Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade will make its way through the city centre once again next weekend.
As Manchester gets ready to celebrate Chinese New Year 2025 – which begins next Wednesday (29 January) and runs through to Sunday 2 February – and mark the ‘Year of the Snake’, the iconic Dragon Parade will be making its grand return to the streets of our city centre next weekend, and bring a spectacular show of colour and light along with it.
In case you’re unfamiliar with what the Dragon Parade is all about, it’s the focal point of the city’s annual Lunar New Year celebrations – and it’s a real spectacle, to say the least.
The parade is known for attracting thousands of visitors from all across the region each year.
— Chinese New Year in Manchester (@ChineseNYMCR) January 14, 2025
Headlining the festivities, the popular parade is set to take place on Sunday 2 February 2025.
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Once again, organisers are expecting visitors in their thousands to turn out and watch as the famous 175ft Chinese dragon weaves its way through the city’s main shopping streets.
Kicking off from 12pm onwards, starting on the junction of Oxford Street and George Street, the parade will make its way along Portland Street before concluding in Chinatown for a final performance on Princess Street.
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There will also be a night dragon parade in the Chinatown car park at 6:30pm and 7:30pm on the Saturday 1 February, while an illuminated dragon will feature through the streets of Chinatown as part of the celebration’s conclusion from 6:30pm on Sunday.
Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade is returning to celebrate Chinese New Year 2025 / Credit: Chinese NY Manchester (via X)
There’ll also be even more cultural celebrations and activities to get involved with over in Manchester’s popular Chinatown, with live stage performances, a fun fair, and loads of stalls serving up tasty and authentic street food.
All the action in Chinatown will start from midday right through to 8pm on both days.
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And to top it all off, we have also seen the return of Manchester’s famous traditional red lanterns dotted up above all around town too, adding colour to dark winter days.
As always, this year’s celebrations have been organised by the Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester (FCAM), in partnership with Manchester Business Improvement District (BID) and Manchester City Council.
Featured Image – Chinese NY Manchester (via X)
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 27 January – 2 February 2025
Emily Sergeant
It’s time to part ways with January and welcome in a new month.
Can you believe our first month of a new year is already coming to a close? February is here at the weekend, and not only does Greater Manchester‘s events calendar already seem very exciting over these next few weeks, but there’s also lots of things to look forward to in 2025 too, so it’s time to fill up your diaries.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide to help you out.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
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Wild
Manchester Museum
Monday 27 January – onwards
Wild / Credit: Manchester Museum
A groundbreaking new immersive exhibition exploring our relationship with the natural world is now open at Manchester Museum.
‘Wild’ look at how people are creating, rebuilding, and repairing connections with nature, and how the natural world has traditionally been presented and idealised through Western art, as well as looking at some unique approaches to environmental recovery too.
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
PUSH Festival is set to return to Manchester from this week for its biennial celebration of North West creative talent.
Set over two weeks, the stages, screens, and spaces down at HOME MCR will be dedicated to showcasing fantastic works from around the region, as well as offering opportunities for creatives to meet industry professionals, share ideas and inspiration and develop their skills.
Fancy making the most of all the January dining deals before they end this week?
Manchester’s restaurants and bars have slashed their prices in a bid to entice customers to keep eating and drinking out all throughout January, and that means hundreds of places are offering up half-price scran, added freebies, or two-for-one offers this month.
There’s loads of offers beyond Manchester city centre too, as suburban gems are getting in on the action in 2025.
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So whether you’re looking for a date night for less, an affordable family dinner, or a cheap eat after work with your mates, we’ve got you covered.
Read our massive round-up of January dining deals here.
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Six Nations Fanzone 2025
Freight Island
Friday 31 January – onwards
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Six Nations Fanzone 2025 / Credit: Freight Island
Freight Island’s Six Nations fanzone returns for 2025 at the end of this week.
The iconic international tournament gets underway on Friday, and so too does Freight Island’s fantastic fan experience, providing an unparalleled level of excitement beyond being inside the stadium.
Set to be even bigger and better than last year, it’s the largest of its kind anywhere in the country, promising everything from free pints and prosecco, live music, top-notch scran from Freight’s in-house vendors, and so much more.
