Manchester

66% of Brits consider Manchester to be the second city not Birmingham

Or they at least think we have a 'strong case' for it anyway.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 26th May 2026

A new survey has revealed that more than half of Brits now consider Manchester to be the second city, rather than Birmingham.

At this point, the debate over where should hold the unofficial title of ‘Britain’s second city’ has raged for almost as long as London has been the capital… but now, in a bid to get to the bottom of the issue, a new YouGov study of more than 55,000 Brits investigates which urban areas the public feel have the strongest claim to holding the title.

Overall, it was revealed that 66% of Brits believe Manchester has a ‘strong case’ for being considered Britain’s second city, compared to 48% for Birmingham, and 49% for Edinburgh

When picking the city they most consider to be Britain’s second city, the public are, however, divided as 34% say it’s Manchester while 30% opt for Birmingham.

Manchester skyline
Manchester skyline
66% of Brits consider Manchester to be the second city not Birmingham / Credit: Chris Curry | Josh Taylor (via Unsplash)

As you can probably imagine, the answer to this age-old question varies significantly depending on where you are in the country.

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Belief that Birmingham is Britain’s second city is concentrated in and around the West Midlands, whereas Manchester’s claim likewise finds its strongest support on its home patch (77% in Greater Manchester), though this does not extend to every part of the North West, with the people of Merseyside being more likely to consider Liverpool (34%) the second city than Manchester (27%).

Despite all this though, Manchester being considered the second city is the most common view across a ‘reasonably wide’ spread of England, YouGov found.

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Beyond geographical differences, there’s also seen to be a small generational divide over the title too.

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Among younger Brits, Manchester is the clear favourite, with 42% of 18-24 year olds seeing it as Britain’s second city, while Birmingham edges out Manchester for the silver city medal among over-65s by a margin of 35% to 29%.

Featured Image – Manchester City Council

Manchester

Manchester’s The Grosvenor pub set to host huge England fan zone with Fireball for 2026 World Cup

Danny Jones Danny Jones Fireball fan zone 2026 World Cup Manchester

With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, there’ll obviously be tonnes of places showing the game, but there’s only one place that’s promising big screens, ball pits, pool tables, ping pong, a ‘peep show’ and plenty more right from the off: The Grosvenor.

It doesn’t hurt that they’re teaming up with beloved booze brand Fireball to spice things up.

We hope the goals come easily for England this tournament, but we can assure the drinks will be free-flowing regardless, over at The Grosvenor on Oxford Road Corridor here in Manchester city centre.

Located just on the corner of (you guessed it) Grosvenor St and the busy Oxford Rd stretch, they’re already getting geared up for tournament time…

Teaming up with the famous cinnamon whisky liqueur, the popular student and matchday spot is set to be busier than ever for this year’s World Cup.

We’ve watched a few Manchester derbies and other big games here in the past, so we can personally vouch for the vibes.

As for what they have in store for the North American edition of FIFA’s biggest competition and the ultimate celebration of the beautiful game, besides numerous England flags hanging from the walls and that beautiful ceiling, there’ll be plenty of music, England anthems, giveaways and top-tier atmosphere.

In addition to lots of chanting from yourselves, no doubt, there’ll be DJ sets and merch up for grabs, as well as lots of big wigs, St George’s glasses and foam hands floating around the room.

Credit: The Grosvenor (supplied)

Of course, there will also be wall-to-wall coverage of the games across their many screens around the venue, not least of all the big box sitting pride of place above the bar itself.

With two large floors and more intimate seating options upstairs, there are plenty of ways to watch Thomas Tuchel’s team fly the flag.

Kicking off with the Three Lions’ opening clash against Croatia on Wednesday, 17 June, the venue will be transformed into a sea of red and white, and guests will also be treated to a completely FREE shot of Fireball every single time England score.

Don’t mind if we do.

Naturally, with stuff like this on offer, fans are encouraged to grab their tickets for the fixtures as early as possible so as not to miss out.

In their words AND ours, “From the first whistle to the final anthem, The Grosvenor is set to become one of Manchester’s home ends for the World Cup.”

You can reserve your tickets from just £3 for The Grosvenor Fireball Fanzone – along with plenty of cheap pints and affordable food and drink packages – right HERE.

