Manchester will become one of the most picturesque places in the country this month as the city gets dressed up in celebration of the annual Flower Show.
The nine-day festival – dubbed the ‘most Instagrammable event of the year’ – will see Manchester draped from head to toe in magnificent floral tributes; with plants and flowers covering landmark buildings, shop windows, doorways, balconies, statues and fountains.
Huge topiary beasts, light sculptures and tributes to the NHS and key workers are also being arranged for the occasion.
Additionally, an array of alfresco drink and dining options – including The Manchester Flower Show Cocktail Trail – will be in place, with a number of venues getting involved including 20 Stories, ATOMECA, Canto, Cloud 23, Dakota Hotel Manchester, El Gato, Peru Perdu, Qbic Manchester Hotel, Tast Catala, The Graduate Bar at Hyatt Hotels Manchester and The Lowry Hotel.
Manchester Flower ShowManchester Flower Show
Organised by CityCo and Manchester BID, Manchester Flower Show will come into bloom on Saturday 29 May and run until Sunday 6 June.
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Displays will be visible right the way across the city – including Exchange Square, First Street, Manchester Arndale, Selfridges, Corn Exchange, Spinningfields, Science and Industry Museum, The Whitworth, Circle Square, Manchester Craft & Design Centre, Ducie Street Warehouse, Deansgate Square, Spinningfields and Great Northern Warehouse.
Some highlights of the Manchester Flower Show include:
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The Secret Garden, St Ann’s Square and Kimpton Clocktower Hotel – A rusting, disused electricity sub-station becomes a delightful secret garden with a 10-foot blossom tree at St Anne’s Square; with a second garden at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.
Knitted Trees, Market Street: Stunning ‘yarn bombed trees’ outside Marks and Spencer.
Flower Power at New Cathedral Street – A floral display inspired by the swinging sixties and the psychedelic art movement.
50 years of St Ann’s Hospice on King Street: Celebrating its 50th birthday, St Ann’s Hospice’s installation of 50 Forget-me-nots blowing in the wind conjures up a sense of the care, love, peace and support provided by the hospice to those with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
Seed of Change on King Street: A floral light sculpture created by Studiotech and Sutton Creative showcasing artwork by Venture Arts.
Bee Here and Celebrate at Manchester Cathedral: A beautiful volunteer-created display of pollen-rich perennials which could feed bees and butterflies for years – all in celebration of the 600th anniversary of Manchester Cathedral.
Live the Wild Life at Meadowside at Angel Meadow Park: A life-sized giraffe and baby elephant take over Angel Meadow! A must for families.
Floral Takeover at Stevenson Square: Blossoming doorways and floral displays at NOHO, Dusk till Pawn, Foundation Coffee and Fred Aldous transform Stevenson Square.
Whispering Wisteria at Circle Square, Oxford Road: A romantic tree sculpture draped with 500 pieces of wisteria; featuring tiny speakers enmeshed in the branches emitting sounds of the community in Bruntwood SciTech’s Circle Square.
Manchester Flower Show
Find out more about the bars and restaurants participating in The Manchester Flower Show Cocktail Trail online.
Visit the event page here for a full guide to what’s on at each venue throughout the festival.
Manchester
Sankeys shares sneak peek at new venue as legendary Manchester nightclub gears up for return
Daisy Jackson
Sankeys has given Mancs a glimpse inside its new venue as the legendary nightclub gears up for its return.
The club was one of Manchester’s top nightlife spots for years, before shutting down seemingly for good almost a decade ago.
Set within Beehive Mill in Ancoats, Sankeys was a true icon of Manchester’s global nightlife scene.
And while the old Sankeys Soap nightlife space is now full of co-working spaces, the spirit of Sankeys is about to be reborn.
The exact location of the new club is still being kept under wraps ahead of its reopening at the end of January, but new renderings have been released to give us a glimpse of how it will look.
Sankeys is promising ‘A reimagined space. New energy. Same legendary nights’.
The new Sankeys Manchester will be a 500-capacity venue, designed to ‘capture the raw underground energy that made Sankeys one of the most iconic club brands in the world’.
It will feature an LED matrix grid installation that will immerse clubbers in ‘light, sound and atmosphere’.
Sankeys Manchester officially opens on 30 January – you can see a glimpse of how it will look below and grab tickets HERE.
Manchester councillor Bev Craig has been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List
Danny Jones
The leader of Manchester City Council and representative for Burnage, Bev Craig, has officially been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours List for 2026.
Councillor Craig, who has held her leadership position since October 2021, received the OBE for her services to local government.
She joins several other regional councillors to be named by King Charles III.
First elected by Burnage residents back in 2011, she has spent more than a decade and a half devoting her professional life to the community, as well as nearly a whole five years of that time at the highest level within the Council.
The University of Manchester graduate has played several key roles throughout her career, including giving back to higher education, helping trade unions, as well as serving as an executive member for adult social care and health during the pandemic, before serving as Deputy and eventually Leader.
Speaking in an official statement, Craig said: “To receive an OBE is a huge privilege, and to get awarded it for what I’ve been able to give back to our city is all the more special.
“Manchester is an incredible city, made special by its people and a place I’m proud to call home.
“Leading our city is a privilege I don’t take for granted, so to get awarded an OBE for what we’ve been doing to make Manchester an even better place to live and improve the lives of Manchester people, while creating a city that is fairer and more inclusive for generations to come, is the real honour.”
With the Council having also confirmed two special NYE events on either side of the Town Hall this year, it feels like a fitting celebration.
Congratulations to Bev Craig on the well-deserved accolade and title; we have no doubt she’ll continue to excel in her post.
You can find the King’s 2026 New Year Honours List HERE.
As for the discussion around knighthoods, many Brits are currently calling for a change in the rules in hopes of making OBE, CBE and MBE, Kevin Sinfield a Sir.
The Manc -
14th May 2021 
