Kids & Family

An indoor Christmas theme park is opening in Manchester as Silcock’s Winter Wonderland returns

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 24th November 2021

Silcock’s Winter Wonderland and its indoor Christmas theme park is returning to Greater Manchester this December.

The massive festive event will be taking over EventCity for the first time in four years, transforming the space into a magical wonderland.

The 22,000 sq metre exhibition space will have more than 50 rides and attractions, including rollercoasters and waltzers, all under one roof.

As well as its indoor fairground, Kingpin Events will be putting on theatrical entertainment.

TV stars Daisy and Ollie, an Ice Princess Show, Chrsistmas Meltdown and a Christmas Circus will all have daily performances.

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Live performances at Silcock’s Winter Wonderland. Credit: Prakash Photography

The organisers have also confirmed a return of the Celebrity VIP Night and an annual Charity
Night, which this year will work with NHS and mental health charities.

Visitors will be greeted by elves and fairies and have the chance to visit Father Christmas – and his real-life reindeer friends – for a photo and a present.

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Silcock’s Winter Wonderland was a top attraction for the region when it ran between 2013 and 2017.

Organisers Tammy and Billy Silcock of Kingpin Events said: “We are absolutely delighted to be returning to Manchester this Christmas after a four-year gap.

“After the last 18 months we all need to create magical memories with our families, and we hope the return of the event will spread joy across the region.

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Credit: Prakash Photography www.prakashphotography.com

“As a special thank you for the hard work of our NHS and Armed Forces we are introducing reduced ticket prices on specific days throughout the run.

“We have worked really hard to ensure that we bring back all the magic we had before as well as ensuring we create a safe space for our visitors, performers and staff.

“We recommend early booking to ensure you get a ticket.”

Tickets include four-hour sessions of non-stop entertainment, with food stalls on site and free parking for up to 3000 cars.

Silcock’s Winter Wonderland Manchester is offering ticket insurance and a ‘Buy with confidence, exchange with ease policy’ should a ticket-holder have to isolate.

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The event will return between December 4 and January 2.

A Black Friday sale means you can get tickets for opening weekend (December 4 and 5) for £24 each.

To book your tickets, visit www.winterwonderlandmanchester.com.

Kids & Family

Masters Football isn’t just back – it’s coming to Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones

The much-loved Masters Football format made its glorious comeback in 2022, and since then, it’s been steadily rebuilding an audience of passionate fans, plenty of whom you’ll find here in the sporting city of Manchester – so it’s a good job the national tournament is heading our way.

That’s right, the official English Masters Football competition is coming to 0161 later this year and will be bringing a host of legendary North West talent from years gone by to take part.

Although the full squads and their team captains have yet to be announced, former professionals from Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, and more will be lacing back up their boots.

Manchester Masters Football 2025 lands at the equally iconic AO Arena this September.

English Masters Football games Manchester 2025
Credit: Publicity Pictures (supplied)

For anyone unfamiliar with Masters Football, which developed a die-hard following when it first ran between 2000 and 2011, is shorter, indoor-only six-a-side footy tournament similar to futsal.

Each team will feature eight retired players, and the games unfold in a round-robin format, with each match consisting of two eight-minute halves, meaning that both sides have a little over a quarter of an hour to score enough to make it past the other.

In addition to the quicker matches, they will battle it out on a 60m x 30m pitch – the same size of an international ice hockey rink – and whoever makes it through with the highest points will battle it out in a grand final to claim the Manchester Masters title.

As you can see, players set to star this year include ex-United and City defenders Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott, as well as Liverpool and Everton strikers Djibril Cisse and Yakubu Ayegbeni.

You can see some of the best moments from the year it officially returned to the UK down below:

Read more:

The Manchester edition of the 2025 English Masters Football Tournament Series arrives at the AO Arena on Friday, 5 September.

Doors will open to the venue from 6pm, with the first match kicking off at 7pm, so you better have drinks and snacks in time for bums to hit seats.

As for tickets, there’ll be two chances at early access, first for Three+ mobile members at 10am on Wednesday, 2 April and then via the venue’s presale window at the same time the following day. General admission tickets will be made available, also from 10am, the following Saturday, 5 April.

You can get ready to grab yours HERE.

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

Featured Images — Chin Yu Chu/Warwick Gastinger (via Flickr)/Supplied

Kids & Family

Chester Zoo opens massive ‘African savannah’, one of the UK’s largest-ever habitats

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Heart of Africa habitat at Chester Zoo. Credit: The Manc Group

Chester Zoo has today opened its doors and revealed a magnificent new African savannah habitat, the Heart of Africa – one of the largest in the UK.

The massive new habitat at the beloved attraction is home to dozens of African species, including giraffes, rhino, zebra, vultures and meerkats.

Chester Zoo has created a vast open savannah where guests can come across species living side-by-side, as well as new indoor habitats where you can see smaller species like never before, and habitats you can clamber inside.

The centrepiece of the Heart of Africa is the savannah, where you can see giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, roan antelopes and ostriches all roaming together across grasses and water.

Just to the side of this you can already see the new safari-style overnight lodges taking shape.

As you weave around the incredible new habitat, which spans an area the size of 17 football pitches (22.5 acres), you’ll also come across several new aviaries where birds hoot, tweet and screech.

There are 31 species of bird here, including a fabulous flock of 120 greater flamingos, three types of critically endangered vulture, colourful black cheeked lovebirds, and Africa’s largest owl, the Verreaux’s eagle owl.

One of the most impressive new areas is the Hidden Savannah, where you can clamber inside a safari jeep that’s within the actual enclosure, so that you can see 10,000 locusts all around you from the driver’s seat.

This indoor habitat is also home to adorable, wrinkly little naked mole rats, who have a network of tunnels to burrow through, and other rodents like short-eared sengi and pygmy mice.

Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures

Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures. Credit: The Manc Group

As for the cold-blooded animals, or ectotherms, there’s Trevor the African bull frog, plus dung beetles, red spitting cobra, Ethiopian viper and pancake tortoises.

There are 15 other mammal species to encounter too, including African wild dogs, meerkats, Eastern black rhino, yellow mongoose, and dik-dik.

The Heart of Africa stands as a symbol of Chester Zoo’s continued conservation efforts across the continent, which includes combatting poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

It’s thought that the Heart of Africa will attract an additional 200,000 visitors to Chester Zoo each year while creating 30 new jobs.

Heart of Africa officially opens to visitors on Saturday 5 April – you can book zoo tickets HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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