From football star Marcus Rashford to Corrie queen Julie Hesmondhalgh, there were some Mancs who inspired us more than any others in 2021.
It really was a year to be proud of our home city and its people, whether they were born here or drawn here.
We wanted to honour and celebrate the individuals who make such a big impact and help to build Manchester into the best city in the world.
So we launched our Manc of the Month series back in the summer, and rounded up some seriously impressive figures.
Here are all the Mancunians we’ve celebrated in 2021.
Marcus Rashford
Credit: BBC / Paul Cooper
What a year it’s been for Marcus Rashford – both on and off the pitch.
The Wythenshawe-born Manchester United and England star has dedicated his own time and money, tirelessly and consistently, to various causes.
His most significant project has been his mission to #EndChildFoodPoverty, which has seen him take on MPs, partner with FareShare UK, and team up with chef Tom Kerridge for a series of affordable recipe ideas.
Towards the end of 2020, Rashford also launched his own book club, with 50,000 books donated to schools.
Julie Hesmondhalgh is a Coronation Street icon – but it’s her work away from the cobbles that really makes her such an inspiration.
Most recently, Julie was spotted volunteering at a vaccine centre in Tameside.
The actress is also a patron of charities Trans Media Watch, Maundy Relief, Marple Drama, WAST, Manchester People’s Assembly, Reuben’s Retreat, The Alex Williams Believe and Achieve Trust, and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation – seriously, a busy woman.
Her tireless work to end austerity, protect the NHS, and look after Manchester’s vital cultural scene makes her a worthy addition to our Mancs of the Year list.
The Wanted star Tom Parker received the devastating news that he had a terminal inoperable brain tumour, known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), back in October 2020.
Ever since, he’s worked to raise awareness for brain tumours, saying there are ‘massive improvements’ to be made in both treatment and research.
In an emotion post on social media earlier this year, Tom confirmed that his tumour is stable.
It’s allowed him to rejoin his bandmates for a new album – Most Wanted: Greatest Hits – and to take to the stage one more time.
Mary-Ellen is one of the most inspiring Mancs of 2021.
When s*** hit the fan back in March 2020, a lot of us locked ourselves away with Tiger King and Zoom quizzes.
But not Mary-Ellen. Faced with a restaurant full of good produce, she rallied with other business owners to get tasty, homemade meals out to the most vulnerable people in Greater Manchester.
It was a remarkable effort launched at break-neck speed, but it didn’t stop there.
Eat Well MCR is still, almost two years later, providing meals to those affected by food inequality – you can donate via their Give Support page.
Manchester just wouldn’t be Manchester without art.
Right at the forefront of our modern cultural scene is Akse-P19, an artist who creates photo-realistic murals right across the region.
They’re not just stunning works of art though – they’re symbols of hope, unity, and peace.
This inspiring Manc has created significant works including a giant portrait of Marcus Rashford, a multi-storey mural of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis for World Mental Health Day in 2020, and a tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Bev Craig has recently taken up the mantel as leader of Manchester City Council after Sir Richard Leese stepped down after more than 25 years in the role.
She is both the first woman and the first openly-gay councillor to lead our local council, something she says is the ‘honour of her life’.
She’s dedicated to creating a fairer, cleaner, safer, greener and more supportive city.
Oasis 25: Heaton Park send off Oasis like only Manchester could – with biblical rain
Clementine Hall
Oasis are well and truly back on top as they performed for the final night at Heaton Park and what could still be the very last time in Manchester.
There are countless moments every night that show how uniting this full-on cultural moment has been.
The guy in the wheelchair being lifted overhead by a group of strangers for a better view. The couple getting engaged before being enveloped in a sea of bucket hats. The thousands of people gathering on ‘Gallagher Hill’ every night just to be close to this historic music event.
Then the celeb-spotting too: Jack Grealish, Shaun Ryder and Andy Whyment off Corrie in the same frame of a video; Orlando Bloom waving at fans. Liam and Noel’s kids all together on a big cousins’ night out. It’s had it all.
