deliveroo their unique ticket number so that the company can then verify them as a winner.
Once they have been verified, Deliveroo will send every winner a flight voucher for £500.
Claire’s is closing down stores in the UK and Ireland with more than 1,300 jobs set to be lost
Danny Jones
In another hit to domestic shoppers, Claire’s Accessories is closing down en masse across the UK and Ireland after entering into administration once again.
Falling into an unfortunate financial status for the second time in less than a year, Claire’s will be shutting down all of their standalone stores across Britain, along with their IE branches.
A total of 154 stores will soon disappear, with more than a thousand people set to be put out of work.
Once a mainstay of British high streets up and down the country, the accessory shop known for all things jewellery, piercings and more has ceased trading effective immediately.
Announced at the start of the week and the end of the first full month of Q2, it was confirmed that Claire’s closed their final locations on Monday, 27 April.
With administrators, Kroll, appointed to wrap up business proceedings, an estimated 1,300 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh workers have now lost their jobs.
Founded way back in 1961 over in the United States, Claire’s has operated across the Atlantic for more than three decades.
However, with various other contemporaries and cheaper online options having appeared over the years, they’ve struggled not just to remain profitable but to compete full stop.
They most recently filed for bankruptcy in the US this past August (2025), with their Belgian, Spanish, and Dutch divisions having already called it quits.
Manchester location(s) have changed a lot over time, but now they’re on the way out (Credit: Arndale)
For many, the outcome isn’t all that surprising, but it will nevertheless be a sad loss for many who have seen multiple generations visit these venues over the years.
Manchester Storm announce return to AO Arena after nearly two and a half decades
Danny Jones
In a huge bit of regional sporting news, Manchester Storm have announced they will be coming home to the AO Arena after nearly two and a half decades away from the iconic venue.
Massive news for Manc ice hockey followers and local sports fans in general.
Revealing the long-awaited return after 24 long years away from the place where Manchester’s native hockey team first began its story, the team, AO figures, and even some fans were part of a special announcement event inside the 20,000-seater stadium this week.
Confirming the news on Monday, 27 April, MCR Storm will be back playing at the AO Arena later this year – just in time for the start of the 2026/27 campaign.
— Manchester Storm | #TakeShelter (@Mcr_Storm) April 27, 2026
As detailed in a full press release from the Greater Manchester club, they are seemingly marking a milestone moment in their next chapter by going back to their roots.
It goes on to read: “Founded back in 1995 as a tenant of the then newly-opened Manchester Arena, the original Manchester Storm quickly became one of British ice hockey’s most iconic teams.
“In their inaugural season, the Storm secured the First Division championship before becoming founding members of the Ice Hockey Superleague in 1996.”
Coming somewhat full circle more than a generation later (Storm having made it to the play-off finals of the modern Elite Ice Hockey League era this April for the first time in their history), they have made one-off returns to the storied space in recent times.
However, many supporters have been waiting for a fully fledged return for some time now; equally, others are understandably sad to pay a bittersweet goodbye to the ‘Storm Shelter’ over in Altrincham, with the building having already pulled licensing for next year.
They have been at the Planet Ice rink for over a decade now, and the company itself have even issued a lengthy response following the departure – namely noting the issue of communication, clarity and fair notice. Nevertheless, for the vast majority, this felt like a long-overdue comeback.
With an ex-player turned head coach and all-round club legend, Cam Critchlow, having also signed on for another campaign behind the bench, it’s been a busy week in and around the organisation.
Representing the Manchester Storm ownership group, former coach Ryan Finnerty and partner Emma said in a joint statement: “This is a major milestone for our partnership group and a vision we’ve worked towards for some time.
Returning Manchester Storm to the AO Arena is a proud moment for everyone involved. It’s about giving our fans a premier stage in the heart of the city and delivering an outstanding live experience.
“Together with our leadership team and Canadian partners, our ambition is clear — not just to compete, but to lead in the Elite Ice Hockey League and beyond. This marks the start of an exciting new era for the club. Manchester Storm is coming home.
“Today marks a hugely exciting and significant moment for both the Manchester Storm and the Elite League”. The EIHL themselves have also celebrated the news, adding that they feel it reflects “the scale and ambition of the league”.
Are you happy to see them setting up shop at the AO Arena once again? Better still, do you remember going there to watch games the first time around? Let us know down in the comments.
Georgina Pellant -
4th May 2022 
