Manchester has launched a bid to become the European Capital of Cycling for 2024, and we’d be the first city to hold the title.
On the week that the nationally-renowned cycling tournament, the Tour of Britain, begins and makes its way through the region, Manchester City Council has announced that it has has formally submitted a bid on behalf of the city of Manchester to become the official ACES European Capital of Cycling for 2024.
The bid comes as the city gears up to welcome a delegation from ACES Europe this month, who will meet with city partners and set out ambitions to become “a great cycling city”.
According to the Council, Manchester’s bid for the 2024 title is the “culmination of years of work”, which has seen “a hugely ambitious expansion of cycling” – both in Manchester as well as the entire Greater Manchester region.
Councillors believe it could also spark an “even greater transport revolution” that could get “many more Mancunians into the saddle” in the future.
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Today, Manchester welcomes the delegates from @AcesEurope, who will decide the winning bid to become European Capital of Cycling 2024.
“By building on this accolade, we want Manchester to be in a position where we are in an even better position to bid for future funding, and to continue to grow Manchester as an international city of cycling,” Manchester City Council said as it launched the bid.
Even without the news of this bid, September is already being considered an “incredibly exciting” month for Manchester’s cycling community.
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On top of all the action in the Tour of Britain, the National Cycling Centre is also set to reopen to the public this month following a two-year renovation project – with the Council saying this long-awaited return will ensure that “the heart and home of British Cycling can continue its incredible work for the decades to come”.
Council leader Bev Craig has called the bid a “watershed moment” for the city.
Manchester has launched a bid to become Europe’s first-ever Capital of Cycling / Credit: TfGM
Earlier this year, the Council made what it called a “significant statement” on how important cycling would be in the future of Manchester, and revealed that by the end of 2028, it hopes cycling as a mode of transport in the city centre would be doubled so that it’s essentially the “default choice for making short journeys”.
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Ultimately, the Council wants to promote cycling so that it go towards the target of becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038.
“We’re incredibly proud to have been in a position to make this bid,” Cllr Bev Craig admints.
“Cycling is at the heart of our transport strategy for the next five years, and with the impetus this accolade would bring, I am confident we will be able to truly make Manchester a great cycling city.
“We are determined, alongside our valued partners in the city, to capitalise on what becoming the Capital of Cycling would mean and to ensure that we can create a lasting legacy.”
Featured Image – TfGM
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
4th September 2023 
