Don’t miss the epic finale of Little Amal’s international journey as the giant 11-foot puppet arrives in Manchester.
Little Amal, whose name means ‘hope’ in Arabic, is a puppet of a nine-year-old refugee girl who has ‘walked’ all the way from the Syria-Turkey border.
She was created by Handspring, the same company that made the puppets for the critically- acclaimed War Horse.
Amal will complete her journey in Manchester on 3 November.
Image: Manchester International Festival/Bevan Ross
The puppet’s journey is designed to highlight the risks taken by millions of refugees each year who are escaping from war or violence.
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“Whilst a lot of asylum seekers are adults, many are children, they have no say and often suffer the most so the fact Little Amal represents a young person is very symbolic,” said Mick Taylor, project coordinator at the Support for Wigan Arrivals Project.
Amal’s 5,000 mile trip started this summer and has seen her travel through Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, before crossing to the UK.
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Image: Manchester International Festival/UNHCR Sokratis Baltagiannis
Amal’s big Manchester welcome
The finale of The Walk will be marked by a massive free outdoor event called When the Birds Land at Castlefield Bowl at 7 pm on 3 November.
The city will celebrate the end of her long journey with a night of song, dance, live music, and puppetry – as well as some special surprises.
When the Birds Land is directed by Simon Stone, award-winning director of The Dig and The Daughter, and is produced and presented in Manchester by Manchester International Festival (MIF).
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Image: Manchester International Festival/Andre Liohn
Manchester has a proud history of embracing migrants and refugees, and Amal’s arrival is no different – 4,000 people are expected to gather to welcome her.
Before arriving at her new home, Amal will visit Wigan (Sunday 31 October at 3pm) and Rochdale (Tuesday 2 November).
Amal has been welcomed by artists and communities at over 120 events during her journey.
Image: Manchester International Festival/Teatro Pubblico Pugliese
The puppet, operated by three people, has been greeted by some big names along the way, including actor Jude Law on the Folkestone seafront and Pope Francis in Rome.
When she arrives in Manchester she will be presented with a giant quilt as a welcome gift.
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The quilt has been made by volunteers from Rochdale, Longsight, and Wigan, including many refugees and asylum seekers.
Image: Manchester International Festival/UNHCR: Sokratis Baltagiannis
Find more information about the Manchester City Centre event here.
Appeal launched to find the owner of live chickens found at Creamfields festival
Daisy Jackson
The hunt is on to find the owner of a pair of chickens who were discovered at Creamfields festival.
The two birds were spotted on the grounds of the huge electronic music festival by bewildered festival-goers.
The cockerel and hen were trapped in a hedge, after it appears they wandered onto the festival campsite before the security barriers were installed.
The birds then found themselves trapped inside as around 70,000 music fans poured into Cheshire for a line-up that included Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, and Tiësto.
The chickens have been safely rescued from the Creamfields festival site and are recovering at a wildlife centre, and now the RSPCA is on a mission to find their owner.
Festival-goers first called the RSPCA on Saturday 29 August to alert them to the cockerel and hen trapped inside the festival, one of whom assisted in the rescue mission.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper: “I was surprised that they were inside the festival site and I needed to get through the road blocks and security before reaching them on foot through muddy fields. I met the caller who helped me as they were just running up and down the hedge line where there was a wire fence blocking access.
Where the chickens were discovered at CreamfieldsThe RSPCA wants to track their owners down
“We managed to guide them out and I caught both of them with my rescue net which was a bit of a sight for the festival campers.
“I don’t think they were abandoned and they’re more likely to be stray because it’s farmland all around the festival site. They don’t have any health issues, apart from being quite underweight.
“With the fences going up a week before the festival starts they’d probably been unable to get out for some time and had been left foraging in the hedge. Someone mentioned that a third bird was also trapped, although we couldn’t find any others.
“I am really grateful to the festival-goer who found them and alerted us to their plight.”
Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
Rachel Kevern -
29th October 2021 
