A flock of adorable, colourful Shaun the Sheep sculptures has appeared in Manchester.
Find The Flock is an art trail of six ‘ewe-niquely’ designed artworks, created by Wild in Art and the Academy Award-winning animation studio Aardman.
Mancs will be able to hunt out all six 160cm-tall Shaun the Sheep sculptures, each one designed and painted by a local or international artist.
From a sheep in Spinningfields with a strawberry for a head, to a colourful ‘Shaun the Shape’ outside Aviva Studios, the beloved character has well and truly moved into town.
The trail has been installed to celebrate the European premiere of Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show at Aviva Studios.
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The show comes from acclaimed circus company Circa and Aardman, combining the classic slapstick character with live circus performers.
John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Factory International said: “Wild in Art’s public works create lasting memories in cities across the globe, including here in Manchester where we still enjoy Bee in the City at iconic locations across the city centre.
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“Working with Wild in Art and building on our relationship with world-famous animation studio Aardman, Find the Flock is a joyful art trail bringing the excitement of Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show out into St. John’s and Spinningfields.
“We regularly host free activity for families during the school holidays at our home in Aviva Studios, and this winter we’re thrilled to offer a fun adventure to have on your way to or from the venue too.”
Part of the Shaun the Sheep sculpture trail. Credit: The Manc Group
Gillian Fletcher, Director of Estates and Creative, Form Property said: “Form Property as managing agents for Spinningfields and St. John’s are thrilled to be working collaboratively with Factory International, Wild in Art and Aardman to welcome this exciting activation to our communities.
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“Find the Flock is a fantastic opportunity to bring people together, spark creativity, and showcase the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods.
“We can’t wait to see everyone interacting with the installations and being part of the experience.”
Ngaio Harding-Hill, Head of Attractions & Live Experiences at Aardman said: “We are delighted to bring Shaun the Sheep to Manchester for the festive season.
“Find the Flock is a wonderful opportunity for fans of all ages to celebrate Shaun’s arrival ahead of his Circus Show premiere at Aviva Studios, and we can’t wait to see everyone join in the fun.”
Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-founder of Wild in Art, said: “We’re thrilled to be continuing our ongoing partnership with Aardman Animations through our Find the Flock trails, and to be able to collaborate with Aviva Studios again.
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“We hope visitors will discover the joy of the trail and see how our incredible artists have brought this iconic and cheeky character to life.”
The Shaun the Sheep Find the Flock sculpture trail will be in situ until 4 January.
Trail maps are available from John Rylands Library or Aviva Studios.
A tribute festival in memory of Mani from The Stone have been announced
Danny Jones
After plenty of talk and rumours ever since his passing, a tribute festival in memory of Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield will honour the late great Stone Roses and Primal Scream bass player later this year.
Despite various organisations and regional residents having observed their own memorial services following his death on 20 November 2025, the city and Greater Manchester as a whole made it clear that they wanted to carry out a more dedicated form of remembrance.
And we couldn’t agree more.
Deciding to remember him in the past best way possible – by celebrating one of his greatest loves and legacies: music – ‘Manichester’ festival will be held this spring.
Hosted in partnership with Madchester.com and simply dubbed as “a tribute to a true Manc legend”, names both new, old and current will be joining the inaugural Manichester lineup.
Organised by the website and iconic Manchester streetwear brand GIOGOI, not to mention being “blessed by Mani’s family” directly, artists playing will range from those who were lucky enough to have played with him or, like us all, were simply left inspired by his unforgettable basslines.
As well as a ‘AAA headliner’ still yet to be confirmed, there are some serious legendary names on here, both local and beyond; at the minute, the roster of acts is looking like this:
Manichester 2026 lineup
Cast
Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order)
The Kowloons
A “specially assembled core band” featuring Aziz Ibrahim (The Stone Roses), Rowetta, Simone Butler (formerly Primal Scream) and Mick Rossi (Slaughter and The Dogs)
Dave McCabe (The Zutons)
Baz Fratelli (The Fratellis)
Zak Starkey (Mantra of the Cosmos)
Steve White (ex-Oasis drummer)
Jon McClure (Reverend and the Makers)
However, as they have teased in the announcement, “that’s just the start”, and with more names incoming, many are already trying to guess who the headliner could be. Some have even suggested Ian Brown himself might get up on the stage…
As per an official statement, key artwork for the event comes from the one and only and equally influential Stone Roses guitarist, John Squire, whose new designs will feature on flyers, limited-edition physical tickets and other promotional materials.
Manichester will take place on Saturday May 30, doors open 2pm.
Most importantly, all the proceeds from the special one-off in memoriam show will go towards Mani’s and Imelda’s twin boys, Gene and George – and who knows? This could be the start of a brand-new annual festival spawned in the name of a very special Mancunian.
GIOGOI added: “Manchester is the best city in the world, and we do things differently here. This is Manchester showing up. This is Madchester showing love. This is ‘Manichester’.“
Taking place on Saturday, 30 May and held at Diecast on Ducie Street in Manchester city centre from 2pm, it’s sure to be a momentous ocassions with thoughts of Mani and his family looming large in everyone’s minds.
A new documentary about football ultras is coming to a Manchester city centre cinema
Danny Jones
A new documentary about football ultras and the world surrounding the sport’s most avid and sometimes controversial fans is coming to a cinema right here in Manchester.
I mean, obviously – it’s the spiritual home of football, after all.
Seriously though, whether you bit or not, Greater Manchester has, is and always will be a region obsessed with the beautiful game, so what better place to screen such a film?
Covering the often crazy and all-consuming nature of ultra culture, the aptly-titled feature-length doc will be shown here in the city centre next month as part of this year’s Manchester Film Festival.
It was previewed last year, but is now set for theatrical release.
ULTRAS is the work of Swedish filmmaker Ragnhild Ekner, who has travelled all over the world in search of understanding these super passionate footy fans.
Herself a die-hard IFK Göteborg supporter, Ekner looks at it not just artistically but as one of their own; she’s another football-obsessive like so many of us all around the globe, making her an ideal person to get across the lifestyle.
Covering matchgoers and punters from the likes of Argentina and Indonesia to Morocco, Italy and more, she covers a total of eight different countries across four continents.
The director and her producers have put things plain and simple for those curious: “This isn’t a critical review, it’s a tribute.”
As mentioned, it also happens to form part of the wider Manchester Film Festival 2026, which is kicking off this week and ends on 29 March.
You can find out what else is on the MFF programme this month down below.
Just some of the faces on show at this year's @mcrfilmfestival. 🎞️
So, if you’re a football fan, a cinephile, or just fancy going along to learn more, ULTRAS will be showing at the Odeon cinema inside Great Northern Warehouse exclusively on Sunday, 22 March from 5:30pm.
It’s also happening on the same day as the Carabao Cup Final between Man City and Newcastle, so if you’re a Red or just not a blue, it’s a very viable bit of alternative football-based entertainment.
Now, speaking of wider football culture, another fervently followed aspect of the people’s game is fashion, especially on the vintage side of things…
Daisy Jackson -
27th November 2025 
