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 candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit tribute concert to the one and only Queen is coming to Manchester city centre.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Featured Images — Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
Art & Culture
An ‘extraordinary’ new Live Aid musical is coming to Manchester on its UK tour
Emily Sergeant
An ‘extraordinary’ new musical based on Live Aid is coming to Manchester as part of an upcoming UK and Ireland tour.
Producers Jamie Wilson Productions say they’re ‘thrilled’ to announce that Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical will head out on a big UK and Ireland tour starting out in March 2027, and visiting loads of major cities along the way – including Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Nottingham, and plenty more.
The production take us back to 13 July 1985 – the day music united the world.
Live Aid was an unprecedented global music event that brought 1.5 billion people together, and they all have a story to tell about ‘the day rock ‘n’ roll changed the world’.
Now, more than 40 years on from that famous day, audiences in Manchester will get to discover the behind-the-scenes story of Live Aid in a whole new way, as Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical is the story behind the greatest gig in music history.
What makes Just For One Day special? Nostalgia, relevance to today and a message for the new generation 🤘 pic.twitter.com/wRBV4Ar1Hv
— Just For One Day | The Live Aid Musical (@liveaidmusical) June 9, 2025
With hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madonna, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, and more all featuring, these iconic artists made history at simultaneous charitable concerts in London and Philadelphia.
The musical is written by John O’Farrell and directed by Luke Sheppard, with musical supervision, arrangements and orchestration by Matthew Brind, choreography by Ebony Molina, and casting by Stuart Burt.
“Just For One Day brilliantly reimagines why Live Aid worked then and why the humanity of that day still matters now,” commented Bob Geldoff.
“I’m delighted that more of the UK and Ireland will finally get to see this extraordinary and compelling musical. The reaction the show gets continually surprises and amazes me, standing ovations and people come back time and again, introducing the Live Aid story to new generations.”
Daisy Jackson -
27th November 2025 
