City Centre

A Christmas-themed ‘Miracle on Cross Street’ bar is coming to Manchester

Think mulled wine, espresso-ho-ho-ho martinis, pigs in blankets and mac and cheese - plus a giant, snow-covered Christmas tree and twinkling fairy lights galore

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 3rd November 2021

Liverpool’s beloved grown-up Christmas-themed bar and grotto Miracle on Seal Street is coming to Manchester this month.

Called Miracle on Cross Street, it’ll be located on (you guessed it) Cross Street and adorned with all manner of festive finery, from twinkling fairy lights and a giant Christmas tree to candy canes, stockings and snowflakes.

With a host of Christmas movie nights planned, plus festive cocktail specials such as the espresso-ho-ho-ho martini, this is a must for anyone wanting to fully immerse themselves in the feel-good festive spirit.

The Liverpool bar even has a roaring Christmas fire / Image: MIracle on Seal Street
The espresso-ho-ho-ho martini at Miracle on Seal Street / Image: MIracle on Seal Street

Think mulled wine, its own brand of Irish Cream, festive nibbles, and all-time Christmas film favourites like Elf, Love Actually and Home Alone – then tell us you’re not excited for this one.

Whilst you can walk in, tickets are very much recommended – this is how it’s done in Liverpool and helps anyone miss out on the experience. Tickets usually seem to come with a goodie bag and drink, too, so are well worth purchasing.

ADVERTISEMENT

Priced at £15, the ticket will guarantee your seat – plus a complimentary drinks voucher, Christmas hat, candy cane, Miracle on Cross Street pin, and mince pie (vegan pies are available).

Image: Miracle on Seal Street
Image: Miracle on Seal Street

As for nibbles, think mac and cheese, Christmas burgers with pigs in blankets, turkey sandwiches and more – that is, if the Liverpool offering is anything to go by.

ADVERTISEMENT

Miracle on Cross Street’s Director, John Ennis, said: “We’re so excited to introduce Miracle to Manchester for the first time this year. It’s the perfect place for couples, groups of friends or private functions in the most festive environment.

“Guests can sit back and soak up the festive fun with a Christmas cocktail and nibbles in hand. We’ll also be hosting movie nights on Wednesdays and Sundays where the best Christmas films will be shown. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and we can’t wait to welcome our guests who may be visiting the Christmas markets, doing some Christmas shopping or just want to get involved in the festivities.”

Miracle on Cross Street will open a stone’s throw from the Christmas Markets, launching in Manchester on 17 November.

ADVERTISEMENT

It will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 pm until late, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday wil open from 4 pm until late.

Feature image – Miracle on Seal Street

City Centre

Olly Murs at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

The ‘Troublemaker’ himself, Olly Murs, is ready to cause some more chaos and this time he’s returning for his second night in Manchester with boyband Blue.

X Factor and British star Olly Murs is embarking on his latest UK arena tour, which does feel a little bit ‘likely lads’ on tour-esque with a helping hand from UK boyband, Blue.

Back in the late noughties, it was hard to escape the blazer-wearing, top-hatted, popstar as he was dropping back-to-back bangers like ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ and doo-wop inspired ‘Dance With Me Tonight’.

Now, this cheeky-chappy is embarking on the ‘15 Years Of Hits – Live 2025‘ tour, where he’ll be belting out all those classics as well as some more recent tunes too. Here’s how he sounded last week:

Olly Murs UK tour dates

  • Fri 23 May – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
  • Sat 24 May – Birmingham, UK – bp pulse live
  • Sun 25 May – London, UK – The O2 Arena

Olly Murs tickets for AO Arena gig

There are just a few tickets left for Olly Murs at AO Arena, so make sure you bag yours before your ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ HERE.

Olly Murs 15 Years Of Hits setlist

olly murs greatest hits tour 2025
Olly Murs is coming to AO Arena in Manchester this week.
Credit: Marcos Moreno via Wikimedia Commons

This Essex chap might have a solid setlist which he follows night in and night out, but he’s no stranger to being a bit ‘Unpredictable’. I mean, he is bringing a flamethrower on stage with him…

After being on our screens and airwaves for almost two decades, it’s no surprise that this setlist is lengthy, totalling at just over 20 songs – give or take the 80s medley weaved into the mix.

Who doesn’t love a bit of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ paired alongside Murs’ stacked setlist?

  • Troublemaker
  • Right Place Right Time
  • Please Don’t Let Me Go
  • Thinking of Me
  • Oh My Goodness
  • Heart Skips a Beat
  • Kiss Me
  • Army of Two
  • Hand on Heart
  • Up
  • Die of a Broken Heart / I Found Her / Dancing on Cars / I Hate You When You’re Drunk (Marry Me Medley)
  • Seasons
  • You Don’t Know Love
  • I’m Your Man / Never Gonna Give You Up / Livin’ On a Prayer / Beat It / Careless Whisper / I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) / I’m So Excited (80s Medley)
  • Dear Darlin’
  • Years & Years
  • Never Been Better
  • Wrapped Up
  • Save Me
  • Dance With Me Tonight

What are the stage times for Olly Murs in Manchester?

