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CBeebies is bringing its popular Bedtime Stories show live to Manchester for FREE this month

Families are invited to snuggle down and enjoy the power of storytelling.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 4th February 2026

CBeebies will be bringing a live version of its popular Bedtime Stories show to Manchester in a couple of weeks time.

With it not being long to go now until February half term arrives, it’s time to get ready for Manchester city centre to transform into a giant playground this month, as The Super Duper Family Festival brings four free days of fun.

The popular event will feature a series of pop-up play zones at a variety of outdoor spaces and popular venues across the city centre, all of which will be free to use and ready to explore.

Taking place from Wednesday 18 February through to Saturday 21 February, there’s set to be more immersive play areas than ever before at this year’s festival – with nine different zones providing unique experiences for all ages.

Super Duper Family Festival
Super Duper Family Festival
Super Duper Family Festival
CBeebies is bringing its popular Bedtime Stories show live to Manchester for free / Credit: Supplied

Families can dive into high-energy challenges in The Sports Hall at Great Northern, level up in The Arcade at Printworks, whirl and twirl through The Carnival on St Ann’s Square, and get playful in The Playground with Waterloo Road on Exchange Square, just to name a few.

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And now, two hugely popular CBeebies shows are adding live events into the mix.

First up, families are invited to snuggle down and enjoy the power of storytelling with CBeebies Bedtime Stories LIVE, as stars from CBeebies, alongside some special guests, host sessions filled with stories and songs at Manchester Central as part of The Story Den festival zone.

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Four shows will run each day, with sessions lasting approximately 20 minutes, and to ensure the experience is accessible to as people as possible, a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter will be present at all sessions on Wednesday 18 February.

Then, for those who’ve always wondered what goes on behind the cameras, there’s exclusive access to one of the BBC’s most iconic programmes on the lineup too – with Blue Peter Behind the Scenes guided tours on Saturday 21 February at the legendary Blue Peter set at Versa Campfield Studio 2, where guests can enjoy surprise meet and greets with the Blue Peter team throughout the day.

You can also expect everything from gaming and crafts, to pop-up performances, hands-on workshops, fun children’s activities, and so much more over the course of the four-day event.

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The Super Duper Family Festival is returning from 18-21 February 2026, and you can find more information about everything happening here.

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With limited spaces available for both CBeebies experiences, families are encouraged to book their free tickets, which went live earlier today (Wednesday 4 February) at 11am, and you can get your hands on them here.

Featured Image – Ksenia Chernaya (via Pexels)

What's On

UK pub chain announces bottomless Guinness for the 2026 Six Nations

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bottomless Guinness for Six Nations in Manchester

As we all know, Guinness and the Six Nations go hand in hand, so pubs not only showing all of this year’s games, but also serving bottomless pints of the good stuff here in Greater Manchester, is an absolute match made in heaven.

With the 2026 Six Nations tournament kicking off this Thursday, 5 February – a France vs Ireland opener in Paris – Manc rugby fans are already nailing down their go-to spots to watch the fixtures.

However, we can’t think of many other places offering bottomless black gold in town, let alone anywhere else in and around Manchester.

So, if you were still unsure of where to watch this year’s tournament, the Social Pub and Kitchen group might have just made the decision for you…

directors box manchester six nations bookings
printworks showing six nations rugby
Credit: The Manc Eats

That’s right, this widespread British chain is looking to keep the pints flowing throughout the duration of this year’s competition, thanks to a twist on their standard bottomless brunch format.

Running for every single televised meeting between the much-loved half dozen rugby union teams, all 103 of their locations across the country will be providing this impressive offer on pints.

Here in central Manchester, that includes Tank and Paddle in the Printworks, Crafty Pig on the edge of the Northern Quarter, The Beech Inn in Chorlton, and The Director’s Box right in the heart of the city – and dangerously close to The Manc office…

As well as these nearby venues, there are obviously plenty more around the North West for those slightly further afield, including the likes of Cheshire and Derbyshire.

With a new food menu too, which features several honey-based dishes like the sweet sriracha pizza, chipotle loaded fries, as well as honey chipotle chicken wings, the matchday scran is on point.

So too are the drinks, clearly, and if any of your party wants to stray away from the bottomless Guinness, there are series of special Six Nations-themed cocktails, such as the ‘Midnight in Dublin’, a ‘Peach on the Pitch’ margarita, Baby Velvet, and the bold ‘G-Bomb’.

Yes, we suspect it is as boozy as it sounds.

Running throughout February and March whilst the games are on, we imagine plenty of people will be making at least one Social Pub and Kitchen site their chosen destination for watching all the action.

Even if you happen to be reading this outside of Greater Manchester, you can find your nearest Social Pub and Kitchen and book your table right HERE.

And if you’d still like some other alternatives here in the city centre, you can do no wrong with our helpful little round-up.

Where to watch the 2026 Six Nations in Manchester city centre

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Publicity picture (supplied)

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Green Island returns for 2026 with ‘best lineup’ yet, featuring A Guy Called Gerald, DJ Paulette and more

Danny Jones Danny Jones Green Island Fest lineup 2026 Manchester

Green Island Fest, a.k.a. one of our favourite live music events on the entire planet, is back for 2026 with its biggest and what is, arguably, on course to its best lineup to date.

And this is just the first wave…

The annual series of outdoor parties is about as literal as grassroots celebrations come, with the performances taking place at none other than Hulme Community Garden Centre.

After an incredible debut a few years ago, its popularity and overall reputation have only grown taller like the trees the punters will be in amongst when Green Island ’26 kicks off its first edition this summer.

Credit: Green Island Fest (supplied)

Come on, how good is that lineup!?

In addition to continually platforming rising artists across multiple genres and other up-and-coming projects within the industry, they’re now attracting some serious real music legends, too.

As well as Moss Side and original Manc music tastermaker A Guy Called Gerald topping the bill, festivalgoers are set to be treated to a dedicated 808 State DJ set too, though it remains to be seen if others from the iconic collective will be joining Gerald on stage.

Fellow house and dance veteran turned radio host, DJ Paulette, will also be rolling through the sea of plants and ravers for the first time ever.

Split over three ‘chapters’ as always – June, July and the closer in September – this is perhaps one of the most electronic-driven lineups to date as they look to celebrate the city’s rich heritage within the genre, but as always, there’s so much more going on at Green Island.

With street food traders setting up next to the bushes and barrels of beer, the stages spilling out onto backstreets once again, and afterparties each month, festival season simply can’t come soon enough.

This year, not only are the organisers committed to making this an ‘anti-algorithm programming’ initiative, ensuring that they have full control over their acts, selectors and beyond, but they’re also looking to cater for all ages and better than ever.

With a brand-new family area and dedicated daytime programme curated by Z-arts, a nearby arts centre for children and families, ‘The Imaginarium’ is inviting families to “make, move, and explore together through nature-inspired creative activities.”

Promising a “relaxed, joyful space for curious minds and shared moments of creative play, expect drop-in art workshops, nature-inspired storytelling and magical nature adventures”, it’ll serve as a tangible reminder of how both music and the wider Community Garden Centre fit into the arts world.

It’s grassroots pioneers like these guys that make us truly proud of the Greater Manchester live entertainment sector and overall cultural scene, and we promise that if you’ve never been to Green Island Fest before, you WILL NOT be disappointed.

For those who fancy going on either 6 June, 25 July or 5 September, you can grab your tickets HERE.

‘Powerhouse’ Manchester named in top 10 global cities for music in 2026
Because of course we bloody are.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Green Island Festival/Danny Sargent Photography (supplied via WHP)

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