Last weekend saw one of Manchester’s most beautiful celebrations return to the city centre, as the Manchester Flower Show took place.
The huge event fills the city’s streets with flowers and plants every summer, with local businesses taking part in events and installations.
The event, which is brought to the city by Manchester BID, coincided with the Jubilee weekend this year, meaning there were four whole days for Mancs to explore the festival.
The Manchester Flower Show attracted around 70,000 extra visitors to the city centre, including a 50% increase in footfall on King Street according to figures released by Manchester BID and CityCo.
The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
As this year’s event coincided with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, there were plenty of royal-themed installations for visitors to see.
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A huge crown filled with blooms took centre stage in the Arndale as part of a special Jubilee Trail.
Also appearing in the shopping centre was a giant bee made from flowers, complete with a crown to mark the Queen’s landmark occasion.
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The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
Artist Sarah Hayes (or Twigtwisters) crafted a leaping horse out of twisted willow on King Street, as a nod to Her Majesty’s passion for equestrian sports.
The 10-part Jubilee Trail also featured a classic red phonebox with flowers bursting out of its door, a London-inspired Changing of the Guard display (complete with mini Trafalgar Square lions), and a colourful floral TukTuk to symbolise the Commonwealth.
At St Ann’s Square, installations included a bicycle with flowers tumbling from its basket.
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The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
The Manchester Flower Show. Credit: The Manc Group
Local florists also rocked up with their own stalls, including Plant Shop, Freddie’s Flowers, and Flourish.
Over on New Cathedral Street, Harvey Nichols and Manchester Gin teamed up to create a summer cocktail menu.
Their pop-up garden space included a horse box bar, lawns, and deck chairs, as well as masses of potted plants.
Credit: The Manc Group
Credit: The Manc Group
Selfridges also got in on the action with their Flower Show Square, complete with live music and local food traders, donating to Eat Well MCR in the process.
Then, of course, there was the cocktail trail, leading visitors around some of Manchester’s best bars to sip on specially-created drinks.
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Bars and restaurants that took part included El Gato Negro, Kala, Rosso, and Tast.
Jane Sharrocks, Manchester Business Improvement District Chair and General Manager of Selfridges Exchange Square said: “This year’s Manchester Flower Show was our most popular to date, bringing in tens of thousands of additional visitors to the city on a truly historic weekend.
“It’s a great example of our retail and hospitality sectors coming together to help build back the city post-pandemic and it’s wonderful to see footfall now exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
“This event has given city centre businesses a real boost and is indicative of what we hope will be a prosperous summer for our city centre.”
Featured image: The Manc Group
What's On
Neighbourhood Festival’s return to the city centre is looking great with after revealing second wave
Danny Jones
Neighbourhood Festival’s city centre all-dayer is returning to Manchester for 2026 after a year off, and with the second wave of the lineup having just dropped, it’s looking very promising.
Following teasers over the past month or so, it didn’t take long for us to figure out that NBHD Festival was coming back, especially with the Weekender in Warrington having taken a similar hiatus in 2024.
However, when festivals like these take time out, it can be easy to worry whether or not they’ll lose momentum or come back stronger.
Judging by this follow-up batch of acts alone, there’s no doubt NBHD Fest ’26 will be another cracker.
As you can see, as well as the fast-rising grungey alternative and garage rock quartet, KEO, being announced as one of the first big hitters on the list, there are some other familiar names on the lineup.
Especially for us Mancs.
With both Bolton and Altrincham youngsters, Florentenes and The Guest List, both joining the roster, as well as the likes of Bury-born ‘rockabilly’ revivalist Elliot James Reay also featuring on there, there’s a good deal of local talent to be enjoyed as always.
That goes for the regional delegation in general, too, with the likes of Jos River heading back up this way from her base in London, and Leeds’ fittingly named indie four-piece, The North, also booking a slot.
We’ll admit there are plenty of bands and artists coming up from the capital for the all-day festival, but at least they know where the UK’s real home of music is.
For instance, we’re buzzing to see the Red Rum Club boys returning to the NBHD stage once again – they never disappoint, and there are so many other guaranteed top performers on the bill. And that was just this year’s Weekener…
It’s worth reminding, once again, that since its inception in 2016 (yes, it really has been a decade now), Neighbourhood Fest has continued to serve as a proper launchpad for the next wave of superstars, not just here in the North West but across the country.
We still remember seeing the likes of Sam Fender, Holly Humberstone, Declan McKenna, Mahalia, The Lathums and more – some for the very first time – on these city centre stages, and it’s crazy to see how big some of them have gone on to become.
Set to take over some of Manchester’s most iconic venues along the Oxford Road Corridor once again, this is, without a doubt, one of the best dates for independents on the annual live music calendar.
Hosting a total of 11 stages on Saturday, 17 October, for a full day of live music, tickets for this year’s Neighbourhood Festival are on sale now right HERE.
And if you’ve already sorted yours, why not read our review of NBHD Weekender ’26 down below to get you in the mood for the next two editions.
Major DJ forced to pull out of Parklife festival on doctor’s orders
Thomas Melia
A well-known techno and trance DJ will no longer be playing at Parklife this weekend, he’s announced, with just one day to go until his major set.
Anyone heading to Heaton Park over the weekend for Manchester-based festival, Parklife, may notice the lineup looks a little different after one distinctive DJ has pulled out due to doctor’s orders.
Marlon Hoffstadt, who also goes by the moniker ‘DJ Daddy Trance’, was expected to play out on the Matinée stage on Saturday 20 June from 6.30pm – 8pm.
The Germany-based act was taking to the decks right before Manchester’s own Morgan Seatree, who has become recognised for his material which is an ode to house music and is likely to be one of the busiest sets of the weekend.
Hoffstadt had two gigs this weekend; the first being Parklife in Manchester and the second Fête de la Musique in Paris, both of which he has since pulled out of in a newly-published social media announcement.
The Berlin-born music maker has reluctantly called off these upcoming appearances and justified his decision by saying: “As much as I hate missing shows, I need to put my recovery first”.
To much dismay, Hoffstadt received doctor’s advice who deemed him ‘currently not fit to fly’ following surgery, urging him to rest and recover.
Marlon posted today: “I’m so sad to have to share this, but unfortunately I won’t be able to play Parklife in Manchester and Fête de la Musique in Paris this weekend.
“I recently had a surgery and, following my doctor’s advice, I’m currently not fit to fly and need rest and recover.
“I know many of you made plans and were looking forward to it, and I’m so sorry to let you down.
“As much as I hate missing shows, I need to put my recovery first so I can get back to doing what I love as soon as possible.”
As much as the presence of this world-class performer will be missed, there’s still plenty of notable names set to make their mark on Parklife including Zara Larsson, Calvin Harris, Skepta and more.
The outdoor big music weekender has established itself as a rave haven with mainly dance artists and DJs making up its lineup through a variety of curated b2b sets and live performances.
If you’re after immersing yourself in some jungle music, Bradford-native Nia Archives will have you transfixed over at The Valley with her jungle-heavy tunes from 6.30pm – 7.30pm or there’s three more stages to take your pick from.
We’re sure that anyone eager to see the ‘Hands Up In The Sky’ producer live may be frustrated by this brand-new social media announcement however as Hoffstadt mentions it’s so he can “Get back to doing what I love as soon as possible”.
Daisy Jackson -
8th June 2022 