AO Arena has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning concertgoers can be ‘Wrapped Up’ in the Essex popstar’s hits without having to worry about getting home too late. It’s a school night after all!

Doors for Olly Murs’ 15 Years Of Hits – Live 2025 are scheduled for 6:30pm with a start time of 7:30pm and support from 2000s UK boyband, Blue.

The BRIT-winning, Eurovision-performing, chart-toppers are back together once again and about to take us back to pop school as we quickly re-learn the words to boyband textbook classics ‘All Rise’, Best in Me’ and more.

How to get to AO Arena

Olly Murs sporting his usual blazer and top-hat style back in 2013.
Olly Murs sporting his usual blazer and top-hat style back in 2013.
Credit: InfoGibraltar (via Flickr)

Tram

For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station, and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.

Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.

Train

Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.

Bus

A variety of buses cover AO Arena and Victoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.

A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.

Getting there by car and parking

ADVERTISEMENT

The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.

Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.

Walk/cycle

Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.

olly murs manchester night 2
olly murs ao arena
Credit: The last time we saw Olly Murs at the AO Arena was for that unforgettable first night of Take That’s 2024 tour.

About the AO Arena

The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.

ADVERTISEMENT

For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.

All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.

Read more:

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

Featured Images — Audio North/Press shot (supplied)

City Centre

Why are people queuing HOURS for these viral toys in Manchester?

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

A viral craze has yet again struck the internet, and this time it’s a cute plush collectible toy character even causing queues in Manchester.

In Britain it’s safe to say we are accustomed to a queue or two, but this newest line which has started forming outside a toy and collectibles shop on Market Street has puzzled a fair few Mancs.

The queues aren’t appearing from nowhere either; social media users describe how they’ve walked past the store as early as 7:30am and seen dozens of people standing outside waiting.

The culprit of these queues? An adorable collectable plush toy character that goes by the name of ‘Labubu‘.

labubua toys
Here’s the reason why Market Street has those insane queues.
labubu designs
Labubu has made her way to Manchester in all her variations.
Credit: Pop Mart

If your follow-up question is, “What is a Labubu?”, don’t worry because we asked exactly the same thing before we ended up nose-deep in the world of these widely popular plush toys.

Labubu is the name of the viral plush toy created by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised designer Kasing Lung, who drew inspiration from his love of fairytales to make this worldwide cuddly phenomenon.

Recognised by their bunny-like ears, large eyes and big smiles (which some people find off-putting), Labubu has become a bit of an overnight superstar and shows no signs of slowing down.

The general public aren’t the only ones all over these famous fur-balls either, as celebs and stars alike have been attaching them to their handbags and sporting them like a prized possession.

And these are some pretty big names too, everyone from global superstar Rihanna to pop princess Dua Lipa have been pictured with a variation of Labubu dangling from their handbag.

People don’t just want to buy these viral toys as they are, part of the reason people are so obsessed with Labubu is the surprise element as you’ll find thousands of unboxing videos online.

Avid TikTok users will come across plenty of unboxing style videos, where collectors predict which colour or variation of the viral toy they will get before inevitably find out for themselves.

Previous Love Island contestant, reality TV star and model Olivia Attwood has got involved in this current Labubu trend, making lots of videos on social media expressing her love towards these plush collectables.

Attwood has become an unofficial mascot for Labubu through her various videos on social media, where she either unboxes or makes reference to these ‘monsters’.

@tiktokshop_uk Anyone else as obsessed as @OLIVIA ATTWOOD DACK about Labubus? We deffo are #labubuthemonsters #labubu #labubuhaveaseat ♬ Quiz, cute, silly clarinet(1583976) – nyansuke

It’s no passing craze either, as Pop Mart even has its sights set on a second Greater Manchester location set to open later this year.

This adorable plush toy character has even made its way into the rap field with UK drill act Central Cee not only having one but five variations of Labubu.

Each Labubu falls under a category or ‘series’, Cench seems to be a fan of the ‘Have A Seat’ range with all his collectibles in a sitting position.

The series all have their own names and limited edition style characters too including ‘Wings Of Fortune’, ‘Big Into Energy’, Pop Mart even launched a collaboration with household brand Coca Cola.

Read more:

Labubu toys are exclusive to Pop Mart and available in their stores nationwide including Manchester Market Street and soon in their brand-new Trafford Centre destination too HERE.

So, that explains all the queuing, at the very least.

What do you make of the Pop Mart/Labubu craze?

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

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Pop Mart

More City Centre

Christmas

London attraction The Curling Club is now expanding into Manchester

City Centre

AO Arena to host huge Europa League Final fan zone after Manchester United victory

Olly Murs Co-op Live Manchester gig times

Affiliate

Olly Murs at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches