When we take a look back at the past 18 months, it’s difficult to see another industry that’s taken a harder hit than the Night Time Economy.
As the reality of the COVID-19 crisis began to set in back in March 2020, nightclubs and culture venues were forced to close their doors and largely remain shuttered until merely a few weeks ago, and while theatres and live music venues were able to reopen for short periods of time to stage performances, this had been under strict restrictions around capacity, movement, mask wearing, and social distancing to keep people safe.
Those ongoing restrictions, combined with “insufficient sector specific financial support from government”, at one point meant that the sector and its supply chains were at real risk of collapse.
A dedicated group of cross-party MPs, peers, and leading industry figures even had to come together in December 2020 to establish an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to represent the best interests of the sector – which it said had been particularly under-represented politically, and undervalued both culturally and economically by government.
The group stated that the Night Time Economy had “borne the brunt of COVID restrictions”, and that it believed the crisis was an “existential threat” to the industry.
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“The sector has faced enormous challenges, and thousands of bars, nightclubs, and live events businesses are at risk of collapse,” Labour MP for Manchester Withington Jeff Smith said at the time the AAPG was formed.
To put it simply, it wasn’t looking good.
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It’s difficult to see another industry that’s taken a harder hit than the Night Time Economy over the past 18 months / Credit: Pixabay | pxhere
And for a region with a cultural footprint as significant as Greater Manchester’s, and a proud tradition of music, arts and entertainment – with music tourism alone having been said to generate £169 million for the local economy pre-pandemic – it truly could have been devastating.
But when the final stage of the government’s roadmap to lifting lockdown was confirmed to commence from 19 July, venues were finally given the long-awaited green light to reopen as normal, and the struggling industry could breathe a collective sigh of relief.
While reopening may have been the goal, the challenge was far from over though.
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Our venues arguably needed support from the community at this time more than ever, and so to make sure were doing our bit to help Greater Manchester get back on its feet, The Manc teamed up with multi award-winning streaming platform StreamGM last month to show some serious love and support to the region’s renowned theatres, nightclubs and live music hubs with the launch of SeeGM – a digital campaign to shine a bright spotlight on many of the amazing events, club nights, gigs and shows in our region.
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The aim of the #SeeGM campaign was to inspire residents to revisit their favourite haunts, buy tickets for future events, and safely experience more of the region’s vibrant culture and nightlife.
“Greater Manchester is the city of 24-hour party people,” our Brand Director Anna Gledson said on the launch of the SeeGM campaign last month.
“We hope with everyone’s support, our region’s venues will be thriving again very soon.”
We were keen to encourage people to take to social media to post both their happy memories of times spent at gigs, shows and events gone by, as well as share their first experiences of heading ‘out-out’ after 19 July, all while promoting being kind and respectful to staff, other audience members, and partygoers.
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We did this through a dedicated social and editorial content strategy that involved the views and suggestions of our audience of over one million loyal Mancunians across our social media platforms – touching on everything from the best nights out in Greater Manchester, to some of the best arts and culture events to visit this summer.
We also had the pleasure of speaking to some leading industry figures for the SeeGM video series to get their take on why Greater Manchester’s nightlife is so world-renowned.
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Speaking on the wealth of content created for the SeeGM campaign over the last month, Laura Graham – co-founder of StreamGM – said: “For the SeeGM video series, we interviewed different people who curate, promote, perform, or work in these places and ask them about reopening, what safety measures they have in place and why they think Manchester is the best for nightlife and culture.
“We got some real insight, charisma and heartfelt quotes from our interviewees, and this helped to raise awareness and remind people why Manchester is just a cut about the rest.
“Our grassroots venues, nightclubs and performance spaces are helping us heal emotionally from the pandemic through enjoying shared experiences and being able to socialise properly again.”
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Touching on the success of the campaign, Laura added: “It’s been ace getting positive feedback from local operators about SeeGM and so good to see people out in these places having a blast and dancing together again.
“A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the campaign for helping make SeeGM so much fun to create.”
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The #SeeGM campaign may be drawing to a close, but Greater Manchester is still thriving.
So, what can you keep doing to help? Well, as the region continues to open up and adapt to the new normal over the next few months, the support of residents will still be as important as ever, so make sure you experience all the region has to offer as safely you possibly can, while respecting staff, surroundings, locals and fellow partygoers – and most of all, keep making Manchester proud.
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Don’t forget to check out all our content from the #SeeGM campaign over on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as on themanc.com.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist, and more for tour
Thomas Melia
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe are bringing their Together At Home tour to Manchester, here’s everything you need to know for their AO Arena gig.
The boys are back in town, and by the boys we mean multi-million selling vocalists Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, who are heading to Manchester this month.
This duo are no stranger to each other’s company making six collaborative albums since 2016 covering songs from The Greatest Showman, The Lion King and New York, New York.
Their latest release ‘Together At Home’ which doubles as the name for the tour sees the pair back to their good old tricks covering hits like ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ and ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’.
These two powerhouses know how to sing in style and that’s why they’ve chosen the impressive AO Arena to host their brand new show.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe UK tour dates
Sat 29 March – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 30 March – Bournemouth, UK – International Centre
Tue 1 April – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
Wed 2 April – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 4 April – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Sat 5 April – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Mon 7 April – Aberdeen, UK – P&J Live
Tue 8 April – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Thu 10 April – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
Fri 11 April – Birmingham, UK – BP Pulse Live
Sun 13 April – London, UK – The O2
Mon 14 April – Brighton, UK – Brighton Centre
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe tickets for AO Arena gig
Anyone looking at tickets for Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s upcoming tour have plenty of opportunity to see these two singing their hearts out.
Fans of the duo better act fast as these tickets are very limited, starting from a reasonable £47.75 and reaching £98.75.
If you want to go all out on this occasion tickets are also available for The Mezz, which is the arena’s fine dining experience covering you before and throughout the show at a fixed price of £206.25.
What are the stage times for Michael Ball and Alfie Boe in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you’ll still be able to make it home and pop the kettle on before you get your forty winks.
Their support act comes in the form of another duo, however these two mighty performers are magicians rather than singers.
The Conjurors are a worldwide renowned act famed by audiences and A Listers for their talents which they will be showing off in Manchester on the night.
How to get to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily it’s in Manchester Victoria Station and its integrated Metrolink stop.
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 andVictoria Station on their route such as the 2 bus which stops 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
The Arena have their own official parking partners CitiParkwith 958 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, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
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.
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.
The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess to host ‘Merch Market’ in aid of bands
Thomas Melia
Tim Burgess, frontman of legendary band The Charlatans, is set to launch a one-off ‘Merch Market’ event, and its core purpose is to support bands.
He might have a ‘Jesus Hairdo’ but he’s currently serving as a good Samaritan as The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess is putting on an event solely focusing on funding bands via gig merch and other apparel.
Running across a variety of live music locations within Manchester city centre, the day-long event is called ‘Merch Market’, and it’s encouraging music lovers and bands alike to tag along.
Although ticket sales, album sales and streams are critical in funding the careers of all the artists we know and love, one key drive in securing actual revenue in the music industry is merchandise.
Expect to pick up some rare finds and own some limited edition collections.Band merch will be front and centre at this event which is hosted by The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess.Credit: The Hoot/Audio North
‘Merch Market’ is taking place at O2 Ritz as well as adjacent venues Gorilla and Dog Bowl across the road with a special appearance from ‘Tim Peak’s Diner’, the caffeinated brainchild of Tim Burgess.
The whole point of this event is to make sure that bands can receive the full 100% of merch sales without any cuts from any third party.
Fronted by The Charlatans lead singer Tim Burgess, ‘Merch Market’ is building off his 2021 gathering, which had a similar initiative with ‘Vinyl Adventure’ encouraging the sale of physical music and media.
Alongside stocking up your wardrobe with all the latest band t-shirts, hoodies and everything in between, there will be an array of interesting performances and talks happening throughout the day.
Entry to this incredible celebration of bands is completely free of charge and, better still, there are chances to win some seriously cool prizes – including some tasty festival tickets.
Gorilla is one of the live music venues that ‘Merch Market’ is taking place at.The Manc and Antony Szmierek outside O2 RItz, another venue which will be taking part in ‘Merch Market’.Credit: The Manc Group
Expect stalls, live DJ sets, interviews, panels and even a chance to bag yourself VIP tickets for UK festival, Kendal Calling, which Burgess will be returning for 2025.
Burgess is a man of many talents as he will not only be hosting this fantastic initiative, but he will also be hosting a stall of his own and singing a couple of his biggest hits.
Bands don’t have to worry about forking out a fortune for renting a stall either as tables at ‘Merch Market’ are free, the only thing musicians have to bring is their merch and charming personalities.
So whether you’re an artist with leftover stock from your last tour or a music lover who just missed out on snagging a snap back, head down to these three venues on 25 May.