In the latest programme announced on Factory International’s 2024 calendar, a huge skate park and free cultural event is coming to Aviva Studios this summer.
As Factory International and adidas Skateboarding collide for a dozen days over at the huge art, culture and music space later this month, Mancs will be treated to a custom-built skate plaza, a festival full of free activities for all ages, as well as a whole host of collaborations from local and global skating brands.
The event will also feature skate schools for beginners and beyond, trick competitions, food and drink, DJ sets, appearances by leading figures in the sport and much, much more.
Simply called ‘Build Manchester’, it’s one of the biggest skating events the city has ever seen.
THREAD 🧵: This summer, @adidasUK comes to Aviva Studios for global skateboarding event, Build Manchester.
Partnering with the city's most influential skate communities, we’ll be having a series of free events that celebrates skate culture both on and off-board.
— Factory International (@factoryintl) July 18, 2024
An exciting collaboration between the official adidas Skateboarding arm, their professional team of global riders and Factory International (now based permanently at the Aviva Studios hub), this event is about more than just letting people run free with a board – as much as we do love that.
ADVERTISEMENT
With 12 whole days of stuff to get stuck into, there’ll be exclusive product launches, exhibitions, film premieres and workshops all based around the world of skating, not to mention giveaways, demos by the very best in the business and even the opportunity to help build parts of the skate plaza piece by piece.
Better still, the mobile custom builds are set to remain in the space for the foreseeable, meaning they will be open to use by the public and provide a new space for the local skate community beyond the likes of Lincoln Square, Hulme Park and Projekts MCR.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking of which, Projekts is one of many Manc skating brands getting involved with the festival, self-built park skate pioneers Gooseside DIY, viral fashion label Drama Call and, of course, Note, who are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.
If you’re into your pro skating, then this is your chance to see the likes of adidas global riders Blondey, Jarrad Carlin, Tom Snape, Nikolai Piombo, Gabriel Summers, Dan Fisher and more.
But even if it’s just the wider, more casual skating culture that you’re into, you can still immerse yourself in the lifestyle this summer and enjoy what feels like something of a first for Manchester, at least in the city centre anyway.
ADVERTISEMENT
The completely free-to-enter Build Manchester skate park and festival comes to Aviva Studios on 27 July and runs until 8 August. You can find the full programme schedule and sign-up for specific sessions HERE.
WWE brings out Manc UFC champion Tom Aspinall and his belt at Co-op Live
Danny Jones
WWE Live landed at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena for the first time on Wednesday night and they had a surprise guest waiting in the wings with them too: none other than local UFC star Tom Aspinall.
It was only back in July that the Manc mixed martial artist was last at Co-op Live for UFC 304, the first sporting event held at the state-of-the-art entertainment venue, where he put in one of the most ruthless displays of the year.
Aspinall not only retained his interim heavyweight title in the highly-anticipated rematch against Curtis Blaydes but he finished off with American inside less than a minute, stunning spectators inside the arena who had stayed up waiting until 4am to watch him.
With that in mind, the global wrestling franchise decided to give the Co-op crowd another chance to see the man himself for a little bit longer.
As you can see, as a fellow fighter and champion at the top of his game, it only felt fitting that Aspinall be welcomed to the ring by the WWE‘s Cody Rhodes and the reaction was as you would expect.
Getting a much different entrance than his usual cage walk, the 31-year-old from Atherton with Salfordian roots and trained at the likes of Leigh Self Defence Studio got the home fans going and even helped do a bit of promo work in the ring with Rhodes and Austrian wrestler Gunther.
Helping set up for the impending Crown Jewel event – the inaugural new standalone face-off between their in-house Raw and SmackDown brands set to take place in Saudia Arabia – Aspinall did his best to whip up the audience.
To be honest, no disrespect to the very high-profile wrestlers who landed in 0161 this week, but we think plenty of those in the stands were more buzzing to Aspinall than anyone.
Just listen to that reaction:
Wow, Tom Aspinall showing up at a WWE show is awesome!
While we didn’t get to see the ‘Honey Badger’ get involved in any scraps on the night and his cameo didn’t go on for too long, it’s undeniably cool to see a local athlete once again basking in a much-deserved bit of the spotlight.
Moreover, the WWE is one of the biggest entertainment industries on the planet, so being given that platform is not only huge for him but for Manchester and the UFC‘s UK audience as a whole.
While Tom has been enjoying a well-earned break following his most recent victory, he did recently confirm that he is “ready to go” as a backup fighter for the upcoming Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic main event on the UFC 309 fight card.
If he were to be roped into the octagon for this one, it would finally see him come against legend Jones and give him a shot at earning the title of undisputed heavyweight champion. Now wouldn’t that be something special for the British fight scene?
There wasn’t too much to watch, but here’s how Tom Aspinall won the belt he brought out at WWE Live in Manchester.
You can actually sleep at Old Trafford for an important charitable cause
Danny Jones
It is time for the return of Manchester United’s much-loved Stadium Sleep Out, where fans can actually sleep over at Old Trafford to help raise money for charity.
Back for just the third time in the club’s history, the Red Devils are once again inviting fans of Man United to not just visit the Theatre of Dreams outside of a usual matchday but to sleep for one special night in the stands of Old Trafford itself.
The now annual fundraising event which looks to combat homelessness in Greater Manchester and among young people, specifically, raised over a whopping £40,000 for this vital cause last November and is looking to amass even more this time around.
Given that this figure was double the amount managed in the inaugural year, we think the next edition is going to smash that target too.
— Manchester United Foundation (@MU_Foundation) October 16, 2024
The concept is pretty much what it says on the tin: hordes of Reds pile into Old Trafford with their warm layers, sleeping bags, flasks and more to sleep out at one of the most iconic stadiums in the world.
Over 100 Reds took part in the 2023 Sleep Out and while the concept has been seen before at various different sporting organisations in recent times, there aren’t many clubs bigger than United, so they’re looking to welcome even more numbers to sleepover in the stands.
The event was set up to help raise money not only for the Manchester United Foundation but for UK charity Centrepoint too. With a base here in Greater Manchester, the homelessness charity has been helping support vulnerable young people all over the region and beyond since 1969.
Between 2022 and 2023, Centrepoint found that 136,000 young people across the UK approached their council for help because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness, highlighting the desperate plight of many in our area and the need for events, and support, like this.
As the colder temperatures creep in, it’s more vital than ever that those less fortunate get help wherever they can and the November date also allows locals to experience a taste of what it’s like for those sleeping rough and remind them of why initiatives like this are so important.
Taking place on Friday, 15 November, the 2024 Old Trafford Stadium Sleep Out is set to welcome more participants than ever and it goes without saying that the atmosphere is pretty special.
A strictly 18+ event only, you can get ready to swap your bed for a sleeping bed and instead of staring at the ceiling, you can look up at the stars while laying down under the lights of Manchester United’s legendary home ground from just £30. All fund goes directly to the cause.
You can register your interest HERE and, who knows, maybe you’ll be joined by Fred the Red and a few other familiar faces this year.
Danny Jones -
18th July 2024 
