Considering Manchester’s a city obsessed with football, surprisingly, it’s not always the easiest place to find somewhere good to watch the match.
We’ve been inundated with messages asking us where to go this summer, so we’ve knuckled down and done the leg work for you – digging out some of the best spots in Manchester to watch the football outside (and in) this summer.
Keep reading to find out where you should be booking for all the upcoming fixtures. This piece will be regularly updated as new information becomes available.
Barca Bar
Castlefield
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This Castlefield gastropub has it all: canal-side dining, plenty of outdoor seating and loads of big screens for showing the football. With room for 250 outside alone (and that’s not including the balcony), there’ll be plenty of space for fans to watch the action, weather permitting. If the heavens do open, there’s room for another 300 inside.
Binary Bar
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Castlefield
Binary Bar is a reliable spot for sports fans in Castlefield, showing all the sports fixtures this summer – footie included. As well as a good selection of pints and a classic cocktail menu, they’ve also got a kitchen service up burgers, pizzas, wings and wraps.
Hotel Football & Cafe Football
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Trafford
With it proudly being Manchester’s “home of the Euros” and also owned by the Class of 92, naturally, you’d expect Old Trafford’s Hotel Football to be showing all the important matches this summer. They’ll not only be screening games live, with tickets priced at £10, but two drinks are included in the ticket price, and you can also bag a table to eat for an upgrade.
Confirmed screenings so far include England’s games with Croatia (13th June), Scotland (18th June), Czech (22nd June).
The hotel’s in-house venue, Cafe Football, is also going going all out for the Euros with six-pint beer towers and sharing platters sporting a selection of dishes from competing countries. They’ll be screening all the Euro games live, with packages priced from £24 per person.
The Hilton
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Deansgate
If you want to enjoy the beautiful game with a view, then you’ll want to head up to the Podium Lounge and Bar at The Hilton this summer, They’ll be screening the Euros from on high, with pints, cocktails and nibbles available from the bar.
The Brotherhood of Pursuits and Pastimes
City Centre
With a couple of tables left open for walk-ins, this Mount Street sports bar is a decent shout if you’re looking for somewhere to catch the game last minute. Bringing the inside out, all outdoor seating comes with a guaranteed good view of a TV screen. What more do you want?
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The Crown and Anchor
Northern Quarter
This popular family-run pub on Hilton Street will be showing all the football fixtures this summer, Euros included. Grab a seat in its cute little enclosed courtyard beer garden or up on the roof terrace, and load up on homely grub from the kitchen – washed down with some of the city’s most reasonably-priced bevs.
Event City
Trafford
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Sporting events company 4TheFans will be taking over Event City this summer, building a dedicated, Covid secure Euros Fan Park in Trafford to enable fans to gather together to watch the games safely. Events will adhere to government guidelines until 21st June.
Gasworks
First Street
This beer bar and microbrewery on First Street has some lush beers on draught, many pumped straight out of the brew tanks in its cellar, and decent grub too. They’ll be showing all the football this summer, but to secure a table you’ll need to book by email.
The Dockyard
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Media City
Offering a strong selection of craft ales, beers and ciders, The Dockyard at Media City will be screening all the Euros fixtures this summer. Advance bookings are recommended.
The Stock Exchange Hotel
City Centre
Considering it’s owned by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, it’d be remiss of the Stock Exchange Hotel not to screen the Euros this summer. Luckily, we have it on good authority they will be doing just that in their private event space, The Vault, which is already fitted out with six large TV screens so “you won’t miss any memorable moments”.
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Packages start from £49 including food and drink by The Bull & Bear, and you can grab your tickets here.
Impossible MCR
City Centre
Impossible MCR made quite a name for itself as a football lovers destination during the 2018 World Cup – and looks set to repeat history again this summer. They’ll be showing the Euros outside on their huge outdoor terrace this summer, with plenty of big screens to make sure everyone gets to see the action.
O’Sheas Beer Garden
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Back Piccadilly
Massive new Manchester beer garden O’Sheas will be showing all the football fixtures this summer, accompanied by one of the best pints of Guinness in the city. The venue is currently staggering booking slots, with the next block set to be released on May 17th.
The ShackBar & Grill
Northern Quarter
With an extensive, American-inspired grill menu and some great drinks deals, The Shack in the Northern Quarter is always a popular choice for watching the football. With a decent sized beer garden in prime position for an outdoor screen, this tucked away spot is a decent
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Off The Square
Northern Quarter
With capacity for 200 people, this Northern Quarter nightclub will be showing most games from June 21st. Newly opened at the end of 2019, it’s housed in the former Texture site on Lever Street.
Point Blank Shooting Range
Deansgate
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Manchester’s only virtual shooting range, Point Blank has quite a swish cocktail menu as well as a good selection of beers and spirit mixes. The venue will be showing all the Euros matches on big screens in its bar from June onwards.
Muse Uppermill
Saddleworth
Just a stones throw from Doestones reservoir, this Saddleworth pub has a huge outdoor area and will be putting up screens this summer to show all the football matches.
News
Five fantastic freebies and offers for the 2025 Manchester Half marathon
Danny Jones
It’s nearly time: not just for the Manchester Half but, more importantly, the freebies and offers you can get for running it.