(Don’t say, don’t say it, don’t say it) It’s coming home…

the grosvenor food menu
fireball fanzone world cup 2026 manchester
See you there? (Credit: The Manc Eats/Supplied)

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Featured Images — The Grosvenor (supplied)/The Manc Group

Manchester

Review | We need NBHD Weekender every year – and so does the North West

Danny Jones Danny Jones NBHD Weekender Fest 26 gig review

Neighbourhood Weekender returned for 2026 this late May bank holiday, and after its second consecutive edition following an admittedly brief hiatus, we’re more confident than ever that we want this music festival on the calendar every single year.

Actually, we’d go so far as to say that lots of people around the North West and beyond NEED it.

We know plenty of people are understandably wary of potential hyperbolic declarations like that, but let us explain ourselves…

For starters, getting an opportunity to see the likes of criminally underappreciated Northern names like Richard Ashcroft playing the big slot on the main stage is a good place to start.

Many of you will have no doubt seen the Wigan legend on solo tours – not to mention serving as the pitch-perfect support act for Oasis’ reunion tour last summer – but topping the bill on Saturday night of NBHD Weekender 2026 served as yet more proof that he is, in fact, a headline act.

He has been for decades, but as Noel Gallagher himself has often acknowledged, somehow he continues to be overlooked a bit, even after all these years.

Maybe that changed a little for lots of people post-Live ’25, but his set was one of several over the course of the two-day festival in Victoria Park that served as a reminder of just how good lots of these long-standing acts both were and still are.

Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, The Fratellis, Mel C, Shed Seven, and so on: they’re not just nostalgic acts that those of a certain generation get to enjoy as a throwback – they’re all still incredible, seasoned performers in their own right.

They boast a wealth of experience and aptitude for playing to live crowds that you only get by being very good at what you do for a long time. You only have to look at the countless youths who quickly realised they knew more choruses than they realised, and got to sample hearing them in person for the first time.

Strong crowds from 12 noon until curfew. (Credit: Audio North)

And then speaking of the younger, more up-and-coming section of the lineup, the next generation absolutely smashed it as well. Let’s just say there were more than a few rising stars on show.

Westside Cowboy are clearly at the start of something very special and got a healthy dose of shout-outs from punters on the day; Keo were as frenetic as everyone knew they would be, Brooke Combe was on top form as she has been every time we’ve seen her, and Cassia were class.

More Mancs rose to the challenge in the form of The Guest List’s biggest show yet, too – they were also left super humbled when we spoke to them afterwards – and fellow regional band The Royston Club were nothing short of excellent, simple as.

Hearing thousands belt out ’52’ and ‘Cariad’ at the top of their lungs was one of our highlights of the entire weekend, to be honest.

royston club nbhd wkndr
keo nbhd
dmas nbhd weekender
Credit: The Manc

Of course, then you’ve got the likes of the already established DMA’S, who were absolutely box office and made it plain how much affection they have for “their second home” up here in this part of the UK, and Sunday’s headliners, Blossoms, have proven time and time again that they’re the real deal now.

But aside from banger after banger, it was a conversation we overheard near us during the Stopfordians’ set that helped us come to this revelation.

Somewhere between their walk-out on stage and the second/third song, a bloke and his mate behind us shared an intimate moment we felt almost rude for having accidentally eavesdropped on, right up until the point it made us well up ourselves.

Without going into too much detail, this very stereotypical-sounding Northerner dropped all pretence and confessed to his friend that he’d had a tough couple of months, and that he’d been looking forward to this for weeks – not simply because Blossoms are his favourite artist, but because he needed it.

Call it a release, that hour or so of sheer abandon, or just sharing a special music memory with his best mate: whatever it was, this evening was much more than a gig to him. People throw the phrase ‘lifesaver’ around about music a lot, and it never feels like an exaggeration in moments like this.

It was also apparent that he was a working-class Warrington native who was lucky enough for his postcode to help him afford to go to Neighbourhood Weekender and have this embrace with his pal, who was in an ideal setting to have perhaps a long overdue heart-to-heart. THIS is what it means to people.

Music is therapy, and when done in its purest form – i.e. played live to people who live and breathe the stuff – it can do more good than you’ll ever know.

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All we have left to say is thanks for having us as always, and roll on NBHD Fest in Manchester city centre later this year.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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