Chinese New Year 2025 / Credit: Chinese NY Manchester (via X)
Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade will make its way through the city centre this weekend.
In case you’re unfamiliar with what the Dragon Parade is all about, it’s the focal point of the city’s annual Chinese New Year celebrations, known for attracting thousands of visitors from all across the region each year – and it’s a real spectacle, to say the least.
Aside from the Parade itself, there’ll also be even more cultural celebrations and activities to get involved with across the weekend over in Manchester’s popular Chinatown too.
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Find out everything happening for Chinese New Year in Manchester here.
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LEGO Mini Master Model Builder Competition 2025
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester
Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 February
LEGO Mini Master Model Builder Competitio / Credit: Supplied
Is your child a LEGO super fan? Do they reckon they could build impressive LEGO creations in their sleep?
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Well, if they’re feeling brave enough and are ready to put their skills to the test, then you’ll want to take them down to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester this weekend, as from now until the start of February, the hunt is one for a talented youngster to be crowned the UK’s – and the world’s – newest ‘Mini Master Model Builder’.
A huge gaming event is happening in Manchester this weekend.
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP at the Science and Industry takes ticket-holders on a journey through five decades of gaming, with everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more.
Power UP is taking place each weekend only throughout this month, with each ticket including unlimited play all day.
Could a trip to the theatre could be on the cards this year?
Greater Manchester has firmly earned itself a spot as a place for world-renowned touring theatre productions to make a stop off at.
While the past couple of years amid and post-pandemic may have hit the theatre pretty hard, it’s a beloved industry that has now well and truly bounced-back – with the region’s three main theatres, Palace Theatre Manchester, Opera House Manchester, and The Lowry, all having welcomed some absolute show-stopping productions in 2024.
And 2025 is set to be absolutely no different.
Our region’s theatre events calendar is already jam-packed with award-winning musicals, family-friendly plays, inventive dance productions, and so much more in 2025, so we’ve rounded up 10 of the best shows to see and grab tickets for this year.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known for across the world, it’s music.
Our region is not only a historic musical hub in and of itself, having been the birthplace of so many legendary famous names, but it’s also a major UK stopping point on many global artists’ tour schedules too, thanks to the city’s various sizes of stage and venues.
This means there’s a jam-packed schedule of gigs happening all throughout 2025 – with something for everyone, no matter your taste in music.
From world-famous pop and rock stars, to genre-bending artists, and a few comeback tours too, most-notably by one of Manchester – and the world’s – most famous bands of all time (they’re called Oasis… not sure if you’ve ever heard of them?), 2025 has got it all.
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Read our picks for 13 of the best gigs happening in Manchester this year here.
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Featured Image – Freight Island | Chinese New Year MCR | The Manc Group
What's On
You can enjoy a luxury Valentine’s dinner on a steam train travelling through Greater Manchester next month
Emily Sergeant
East Lancashire Railway’s special Valentine’s dining experiences are back by popular demand next month.
Just in case you need a little reminder, Valentine’s Day isn’t too far off now.
In just under a month’s time, couples all over the world will be marking the international day of love with the people they care about the most, and for those who are keen to celebrate in style, East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has announced that its ‘Valentine’s Night’ luxury dining experiences are back once again by popular demand.
This means that lovebirds can hop on-board a vintage steam train and enjoy a four-course meal while riding through the picturesque Greater Manchester countryside as the sun sets.
East Lancashire Railway’s ‘Valentine’s Night’ dining experiences are back by popular demand / Credit: ELR
These romantic dining experiences are promising to provide couples with an “elegant” and “atmospheric” evening as they travel through the Irwell Valley and raise a toast to each other to celebrate their love.
Priced at £85 per person, all guests will have a personal waiter for the evening, who’ll make sure everything is taken care of everything – from the Prosecco welcome, right through to the after-dinner chocolates.
The train journey lasts just under three hours, and all dietary requirements can be catered for.
Tickets are now on sale from £85 per person / Credit: ELR
Once couples board their train for the evening, their welcome drink will be accompanied by a live music reception to set the mood, all before they sit down to enjoy and tuck into a mouthwatering four-course meal.
The train journey lasts just under three hours, and all dietary requirements can be catered for.
The Valentine’s Night experiences are taking place on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 February this year, and tickets are now on sale.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd January 2025 
