Every year, International Women’s Day (IWD) marks an opportunity to come together and reflect on the many incredible achievements of women, as well as question ways to offer further support to marginalised groups and fight for real equality.
Here in Manchester, the proud home of the Suffragette movement that was key in winning votes for women, we have a long history of pushing the envelope on civil rights issues – so it only makes sense that we celebrate IWD in style.
We’ve picked out some of our favourite events going on in the city to mark the day. Keep reading to discover where to go in Manchester on International Women’s Day 2023.
International Women’s Day Beer Showcase at Port Street Beer House
Credit: John Clarke
What is it: A celebration of all things women and all things beer, with a beer and food pairing.
Port Street Beer House will host an International Women’s Day Beer Showcase this week, where female-brewed beers will be poured and served alongside a food pairing from Nell’s Pizza.
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One of those beers on the menu will be Boudica’s Chariot, a special beer created at Salford’s Strange Times Brewing Co by members of Manchester Crafty Beer Girls, women from across the city’s hospitality sector, and others from further afield.
What is it: Free pop-up performances around Manchester from string quartet group Vulva Voce.
The genre-defying string quartet group Vulva Voce will be springing up around the city centre for a series of free performances, each one made up of music composed by women, spanning from the Renaissance period to the present day.
They’ll choose culturally significant sites around the city, including the Whitworth Art Gallery (12.30pm and 1.30pm), Manchester Art Gallery (3pm), the Emmeline Pankhurst Statue (4pm), the Pankhurst Centre (5.45pm) and Whiskey Jar (9pm).
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All of the events are free and open to the public, apart for the performance at the Pankhurst Centre, which is part of their International Women’s Day programming.
What is it: Hundreds of women and supporters of women from all over will demonstrate their support for International Women’s Day as they proudly walk through the city centre.
Manchester’s Walk for Women will return to the city centre on Saturday 4 March to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023.
The walk will begin outside Manchester Cathedral on Victoria Street, meeting at 12noon for a 12:30pm start. It will go through the city centre, ending up outside Central Library in St Peters Square. Large groups, businesses and organisations are encouraged to get involved and register for an official place in the Walk for Women.
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The length of the walk is approximately 1.11km, with rest stops along the way and dropped kerbs for wheelchair access.
In previous years, the city has seen thousands of women and supporters of women flood to Manchester city centre to share their passion for equality.
The story of Lydia Becker at the Pankhurst Centre
What is it: An evening full of music, talk, good company and lots of inspiration at the birthplace of the suffragette movement.
On Wednesday 8 March (6pm to 8pm), The Pankhurst Centre is celebrating the legacy of one of the leaders of the suffrage movement with a talk about Lydia Becker (1827-1890) to mark International Women’s Day 2023.
Guests will be welcomed by music from all-female string quartet Vulva Voce before hearing a reading from author Joanna M Williams, who will be bringing her book The Great Miss Lydia Becker: Suffragist, Scientist and Trailblazer from the page to the Pankhurst parlour.
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The founding of the Manchester Women’s Suffrage Committee was one of many firsts by Lydia, whose influence was such that by the time of her death in 1890 the enfranchisement of women was seen as a distinct possibility.
What is it: A week long festival at street food hub GRUB from the 8-12 of March.
The Fest will showcase great local street food, drinks, music, art, shopping, comedy, spoken word, film and more from feminist and female-owned businesses.
Find food from the likes of Bee Kind Bakery, Desert Island Dumplings, Hoi Polloi Street Kitchen, Nina’s Taco Truck, Seitan’s Kebab and Tiny Beast Bakes.
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Plus dumpling rolling masterclasses, open mic storytelling, girl power disco bingo, a feminist pop-up market and more.
What is it: An all-female line-up of DJs, performers and songwriters taking over Brickhouse Social until 2am.
Beth Donovan has curated a free evening packed with the city’s best DJs, artists and songwriters, ready to take over Brickhouse Social for a night.
And while tickets are free, all the money raised on the evening (including the £2.50 pizza slices served all night) will be donated to The Pankhurst Trust.
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You can expect two floors of gorgeous entertainment, from a giant party in the main bar from 9.30pm to DJs keeping the dance floor busy all the way to 2am.
What is it: An inclusive event of live spoken storytelling taking place on International Women’s Day to give a platform to captivating true stories on the lived experiences of women.
Taking place at Feel Good Club on Wednesday 8 March at 6.30pm, guests can enjoy a curated line up of storytellers as well as a couple of open-mic spaces for newbies.
From the isolation of a debilitating illness, the seriousness of clown school and a lifechanging pilgrimage to Mecca, the storytellers will share personal and candid journeys on the lived experience of being a woman, with the importance of connection at their core.
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Tickets are a donation to The Pankhurst Trust and can be reserved here.
Manchester’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raises a whopping £50k for ‘A Bed Every Night’
Danny Jones
This city can stand up and pat itself firmly on the back after this year’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raised a whopping £50,000 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Manchester, you truly are incredible.
Returning for the sixth time last week, the 2024 edition of Manchester’s annual fundraising 24-hour relay event was a bumper year and then some, as not only did they cruise past their initial target of £25k but there were records all over the place for distances covered and attendance.
With well over 1,000 runners from all over the region descending upon host venue Freight Island and the city centre route at various different points during the 24 hours, we can well and truly say us Mancs ran our absolute socks off for a crucial cause.
Starting from 12pm on Wednesday, 13 November and running until noon the next day, those involved completed a total of 40 consecutive laps with some of those taking part barely stopping for even a moment’s rest in between each one, no matter how dark, cold or painful it got.
Translating to the equivalent of 1,666 beds for those in the Greater Manchester homeless community and counting, the team – comprised of 86 volunteers, hugely supportive overnight security staff and countless runners – managed to generate nearly double the amount of donations raked in last year.
