A family of life-size, glowing polar bears have moved in to Manchester city centre ahead of the festive season.
The enchanting light installation has been created by renowned local artist Lazerian and has taken shape at First Street.
The huge bears, the largest of which stands at 2.5m tall and 5m long, have been lit up by LEDs, turning Tony Wilson Place into a twinkling winter wonderland.
Denton-based artist Liam Hopkins was commissioned to create and custom-build the installation of polar bears.
It’s called ‘Celebration’, which is the name given to a group of polar bears in the wild.
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The installation was inspired by the animal’s characteristics – they only tolerate others being in their proximity when there’s a good food source nearby.
The bear sculptures are right in the heart of First Street, surrounded by restaurants including WOOD, Indian Tiffin Room, Vertigo, and the Gas Works.
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Polar bears at First Street. Credit: Supplied
First Street also chose polar bears to highlight its sustainability efforts, with the site aiming to deliver net zero commercial space.
Jamie Hills at ASK Real Estate, landowners at First Street said: “‘Celebration’ will bring something different to First Street this Christmas with a stunning light installation which is set to surprise and delight our guests at every turn whilst highlighting our sustainability pledge.
“We are also excited to be showcasing local artistic talent with an installation that only features recycled materials.
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Lazerian’s art work from above. Credit: Supplied
“Formed in Summer 2018, First Street’s proactive sustainability committee launched and has since established itself as a driver for positive change playing a part in the wider vision for Manchester to become a carbon neutral, climate-resilient city region and we are delighted that our Christmas activation aligns with this.”
Liam Hopkins at Lazerian said: “It’s been great to collaborate with First Street on this installation.
“‘Celebration’ was born out of the idea to celebrate culture, sustainability, and the social side of First Street.
“Having recently delivered a signature piece for #COP26, it’s been encouraging to work alongside such a prominent Manchester neighbourhood with sustainability at its core.”
Lazerian’s installation was unveiled on November 29 and will remain in place right through December.
Art & Culture
Akon speaks on his connection to Manchester after run of Co-op Live gigs
Danny Jones
Music veteran Akon has recently discussed his connection to our city following his run of live shows here in Manchester.
In fact, he went so far as to say he feels much more affinity here than he does with ‘The Big Smoke’.
The seasoned Senegalese-American rapper, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and humanitarian, teamed up with fellow chart-topper Ne-Yo for not just one, not even two, but three whole nights at Co-op Live this May as part of their co-headline tour across the UK and Ireland.
Chatting with Simone Riley on BBC Radio Manchester before the third and final gig of the trio, Akon admitted that there’s “something about Manchester” that he loves way more than London.
As you can see, while he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly is about it in the North compared to the capital, he said simply that “it’s crazy here”, and he loves it.
Same, mate. Same.
Admitting that he feels “more attached to Manchester than London” and labelling the energy from the crowds as “stupid” up here (he meant it in a good way, we promise), Simone couldn’t help but confess her joy over his comments.
He’s not the only global superstar to have recently shouted out their affection for 0161, either, as Billie Eilish also said something similar.
Speaking to the mainline BBC at the premiere of her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she said that while the dates lining up were certainly a key factor, there were other reasons why she chose Manchester to film her new movie.
Our Audio North team were also lucky enough to chat with Akon’s touring partner Ne-Yo recently, too, who also had nothing but good things to say about us as a place to play.
As for Akon, the 53-year-old has obviously played here plenty of times over the decades, with last year’s tour being his first return in a decade.
That being said, given how glowingly he’s spoken about us and how popular these joint performances were, we reckon it won’t be that long before he comes back.
Last but not least, we obviously couldn’t resist going along to at least one of the nights for ourselves; listen to what we had to say about the tour in our full review down below.
Beloved Greater Manchester tourist attraction left devastated after deliberate act of ‘mindless’ vandalism
Emily Sergeant
A beloved heritage tourist attraction in Greater Manchester has been left devastated after being attacked in a deliberate act of ‘mindless’ vandalism.
East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has revealed that it has, once again, been the victim of what it is referring to as a ‘deliberate and disgraceful’ act of vandalism overnight over May bank holiday weekend, where a locomotive and several coaches from the InterCity 125 heritage set were ‘targeted’.
In what can only be described as a ‘mindless attack’, extensive graffiti was plastered across rolling stock.
“One coach had only just been repainted in February, making this damage particularly galling,” ELR said in a gutting statement.
East Lancashire Railway has been left devastated after deliberate act of ‘mindless’ vandalism / Credit: ELR (Supplied)
Staff and volunteers working on the heritage railway claim this incident was ‘not opportunistic behaviour’ and was, in fact, a ‘calculated act of destruction’ against irreplaceable heritage assets cared for by volunteers.
Once the vandalism was discovered, volunteers immediately stepped in and worked tirelessly for several hours using specialist cleaning materials to remove the graffiti before it could permanently set.
Although further polishing and restoration work is still required, ELR says the volunteers’ swift action prevented what could have been ‘significant and lasting’ damage.
The beloved heritage tourist attraction called it ‘a calculated act of destruction’ / Credit: ELR (Supplied)
“This is a disgraceful and deeply frustrating attack on a railway run largely by volunteers, with many steam and diesel traction owned either by the ELR or groups and in some cases, private individuals who give their time freely to preserve our railway,” commented Mike Kelly, who is the Chairman of the East Lancashire Railway.
“It is nothing short of a kick in the teeth for those who work so hard to maintain and preserve historic traction and rolling stock.
“We are working closely with the police and are determined to see those responsible identified and held accountable.”
Greater Manchester Police attended the scene, gathered evidence, but anyone with any information about those responsible is urged to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.
Daisy Jackson -
7th December 2021 
