It’s been a long time coming – but this Saturday, Manchester’s AO Arena will open its doors once again to a sell-out crowd of Blossoms fans as the Stockport indie band perform their first headline show at the iconic venue.
This means it’s been 78 weeks and a whopping 553 days since live music last rocked the arena.
Blossoms will take to the stage at their hometown arena to conclude their most recent UK tour, before they’re set to support fellow Manchester indie rockers Courteeners at Emirates Old Trafford later this month, and even join forces with Northern 80s pop icon Rick Astley for two intimate gigs playing only the songs of Manchester band The Smiths.
Blossoms’ most recent studio album, 2020’s Foolish Loving Spaces, went all the way to number one in the UK album chart.
The band have now sold 604,747 albums in their career to date worldwide, including more than 340,000 in the UK, and have amassed over 484 million global streams – 319 million of those streams in the UK.
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Blossoms sell-out gig at the arena – which celebrated its 25th anniversary back in July 2020 – is also the first time the venue opens under new sponsorship, as back in September, 2020, it welcomed online electricals retailer AO as the new headline sponsor and rebranded as the AO Arena with a fresh new look.
The partnership is said to highlight AO’s commitment to bringing live music and entertainment back to the heart of Manchester.
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🔁 @BlossomsBand will now perform Manchester's @AOArena on Saturday 18th September 2021.
As well as the Bolton-born brand’s famous green smile, visitors to the arena will have the opportunity to enjoy exclusive ‘money-can’t-buy’ experiences, as well as on the spot ‘surprise and delight’ activations on the arena’s concourse, courtesy of the retailer.
In preparation to make the event as inclusive as possible once doors reopen for the big welcome back, the venue has been working hard behind the scenes over the past few months, and back in June 2020, it was even awarded GOLD status by Attitude is Everything – the disability-led charity with over 20 years’ experience improving Deaf and disabled people’s access to live entertainment.
AO Arena has said that its number one priority for the Blossoms gig is making sure that everyone’s visit is as safe and enjoyable as possible, and so has activated its ‘VenueShield’ programme – a comprehensive and best-in-class hygiene protocol that’s in practise at more than 325 ASM Global facilities around the world.
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Blossoms will take to the stage at their hometown arena to conclude their most recent UK tour / Credit: Facebook (Blossoms)
And through the arena’s partnership with Unilever brand, Lifebuoy, there are plenty of hand sanitiser dispensers around the venue to make it easy for everyone to sanitise their hands as they move around the arena – which will “inspire confidence” in the return to live events.
As restrictions have been lifted, the venue is asking music fans to enjoy themselves on Saturday with consideration to others by wearing a mask if possible and being prepared to show, if requested by a member of staff, proof that they do not currently have COVID-19, or that they have had both doses of the vaccine, or that they have previously had COVID-19 within the last six months.
Also in the name of safety, specialist detection dogs will be helping the venue to deliver a safe and secure environment for all visitors and employees.
It’s going to be a heck of a return to live music on the biggest stage in Manchester.
Featured Image – AO Arena
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Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
The Manc Audio -
16th September 2021 