For a lot of Mancs, the Oasis reunion has felt like Christmas morning ever since it was announced last year following a number of post-gig teasers like that Blossoms headliner at Wythenshawe Park.
And it certainly felt like that as we braved the soggy ground over at Heaton Park for their fifth and final live show in Manchester.
The atmosphere in the crowd was almost surreal, a mass of Britpop-loving super fans who have been waiting for this exact moment for almost twenty years – and you could tell.
As the brothers strutted on stage, hand in hand, a feeling of euphoric joy surged from the crowd of 80,000.
For two hours, they deliver anthem after anthem, each song transcending generations as the older lot look back to their ‘Live Forever’ days and the youth can’t quite wrap their head around the band in front of them being here and now.
Oasis’ final night at Heaton Park was everything we dreamed it would be. (Credit: Audio North)
Oasis are just as good as ever; Liam’s gritty vocals and Noel‘s ripping guitar slot together perfectly as though they were made for one another.
They’re loud and they’re unapologetic, they are the sound of the people, and we were absolutely lapping it up.
Every song was a hit, from bangers like ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ to fan favourite ‘Live Forever’, and of course ‘Wonderwall’, the brothers gave the people exactly what they wanted.
Liam, maracas in hand and parka zipped to the top, not only might be the coolest man to walk the planet, but was undoubtedly born to be a frontman of a band. The head nods, the frowning eyebrows, the fists clenched behind his back – we were fully gripped by his sheer stage presence.
Images: The Manc Group
There was a moment where he put the tambourine in his mouth, closed his eyes and lifted his head to the sky, taking it all in and getting lost in the music – an icon.
And of course, in true Manc fashion, the heavens opened an hour into their set as the grey cloud everyone had an eye on took centre stage.
Did we care? No, we did not. It only made the moment that more special as we united as one unit, singing as loud as we could to combat the elements.
It’s clear to see how much Oasis means to so many; their music is embedded into the national psyche with a presence that simply defines generations.
Who knows when they’ll be performing back in Manchester again, and if this was their last time, then they can rest assured that by returning, they’ve made themselves the biggest band in the world again. And that’s an accolade they truly deserve.
The Manchester charity that’s championing the community one step at a time
Thomas Melia
There’s a Manchester-based charity which is helping uplift and champion communities throughout the city centre and wider Greater Manchester region.
Us Mancs certainly know a thing or two about community, whether it’s our influential music scene, football clubs, our hospitality scene and so on, but Forever Manchester takes this to the next level.
This charity has been consistently funding and supporting community initiatives throughout Greater Manchester by helping people achieve the extraordinary, all while maintaining plenty of local pride.
Forever Manchester was born from a mission to support the people and places that make Greater Manchester magic, and is all about making sure the community is at the forefront of everything they do.
Credit: Forever Manchester
The community-first charity has invested over £65 million into local communities and awarded £517,968 to over 100 different community groups.
This isn’t a new charity either, Forever Manchester has been deep in our city’s culture for quite some time since launching in 1989, most notably commissioning local poet Tony Walsh’s ‘This is the Place’.
The piece was originally published in 2012 before finding a very special place in our hearts back in 2017 when Walsh performed the poem at a vigil for the Manchester Arena attack.
This love letter to Manchester has not only gone on to become a part of the city’s history but also reaffirmed this organisation’s place throughout communities in the region.
Credit: Supplied
Now, the community-minded charity is ready to make a mark in 2025 with a whole host of initiatives, including a Forever Manchester lottery, pub quizzes, comedy nights and disco bingo.
Anyone looking to find out more information about this community-first charity and see some examples of the work it does can visit Forever Manchester’s official website.
Remember, this is a city that looks after its own – that’s the kind of energy we want to see you keeping up all year long.
And, if you have a soft spot for a tote bag or wall art prints, look no further than Forever Manchester’s shop, where every purchase directly contributes to community activities in Greater Manchester HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
31st December 2021 