Let’s be honest, not everyone loves running for literal miles just for the sake of it; a lot of people need motivation, and besides an inspiring cause, you’d be surprised how many people will get out of bed for something as simple as free stuff.
You might be one of them – you are here reading this, after all.
There’s no long-winded preamble or intro needed to set this up, so let’s just crack on. Here are five brilliant freebies you can get with a 2025 Manchester Half Marathon medal.
What freebies you can get with a Manchester Half finisher’s medal
Now, you’ll be glad to know that most of these are completely gratis, but we thought we’d mention some others that stuck out to us as well.
1. Free fizz on The Refuge
First up, how about some free fizz? Well, that’s exactly what you can get this Sunday, 12 October, if you’ve just run the 2025 Manchester Half-marathon.
Participants can head to The Refuge inside the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel after the race to claim a well-earned glass of prosecco – available to the first 100 finishers on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. Complimentary food and drink at Circolo Popolare
Next up, it doesn’t get much better than a free pizza and a cold one; that’s what Circolo Popolare in Gary Neville’s stunning St. Michael’s building are offering.
Just show your medal and enjoy a free margherita pizza plus your choice of either an ice-cold beer or a refreshing virgin cocktail. Prego!
3. You’ve got to be quick to get House of Social’s freebie
Speaking of free drinks, the first 50 runners who use the last of their energy to dash over to House of Social this Sunday and enjoy a pint on the house.
All you have to do is present your medal when ordering to snap up a beer at absolutely no cost. So we’ll see you there, basically.
Self-explanatory, really. The student favourite that used to be the old Footage pub on Oxford Road is offering up a limited amount of free pints to runners, just make sure you show your medal at the bar.
To be honest, even if it wasn’t free, we’d still probably spend a good few hours here sinking affordable pints because it is absolute VIBES at this gaff.
Last but not least, if you’re looking for a lovely carby reward in the city centre, you’re obviously spoilt for choice, but Italiana Fifty Five are offering a free starter when booking and presenting your 2025 finisher’s medal upon arrival.
Available at all Greater Manchester locations, the Italian eatery formerly known as Cibo always delivers good offers, and race day for the MCR Half is no different.
🏃♀️ Running the MCR Half this Sunday?
Celebrate your finish line moment at Italiana Fifty-Five, Manchester 🇮🇹
Show us your medal and enjoy a FREE starter with your meal! 🍝✨
Oh yeah, it might not be a freebie per se, but as one of the busiest post-marathon celebration spots anywhere in Greater Manchester, The Wharf is obviously getting involved beforehand as well.
This year, the canalside Castlefield favourite is serving up sausage and bacon butties from 10-11:30am before the usual Sunday roast service kicks in as normal from 12pm. Now we’ve just got to pray for good beer garden weather.
We hope you get to make the most of these freebies and others Manchester Half offers after your race is run, because let’s be honest, running 13.1 miles (21 and a bit kilometres for you metric heads) is a fair bit of effort, so you deserve a treat.
It goes without saying that there’s probably plenty more SWAG to be snapped up in and around the city that we’ve missed, so make sure to let your fellow runners know about them down in the comments.
Finally, if you’re still feeling uncertain about anything to do with the race itself, you can find our full Manchester Half Marathon guide down below.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/press shot (supplied)
News
Chester Zoo celebrates birth of UK’s only fossa pups in boost for ‘rare species’
Emily Sergeant
Conservationists at Chester Zoo are celebrating the birth of the UK’s only fossa pups in what is a huge boost for the ‘rare species’.
The four rare pups, who have been born to parents Shala and Zaza, are the first of their kind to be born in the UK this year, and one of only three litters born in all zoos across Europe in 2025, so not only are they a big deal for Chester Zoo, they’re a big deal globally too.
Carnivore experts at the zoo have hailed the arrival of the two male and two female pups as ‘vital new additions’ to an international breeding programme.
The breeding programme is working to ensure the continued survival of the already-rare species.
Unsure what a fossa is? The fossa is a slender, cat-like mammal that can grow up to 6ft long and is adapted for a life in the trees, as they use their long tails for balance and can climb down headfirst with the help of retractable claws.
The fossa is the largest natural predator in Madagascar, and is a highly-threatened species, with their currently estimated to be fewer than 2,500 of them remaining in the wild, largely due to mass deforestation.
Fossa pups are born blind, weighing about 100g (about the same as a small apple).
They first leave their den several months after birth, and having been born on 8 July 2025, Chester Zoo’s new 12-week-old pups have now been spotted by zookeepers and zoo visitors venturing out for the first time.
Chester Zoo is celebrating birth of UK’s only fossa pups in a boost for the ‘rare species’ / Credit: Chester Zoo
“Welcoming four newborn fossa pups is such an incredible moment for us – and seeing them venture out of the den for the very first time has been a real privilege,” commented Dave Hall, who is the Team Manager of carnivores at the zoo.
“They’re already showing off their adventurous sides by climbing and exploring every branch they can find. Mum Shala certainly has her paws full when it comes to keeping track of them all, but she’s doing a brilliant job and is a very attentive mum.”
Dave said the zoo is going to start drawing up a list of potential names as each of the pups grow and begin to develop more of their own distinct personality.
Georgina Pellant -
30th April 2021 
