A number of road closures are set to be put in place for 2023’s edition of the Manchester Caribbean Carnival this weekend.
With the community hub of Alexandra Park and the surrounding city streets once again set to welcome the massively-popular cultural event this Saturday and Sunday, just as it has done for close to the last 50 years, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have now confirmed a number of road closures and safety measures they want the community to be aware of.
Kicking off from 12pm and running right through until 8pm on both days of the free two-day event, this year’s Carnival is particularly important and significant as it will be commemorating 75 years since the arrival of the Windrush generation.
And after what was the resounding success of last year’s event – which attracted over 60,000 attendees – organisers say this year’s Carnival will be “even bigger and better”.
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Here’s everything you need to know about road closures and police presence.
Manchester Caribbean Carnival 2023 is taking place on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 August / Credit: Manchester Caribbean Carnival
Which roads will be closed? And on what days?
Manchester City Council has confirmed that a number of roads will be closed across the two days.
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For J’Ouvert, which is taking place on Saturday 12 August, there will be a number of rolling road closures in place from 7am to 9am at the following:
Moss Lane East (Princess Rd to Upper Lloyd Street)
Upper Lloyd Street (Moss Lane East to Great Western Street)
Great Western Street (Upper Lloyd Street to Quinney Crescent)
Quiney Crescent (Great Western Street to Alexandra Road)
Alexandra Road (Quiney Crescent to Claremont Road)
For the Carnival itself, also on Saturday 12 August, a full closure of Claremont Road from Quinney Crescent to Alexandra Road will be in place from 7am to 4pm for the set-up of the event and the dispersal of crowds, while the rest of the day between 11am to 2:30pm will see rolling road closures at the following:
11:30am to 12:50pm
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Yarburgh (Alexandra Road to Withington Road)
Withington Road (Yarburgh to Moss Lane West)
12:15pm to 1:10pm
Moss Lane West (Withington Road to Moss Lane East)
Moss Lane East (Moss Lane West to Princess Road)
12:40pm to 1:35pm
Moss Lane East (Princess Road to Upper Lloyd Street)
Upper Lloyd Street (Moss Lane East to Claremont Rd)
Claremont Road (Upper Lloyd to Quinney Crescent)
Manchester Caribbean Carnival is a family-friendly celebration of Caribbean culture / Credit: Manchester Caribbean Carnival
Will there be increased police presence?
Greater Manchester Police says it will be “significantly increasing” its policing operation surrounding the Manchester Caribbean Carnival this weekend.
It’s been confirmed that additional covert and overt officers will be deployed across a range of policing roles – including neighbourhood policing, spotting and intelligence gathering, licensing, public safety, traffic, mounted, and more to provide the “capacity and capability” to deter, detect, and manage situations in a way that “keeps people safe” and “minimises harm and impact”.
What are the police saying?
Superintendent Arif Nawaz, who is one of the leads for the Manchester Caribbean Carnival policing operation at GMP, has warned criminals to “stay away from the event” this weekend.
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He said in a statement: “The vast majority of people attend Carnival to simply enjoy the festivities and police preparations are in place to enable them to do so safely.
“But the trend of unofficial after-parties, involving gatherings outdoors following Carnival events, has unfortunately witnessed antisocial behaviour, criminal activity, and serious violence, and these large gatherings cause unacceptable issues for our communities and impede emergency vehicles from keeping people safe and well.
“Officers will be supporting licensing officials to prevent illegal street vendors from setting up and enforcing laws around this activity [and] we are working with neighbouring forces… to act on intelligence to search and intercept anyone in the area suspected to have criminal intentions.”
This year’s Carnival will mark 75 years since the arrival of the Windrush generation / Credit: Manchester Caribbean Carnival
Superintendent Nawaz urged Carnival-goers to “please follow the direction of officers who are committed to keeping people safe”.
He continued: “If you see anything suspicious, feel unsafe, or have any concerns which require police assistance or support, speak with one of our officers, or you can also dial 101 or report something you’ve seen or heard online via www.gmp.police.uk.
Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour
Daisy Jackson
Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.
The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.
Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.
For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.
They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.
You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.
And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.
THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.
“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.
“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.
“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.
“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.
“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.
“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.
“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.
“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”
Featured image: Simon Emmett
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Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.