If you want more context, prior to the 2024 event, The 24 Hour MCR Run had raised approximately £52,807.99 over the course of its entire first five years, meaning they’ve basically just matched that overall tally in just one day – albeit a very long one.
The frankly ridiculous tally couldn’t have been reached without help from donation-boosting sponsors AutoTrader and Together Co. (as well as help from Accenture and Mistral), but even without those additions, it was still by far and away the most successful year in the event’s history.
Countless runners booked time off or got laps done on their lunch hours, with many even coming after work on the Wednesday to then return and put in even more graft the following morning before their shift. Simply inspirational stuff.
Volunteers and run leaders like Marv Lucas, Shomak Chakrabarti, Jay Orris, Molly Glenister-Doyle and many others each smashed 100km or more; even The Manc managed to rack up 110k between us.
The Manc doing their bitRunners doing their 5k laps of Manchester city centreStill hundreds there come nightfallBurnham gave a rousing and emotional speech(Credit: The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness)
One Chorlton Runner, 55-year-old Ian Sharpe, set the men’s record with a simply staggering 150k, while Natasha Barclay smashed the women’s record with an unbelievable 117k just 10 days after running almost the same distance at The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness‘ debut event in Birmingham.
Joining for the busy 7pm, when hundreds of people from Greater Manchester-based run clubs, local businesses and more lined the steps of Freight Island, Mayor Andy Burnham was in attendance and admitted that the immense turnout brought “a tear to the eye.”
Labelling the ever-growing initiative a prime example of “Greater Manchester in action” and community engagement at its finest, it was visible to see how taken aback he was not only by the sheer number of runners but by how much the event has grown since its inception.
Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (GMMC) CEO, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock – who also put in some laps herself along with members of her team – was equally blown away by the 2024 event.
Talking to The Manc, she said: “The 24 Hour Run raises vital funds to support our flagship scheme, ‘A Bed Every Night’ (ABEN), providing far more than just a bed for the night but vital wrap-around support to help get people back on their feet.
“No one should have to spend a night on the streets, particularly as we head into the colder, harsher months. Raising funds for ABEN helps to get us closer to a point when we can say we have truly eradicated the need for rough sleeping.” Safe to say a big dint was put in the problem this month.
Speaking on an overwhelmingly successful 24 hours, co-founder Tom Lewis said: “I’m genuinely overwhelmed with the support we received for this year’s event and the Manchester running community and local companies coming together to help make a real impact in the region.
“As for the future, we plan to come back bigger than ever each year. We’ve set an ambitious precedent by doubling our fundraising total for the last few years, which could mean we’re looking at £100,000 next year. At the moment that seems like a dream, but I said the same about £50,000 and here we are.
It goes without saying that raising this much money for such a vitally important problem in the space of 24 hours is phenomenal and we couldn’t possibly be any prouder of all those who took part.
The supplementary JustGiving page is actually still active for 2024, so you can still donate if you want to add to that already huge sum but, for now, well done to everyone and we’ll see you next year.
Featured Images — The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness
Manchester
Peter Kay adds MORE Manchester dates to record-breaking arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Peter Kay has just announced brand new dates for his record-breaking arena tour, including even more shows here in Manchester.
The Bolton-born comic legend has already performed 100 stand-up shows at the AO Arena, breaking all attendance and performance records.
He’s also the first artist in the world to perform a monthly residency at The O2 in London.
Demand to see Peter Kay has been through the roof – several ticket sites crashed when the tour was first announced – and now he’s added some new shows to the unbelievable run of dates.
The tour first started in December 2022, with shows all the way into the middle of 2025.
Now with these new dates, Peter Kay will be delivering his side-splitting stand-up show all the way into 2026.
The new shows include two hometown nights in Manchester, plus his first gigs in Aberdeen, Brighton, Bournemouth and the Isle of Man.
And heartwarmingly, Peter Kay has promised to still keep ticket prices low, with tickets starting at just £35.
Peter Kay adds MORE Manchester dates to record-breaking arena tour
In the advert, which you can watch below, he’s seen carrying a golden toilet into his mum’s iconic bungalow.
Peter Kay said: “It’s been wonderful doing what I love most, stand-up comedy.
“Laughter is more important than ever in these challenging times and with the cost of living still at an all-time high, ticket prices for the new dates will start from £35.”
Tickets for the new dates will go on sale at 10am on Saturday 23 November HERE.
Peter Kay new tour dates in full
Friday 7 February 2025 – Manchester AO Arena
Saturday 8 March 2025 – Leeds First Direct Arena
Saturday 3 May 2025 – Sheffield Utilita Arena
Friday 16 May 2025 – London The O2
Friday 30 May 2025 – Aberdeen P&J Live
Saturday 31 May 2025 – Aberdeen P&J Live
Friday 6 June 2025 – Birmingham Utilita Arena
Friday 20 June 2025 – London The O2
Thursday 10 July 2025 – Dublin 3Arena
Thursday 7 August 2025 – Belfast Sse Arena
Saturday 23 August 2025 – Newcastle Utilita Arena
Friday 19 September 2025 – Manchester AO Arena
Thursday 23 October 2025 – Glasgow Ovo Hydro
Friday 21 November 2025 – Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Saturday 20 December 2025 – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Friday 9 January 2026 – Brighton Centre
Saturday 10 January 2026 – Bournemouth International Centre
Friday 23 January 2026 – Cardiff Utilita Arena
Saturday 24 January 2026 – Cardiff Utilita Arena
Friday 20 February 2026 – Isle Of Man Villa Marina
Saturday 21 February 2026 – Isle Of Man Villa Marina
Georgina Pellant -
3rd March 2023 
