Manchester Day is back for 2025 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 26 July, and as always, it’s set to be ‘the day summer officially starts’ in the city centre – with a massive celebration of ‘all things Mancunian’ on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is music, and it’s inspired by Manchester’s spectacular summer of sound, spearheaded by Oasis Live ’25 that recently concluded at Heaton Park.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Manchester Day is back with a ‘mammoth day’ of music-themed free fun / Credit: Manchester City Council
As always, activities will be taking place right across the city centre – from St Ann’s Square to Cathedral Gardens, and everywhere in between.
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Organisers say there will be plenty of chances throughout the day for visitors, both young and old, to get stuck in, try their hand at making music and maybe even uncover a hidden musical talent they didn’t know they had.
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
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The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
A number of road closures and parking suspensions will be in place / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2025 – Road Closures
Saturday 26 July
From 6am to 10pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
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Deansgate (Victoria Street to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
Cross Street (Corporation Street to New Market Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Cross Street to Exchange Street)
Exchange Street (St Mary’s Gate to St Ann’s Square)
Cateaton Street (Deansgate to Exchange Square)
Victoria Street (Deansgate to Cathedral Approach)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street)
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square)
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 9pm on Friday 25 July to 9pm on Saturday 26 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Victoria Street to St John Street)
Peter Street (St James Street to Deansgate)
Mount Street (Windmill Street to Albert Square)
Central Street (Southmill Street to Mount Street)
Southmill Street (Windmill Street to Jackson’s Row)
Museum Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
George Street (Princess Street to Dickinson Street)
Victoria Street (Deansgate to Cathedral Approach)
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
Cross Street (Corporation Street to New Market Street)
Cateaton Street (Deansgate to Exchange Square)
Market Street (Cross Street to St Mary’s Gate)
St Mary’s Gate (Market Street to Deansgate)
John Dalton Street (Cross Street to Deansgate)
King Street (Cross Street to Spring Gardens)
St James’s Square (King Street to South King Street)
St Mary’s Street (Southgate to Deansgate)
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street)
Southgate (King Street West to St Mary’s Street)
On the day, full traffic diversion signage will be in place across all areas affected by road closures, and the Council says it will do its best to ‘minimise’ their duration.
Manchester Day 2025 is taking over the city centre on Saturday 26 July, and will be kicking off at midday right through to 5pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
Art & Culture
GRUB On The Docks returns to MediaCity this summer with street food, World Cup screenings, and more
Emily Sergeant
Indie street food traders will be lining the Salford waterfront this summer, as GRUB On The Docks returns once again.
Summer is right around the corner, and MediaCity’s waterfront site will once again be transformed into a vibrant open-air destination built for warm weather and big moments across the season, as GRUB On The Docks returns later this week.
Running across the summer months, you can some of Greater Manchester‘s best street food traders to be serving up global flavours and summer-ready drinks, alongside live music, DJs, and just an all round laid-back atmosphere turning daytime hangouts into evening sessions.
There’ll be a rotating lineup of independent street food operators, including the likes of Sizzling Seoul’s East Asian bowls, Dukes Po Boys big American flavours, and Umami Cartel’s Japanese and Mexican fusion dishes all on the menu, as well as Oppa Korean Dogs, Sazume Sake, and Ilovebrioche – with many more ‘special’ traders and chefs still to be announced.
Aside from the food, the events calendar this year is packed with open-air screenings of the World Cup, classic films, and summer blockbusters, as well beer and wine festivals, wellness workshops, a New Faces Comedy all-day event, and even a dedicated Meet The Neighbours resident meet-up.
For families, there’s the popular Baby Mosh party, and plenty more activities to pass the time while schools are out for the summer.
GRUB On The Docks is returning to MediaCity this summer with street food, World Cup screenings, and loads more / Credit: Supplied
“GRUB On The Docks is all about creating a space people want to spend time in,” explained Jason Bailey, who is the Director of GRUB.
“Summer by the water, great food, cold drinks, and a proper atmosphere. MediaCity is a unique waterside location, and this is creating a pop-up for the summer months which reflects the energy of this creative campus. With the World Cup in the mix as well, it’s shaping up to be something really special.”
GRUB On The Docks returns to MediaCity this Thursday 28 May, and it’ll be open weekly on Tuesday to Sunday from 12-10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
Art & Culture
Review | PinkPantheress turns Victoria Warehouse into one huge party on first night in Manchester
Emily Johnson
There was a point during Pinkpantheress’ set at O2’s Victoria Warehouse where you almost forgot you were watching someone perform an album that barely stretches past the 20-minute mark.
Instead, night one of two Manchester shows felt like one huge club night curated by one of the most exciting British artists around right now.
From the second you walked into the venue, greeted by an army of plaid, the world of PinkPantheress (real name Victoria Beverley Walker, for those who didn’t know) completely took over.
The stage itself mirrored that energy too, with a two-tier setup that allowed her to constantly move around the space, appearing and disappearing throughout the night alongside outfit changes, dramatic lighting and eventually, a pair of angel wings.
Backed by her dancers and DJ Joe, the entire show felt slick, immersive and miles away from the early days of PinkPantheress nervously clutching onto her handbag on stage like a comfort blanket. Ironically, the handbag did make a brief appearance during the evening.
It’s a reminder of just how much her performances have evolved – and evolve they have.
What could have easily been a short and simple set instead became a fully realised live show, complete with extended dance sections, rave-inspired moments, drum solos and seamless transitions that made the whole thing feel bigger than the music alone.
There’s also something undeniably British about a PinkPantheress show: the UK garage influences, the fashion, the awkward humour, and the understated confidence all combined into something that felt distinctly hers.
At one point, she paused to laugh: “It’s hot in this venue, f*** me,” which summed up the sweaty chaos of the night perfectly.
At one point, she joked that the last time she was in Manchester, she made it all the way to the final stage of Pointless, before being told she was now “too famous” to go on the show – a perfectly PinkPantheress anecdote that had the crowd laughing immediately.
By the end of the set, Victoria Warehouse felt less like a gig venue and more like the best house party you’ve ever accidentally ended up at.
And with another Manchester show still to come, it’s safe to say the party isn’t over just yet.
Emily Sergeant -
25th July 2025 
