A new hotel has opened in Manchester city centre, promising a ‘fun and endless adventure’ – and affordable bedrooms.
Moxy Manchester is a nine-storey hotel in the heart of Spinningfields, where guests are greeted with a cocktail as they check in.
It sees a former hat factory converted into a contemporary 146-bedroom hotel, clad in metal panels.
A seated cubby area. Credit: Supplied
Inside, the hotel has been kitted out with a bar and hangout space, where guests can make use of a foosball table, board games and card games.
Bar Moxy has been decorated with Manchester-style illustrations and illuminated signs, plus bright furniture and a wrap-around bar, and DJs playing every night.
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Bar Moxy in the new hotel in Manchester. Credit: Supplied
The bar will serve a menu of light bites and cocktails, including house specials like the Disco Diva, a sharing cocktail of vodka, limoncello, elderflower and prosecco, served in a disco ball.
The hotels are designed with social media in mind, displaying a digital Guestbook of photos and videos taken by Moxy guests.
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The rooms themselves are pet-friendly, and include walk-in showers and TVs with Netflix.
Community festival Universally Manchester returns this weekend with a FREE day of fun
Emily Sergeant
A community festival with dozens of free events and activities for all the family is returning to Manchester this weekend.
After what was a successful turnout last summer to celebrate 200 years since the University of Manchester (UoM) first welcomed students through its doors, with more than 150 immersive events on the lineup, Universally Manchester is back this weekend, and the popular festival has a jam-packed day of fun to look forward to.
Oh, and it’s FREE fun, at that.
As part of the university’s civic commitment to ‘enhancing’ its relationship with members of Manchester‘s local communities, the annual university-wide festival will back for its sixth year this Saturday.
Running since 2017, the university’s campus turns into a welcoming space for thousands of visitors from Greater Manchester and beyond, so they can discover all the important work the institution does.
The festival aims to be an ‘inviting and informal space’ for visitors to meet the university’s staff and students, while UoM also gets to play an integral part in conversations that connect people and inspire future generations.
Kicking off from 11am this Saturday (14 June), you can expect there to be something for everyone during this free day jam-packed with fun activities for all the family.
Saturday 14 June
Universally Manchester returns this weekend with a free day of fun / Credit: UoM
Universally Manchester is back for 2025 this weekend, and it’s shaping up to be a proper community day for all.
We’re talking everything from creative sessions with poetry, music, and art, right through to special tours and meets-ups with the university’s inspiring curators, lots of different activities for your wellbeing, and load more.
You can even watch and join in with science experiments, and listen to enthralling stories of local history and experiences.
The BRIT Awards is moving to Manchester for the first time in its 48-year history
Emily Sergeant
The BRIT Awards is coming to Manchester.
Yes, that’s right – for the first time in its illustrious 48-year history, British music’s most prestigious awards show will be leaving the capital London and heading up to the capital of the North, as ITV has confirmed that the BRITs will be staged in Manchester for the next two years.
The iconic celebration of UK music is set to electrify Manchester’s newest – and Europe’s biggest – live entertainment arena, Co-op Live, as part of a two-year deal that’s being described as a ‘bold new chapter’ for the legendary event.
After nearly five decades in London, The BRIT Awards 2026 will take place on Saturday 28 February, broadcast exclusively on ITV1, ITVX, STV, and STV Player.
The 2027 BRIT Awards will also take place at Co-op Live.
ITV says Manchester has been chosen as the new home for the BRITs thanks to its ‘deep and rich roots in music‘, having produced scores of iconic and contemporary artists over several decades, as well as also creating dozens of cultural music moments.
Nowadays, Manchester also has a thriving independent music scene to support emerging and new talent, and this makes The BRIT Awards ‘a welcome addition to Manchester’s music legacy’, according to ITV.
The 2026 BRITs will also be the first of three years under the stewardship of Sony Music UK – who have supposedly ‘spearheaded’ the move to Manchester.
The BRIT Awards is moving to Manchester for the first time in its 48-year history / Credit: BRITs (via Press Centre)
Speaking one the announcement of The BRITs move to Manchester, Jason Iley MBE – who is the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK & Ireland – commented: “This is a very exciting time for The BRIT Awards. Moving to Manchester, the home of some of the most iconic and defining artists of our lifetime, will invigorate the show and build on the BRITs legacy of celebrating and reinvesting in world-class music.
“Hosting the show in Manchester, with its vibrant cultural history, perfectly captures the spirit and energy of the BRIT Awards, and I can’t wait to see the show at the amazing state-of-the art Co-op Live venue.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham added: “For The BRIT Awards to move out of London is a massive coup for Greater Manchester. After 48 years, it is great that this prestigious global event is about to arrive in the UK capital of music and culture.”
“We thank our friends at the BPI for choosing Manchester, and we will pull out all the stops to show they made the right decision,” Andy Burnham concluded.
The BRIT Awards 2026 will take place at Co-op Live on Saturday 28 February.
Daisy Jackson -
9th December 2021 
