Britain’s beloved Bongo’s Bingo is hosting a series of massive end-of-season specials to ring in the new year, announcing a number of their famous ‘Christmas Cracker’ and festive parties.
They’re also holding a ‘Big Fat Bingo of the Year’ (we don’t see any trademark issues whatsoever…), including one for NYE.
As one of the best nights out, not just in the North but in the country, they’re hoping to send you into 2026 singing, dancing, laughing, and hopefully with some lasting memories and maybe a prize or two.
Confirming the latest raft of shows starting this month, you can expect all the usual Bongo’s madness and more, plus all the bells and whistles, as well as plenty of tinsel and holiday cheer.
We’d love a new hoover for Christmas, to be fair. (Credit: Press shot)
Returning to Albert Hall as it regularly does throughout the rest of the calendar, Bongo’s Bingo is promising to give Manchester a Christmas and New Year’s period they’ll never forget.
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As they put it, the hosts will be “transporting everyone back to the time when coloured tree lights and flammable tinsel ruled supreme, because the halcyon days of turkey with all the trimmings, mini bottles of Babycham and not a naughty elf in sight are BACK big time at Bongo’s Bingo.”
Bloomin’ ‘eck, they don’t half know how to get a crowd fired up even before they’re in the room, do they?
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Set to deliver all the best festive tunes, “dodgy Santa Clauses” – their words, not ours – as well as plenty of foil hats fresh from the Christmas cracker, they’ll be partying with us Mancs multiple times throughout December, not to mention a bonus show at the end of November as we fully swap autumn for winter.
As for the ‘Twixmas’/’Christmas gooch’ period (again, not our words…), the format will then switch to the Big Fat Bingo of the Year, with quiz elements featuring all the biggest memes, tunes and cultural moments of 2025.
You can see the full list of Bongo’s Bingo festive dates for 2025 down below:
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Bongo’s Bingo Christmas Cracker and Big Fat Bingo of the Year dates
Christmas Cracker
November – Fri, 28
December – Sat 6 Dec (day and night), Sat 20 Dec, Sun 21 (day), Mon 22 and Tues 23
Big Fat Bingo Of The Year
Sat, 27 Dec (day and night), Sun 28 (day) and NYE 2025
If you’re interested in booking onto Bongo’s Bingo this Christmas and/or New Year’s, you can find out more information on events and where to grab your tickets right HERE; for instance, they’ve also got a special student social coming up on Monday, 1 December, too.
Chester Zoo’s spectacular light trail returns this winter with a new route and new animals for 2026
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo’s popular winter light trail is set to return with a redesigned route and some magical new animals for 2026.
Produced by Chester Zoo in partnership with Sony Music and Culture Creative, Lanterns & Light has become a popular fixture in the region’s festive calendar over the years, and it’s back this winter – transforming the zoo after dark with thousands of festive lights, colour, and wildlife-themed displays.
The 2026 trail has been redesigned with some exciting new installations, including the dazzling Suspended Jellyfish underwater display, a mirrored disco tunnel, a glittering pea-lit canopy, and Floating Feathers.
New for this year too, visitors will also get to encounter parrots, dolphins, and a giant polar bear among an expanded cast of life-sized animal puppets, all brought to life by specialist performers.
More than 140,000 people visited the trail last year, but for the first time ever in 2026, the event will also host two adults-only evenings, one on 19 November and another 8 December – giving grown-ups the chance to enjoy the trail without children.
Alongside the new additions, plenty of much-loved features will return too, including the walk-through Cathedral of Light and atmospheric Fire Garden, as well as the chance to meet Father Christmas in a snowy setting.
Visitors can also enjoy marshmallow fire pits, festive food, and warming drinks, alongside a funfair at the entrance.
But Lanterns & Light isn’t just about Christmas, as every ticket purchased helps fund Chester Zoo’s vital conservation work, supporting projects protecting threatened wildlife and restoring habitats in more than 20 countries around the world.
“Lanterns & Light is a chance to have a brilliant night out, but it also helps us do something much bigger,” explained Gemma Wright, who is the Head of Guest Experience at Chester Zoo.
“Every ticket helps support Chester Zoo’s work to prevent extinction, from protecting threatened wildlife in the places where it lives to caring for and breeding endangered species here at the zoo.
“So, while our visitors are enjoying the lights, puppets and festive atmosphere, they’re helping to give wildlife a brighter future too.”
Lanterns & Light returns to Chester Zoo from 13 November 2026 through to 3 January 2027.
Tickets are on sale and available now from £19.50 for children and £27.50 for adults, while babies under 12 months go free. You can book yours here.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
Christmas
‘Queen of Christmas’ Mariah Carey announces huge Manchester arena gig this December
Emily Sergeant
Mariah Carey has officially defrosted and she’s heading out on a UK arena tour this festive season.
That’s right, the rumours were true… the best-selling female artist of all time, and the undisputed ‘Queen of Christmas’ herself, will be bringing the magic of the most wonderful time of the year to UK this winter, taking to the stage at Manchester’s Co-op Live in early December, as well as several other major UK cities along the way.
The US pop powerhouse last performed in our city nearly a decade ago now when she brought her famous All I Want For Christmasshow to the UK for the first time ever.
But this upcoming tour will mark Mariah’s first consecutive run of dates on British soil since 2019.
The shows will see Mariah celebrate the festive season by bringing together her timeless festive catalogue, global hits, and fan favourites – including the song that has become synonymous with Christmas around the world, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’
Originally released in 1994 as part of her landmark Merry Christmas album, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ reached number 1 on the UK charts for the first time in 2020, and has been in the top five every year since.
Mariah Carey will take to the stage in Manchester at Co-op Live on Wednesday 2 December, and tickets officially go on sale this week.
Mariah Carey UK Tour Dates 2026
Friday 27 November – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Monday 30 November – The O2, London
Wednesday 2 December – Co-op Live, Manchester
Pre-sales start at 10am on Wednesday (23 September), with the general sale then following later in the week on Friday 25 September, also at 10am.
Danny Jones -
12th November 2025 
