Time Out has just named the best cities for nightlife in the world – and Manchester is right up there with the best of them.
Our fair city, which has been famed for its clubbing and music scene for decades, managed to rank in the top 10.
Thousands of people were surveyed to compile Time Out’s list, with locals quizzed on their city’s nightlife and going out scene.
Each city was then ranked on things like quality, affordability, venues and experiences.
Time Out also reached out to a series of DJs to nominate three nightlife capitals.
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Manchester placed eighth overall, thanks to its ‘inclusive and authentic’ nightlife scene, with venues including Hidden and The White Hotel getting a name check.
We obviously already knew that our city is thriving after-dark – our nightlife page is one of the busiest on The Manc’s entire website – but its nice to know we’re not completely biased.
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Locals ranked the quality of a night out here at 80%, though affordability dragged us down with a score of just 28%.
Time Out wrote: “Anyone who’s been out in Manny will have a story for the ages, so legendary is the northern city’s nightlife scene in the UK.”
It continued: “Mancunians praised the ‘inclusiveness’ and ‘variety’ of Manchester’s after-dark offering (‘bubbly’ and ‘happy’ featured several times in the survey, too).”
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Hidden was name-checked by Time Out in its list of the best nightlife cities in the world. Credit: Facebook, Hidden
Manchester-based writer Ian Jones said: “As the city grows, so does the number of sub-par spaces charging sky-high prices.
“Clued-in clubbers are rejecting slick corporate clubbing and adopting the spirit of early rave – less TikTok, more arms-in-the-air.
“Most great nights involve a trip to an industrial estate for Hidden or The White Hotel, but nearer the centre, the cutting-edge stuff is happening in unflashy basements and backrooms at newer places like Peste, DBA and N/OM.
“Old-school outsider venues like Soup Kitchen, Star & Garter and Eagle Inn have a similarly unorthodox, queer-friendly vibe.
“Bottom line? Swerve the mainstream moneymakers, Manchester’s best clubs are equal parts inclusive and authentic.”
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Rio de Janeiro claimed the top spot, followed by Manila, and then (unsurprisingly) Berlin.
Also featuring ahead of Manchester were Guadalajara in Mexico, Austin, Lagos in Nigeria, and Rotterdam.
Manchester ranked more highly for its nightlife scene than Budapest, Buenos Aires and Singapore.
Grace Beard, Travel Editor at Time Out, says: “Nightlife has changed a lot over the past four years. But while club closures and work-from-home culture have thrown its future into question, cities the world over have done what they do best: rolled with the times.
“Our inaugural Time Out ranking of the World’s Best Cities for Nightlife champions the destinations where a great night out is an easy find and, with affordability a key metric in our ranking, won’t break the bank.
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“With our on-the-ground recommendations from local Time Out experts and three DJ city picks, you have an essential guide to today’s nightlife capitals – and where to go out there.”
Kahiki Soundhouse – the new Mint Lounge site is living up to the old name and its live music legacy
Danny Jones
If you went out in town back in the day (pretty much any time from the late 90s to the 2010s), or indeed have sampled a Funkdemia over the past couple of decades, chances are you tried or at least heard of Mint Lounge – but did you know it’s been replaced by a new kid on the block, Kahiki?
Kahiki Soundhouse, to give it its full name, is the new live music venue bar that has opened up the old basement space on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter.
In truth, it’s now more of a classic lounge than ever before.
The large open-plan floor, which used to be filled with people standing/two-stepping inside a fairly barebones club room with no air conditioning, has now been traded up for a stylish space lined with plush padded seats, classy low-lit tables perfect to share a glass or two over, and lots of new features.
Perhaps the biggest change is that the old soundbooth/stage area that used to be way at the back has now been swapped for a central 360° podium that changes up each night.
It really is the star of the all-week-round Kahiki show, if you ask us.
This also means that no matter where you are in the main venue (there are other rooms, but we’ll get to that), be it tucked in a booth to the side, at the bar, or even ‘behind’ whoever’s playing, you’ll have a virtually unobstructed view of what’s happening from noon until night.
Seriously, thanks to their already jam-packed schedule, the reviews aren’t just off to a great start only a few days in, but people have been turning up in the early evening and staying well into the early hours of the next day.
They’ve got duelling pianos, live bandaoke, acoustic nights and straightforward DJ sets for those who still fancy a taste of the previous vibe.
Kahiki’s maiden Manchester city centre venue definitely harks back to the good times had in the Mint Lounge days, but the team, who possess decades of experience between them, have combined a retro feel almost more akin to 1960s speakeasies, cocktails and evening venues.
It’s no secret that clubbing and the UK nightlife scene have changed quite a bit since the pandemic, but these guys look to have found that perfect blend of more relaxed seating, along with plenty of room to get up and boogie; there’s even a raised mini-stage/dance cage for your main character moments.
Better still, if you do want something a little bit away from the crowds of punters that are continuing to make this one of the liveliest new additions to NQ, they also have adjustable karaoke rooms where bi-folding doors can make room for up to 50 of you and your lot to party in privacy.
Let’s just say the spirit of the Lounge is alive and well in the Soundhouse.
Just one corner of KahikiYour podium awaitsOne of the smaller karaoke rooms
Release date set for Oasis reunion tour documentary by Peaky Blinders creator
Danny Jones
If you had any doubt that the upcoming Oasis reunion shows weren’t going to be heavily documented, you’re an absolute fool. However, we’ll admit we weren’t expecting to hear the creator of Peaky Blinders‘ name connected to the tourthat’s soon set to be relived in theatres.
Yeah, as in the Brummies with the flat caps on the telly – them ones.
That’s right, the same man who brought Tommy Shelby and Birmingham’s most infamous gang to our screens has been overseeing the major documentary project, which will chronicle the return of the Gallagher brothers and put the best bits on film.
Better still, now we have a full release date and know where it will be shown, including information about its cinematic and streaming rollout.
The great wait is over.
An epic new documentary film from BAFTA and Oscar-nominated writer, producer and director Steven Knight, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, will tell the story of the Oasis reunion the world was waiting for. Featuring unprecedented on stage and… pic.twitter.com/hgR2ERlz0n
That’s right, while there still isn’t a set title for the doc (we’re pretty sure it’s a very Ronseal kind of deal), we do know it’ll be coming not just to cinemas but even IMAX theatres.
Landing on 11 September 2026, just over a year on from when the boys got back on the road and gave us one of the greatest summers ever, it will launch on Hulu and Disney+ internationally.
With additional direction from Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, the Steven Knight-produced project is arguably set to be just as big a cultural event as the Live 25′ themselves.
Knight, who was confirmed as the co-creator, writer and producer of the Oasis ‘Live ’25’ world tour documentary movie back in March, recently teased that the initial rough edit was around four hours long.
While we doubt it’ll remain so significant in length, who knows how it will compare to the likes of Supersonic or the Knebworth documentaries?
The brain behind Peaky Blinders is creating the second Oasis doc after 2016’s Supersonic. (Credit: Taylor Rooke/BBC/IMDb)
It’s worth noting to begin with that, besides the BBC’s blockbuster gangster series, which is soon to be followed up with the franchise’s first feature film on Netflix, Knight does have some background in music-related media.
The 65-year-old created the six-part BBC drama, This Town, which revolves around the rise of ska and the ‘two-tone’ revival movement in the Midlands during the 1970s; he also wrote the script for the 2024 opera biopic, Maria, starring Angelina Jolie.
Southern and Lovelace are also two of the names behind the LCD Soundsystem film, Shut Up And Play The Hits, which covers frontman James Murphy’s final gig as part of the band at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Daisy Jackson -
14th August 2024 
