#CancelTheCurfew campaign launched as Manchester bars battle 10pm serving ban
Local bars have launched Cancel The Curfew as they battle to get closing time pushed back - claiming that just 3% of infections are traced back to hospitality.
Bars and restaurants across Britain are banding together to launch a campaign entitled #CancelTheCurfew – armed with an open letter and petition to change the last orders law.
The latest COVID legislation – which forbids bars and restaurants from serving customers after 10pm – has been in force for less than 100 hours and is already attracting criticism from industry members.
Footage of crowds swarming out across Deansgate on Saturday at 22:01 were lambasted by Nighttime Economic Adviser Sacha Lord as both predictable and “shambolic.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has also asked the government to go back to the drawing board – arguing that the 10pm curfew could potentially “do more harm than good.“
Now, local bars themselves are battling to get closing time pushed back – claiming that just 3% of COVID infections in the UK are traced to these environments.
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Hospitality argues that pubs and restaurants are not the problem – and #CancelTheCurfew is a campaign that’s attempting to get the government to stop passing the buck to bars.
A petition is live and an open letter has been published.
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After months reeling from the heavy blows inflicted by coronavirus, the sector is temporarily off the ropes and swinging back in a bid to overturn the law.
Adam Wilson of The Liars Group commented: “Hospitality has bent over backwards to work within the ever-changing guidelines and the figures have proven that we’re nailing it.
“3% of cases from F&B outlets compared to HUGE upswings in education, workplaces, care homes, basically everywhere ELSE, but it is apparently hospitality taking the blame – Stop Blaming Hospitality.
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“Sending thousands of people out onto the streets at exactly the same time makes it impossible to distance and will almost guarantee another surge in cases – particularly when these people will then be piling into off licences, public transport and no doubt, kitchens.
“We changed licensing laws years ago to prevent public disorder and “speed drinking” before closing time and this undoes all that effort in the midst of a global pandemic – hence #cancelthecurfew.”
Tom “Timmy” De Santis, Co-Owner at Cocktail Beer Ramen & Bun, claimed he’d heard cries of ‘all back to mine’ on Saturday night around 10.15pm which “said it all.”
“What stings the most is that we are masters of customer care, and we have spent our cash and energy making our spaces as safe as we possibly can,” he added.
“Following vague guidelines and going over every bit of government rhetoric again and again to ensure we get it right. Yet here we are, penalised, singled out and suffering yet again.
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“This isn’t about infection rates, this is about stigma, misunderstanding and knee jerk policy.
“It’s a joke.”
Dean Mac, Co-Founder of One Eight Six bar on Deansgate, said his staff felt like they were being punished for their determination to survive.
He said he is supporting #CancelTheCurfew as the 10pm ban is set to cut his bookings in half.
“We’ve also had to completely change our infrastructure so that we can open earlier to actually keep ourselves in operation,” he explained.
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“Our team has worked incredibly hard to adapt to all the new changes over the weekend.
“We love welcoming all our guests, but to close our doors and say goodbye at 10pm was genuinely heartbreaking, especially when you could see how chaotic the streets were at that time.”
Mark “Tez” Taylor, the Co-Owner at Arcane, described the curfew as “stupidity”.
“First off, we’re forced to implement more extreme measures in venues with regards to investing in PPE, safety screens, booths, etc in order to comply,” said Tez.
“This was ok as it put customers at ease and got us all back in to work.
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“Now that those guidelines have again changed and we’re forced into a drastic loss of trading hours, many venues are still licking their wounds having already invested hundreds if not thousands of pounds to ensure safety and compliance, leaving them in a financial hole once again.
“We’ve done everything we can to do our bit. Threatened with fines, closure and financial hardship and still we’re being punished.”
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Backing #CancelTheCurfew, Tez said the assumption people could leave in an orderly fashion at 10pm every evening was “unreal”.
“The failure to have the basic vision to see that every customer in every hospitality corner of every city in the UK, would be leaving at pretty much bang on 10pm, seven nights a week is unreal,” he added.
“Millions of people across the country, leaving a tightly controlled environment in a bar or restaurant, forced out into the streets in unison, many after power drinking over a few hours.
“It’s next-level stupidity from the top.”
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Chester Zoo named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors
Emily Sergeant
Congratulations are in order, yet again, for Chester Zoo… as this time its been one of England’s most popular attractions.
Merely months after being named the UK’s best zoo for the second year running, thanks to receiving more than 11,000 ‘excellent’ reviews from TripAdvisor, Chester Zoo has now got itself another prestigious title, as a major VisitEngland (VE) report has ranked it the third most-visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England – and the most visited outside of London.
The national tourist board for England gathered information from a total of 1,373 attractions across the country, and ranked the UK’s biggest charity zoo as the third overall in terms of popularity, with a whopping 1.9 million visitors in 2024 alone.
The Tower of London took top spot with 2.9 million visitors, while the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was second place with 2.3 million visitors.
When it comes to free attractions, on the other hand, it wad the British Museum that claimed the top spot with 6.5 million visitors, while the Natural History Museum (5.9 million visitors) took second place, and the Tate Modern (4.6 million visitors) got third.
So as you can see, the south and London in particular is a pretty dominating force in England’s tourism industry – which is why it’s even more impressive to see Chester Zoo ranked so highly.
The new VE title also comes after the zoo was recently given £4 million of lottery funding to help ‘transform’ the local environment and restore wildlife habitats across the Cheshire and wider North West region.
Not only that, but if course follows Chester Zoo’s unveiling of its new immersive experience named Heart of Africa, which is the the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK and is home to 57 iconic African species.
Chester Zoo has been named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors / Credit: Chester Zoo
“As a major international wildlife charity, everything we do is focused on supporting global conservation,” commented Chester Zoo’s Commercial Director, Dom Strange.
“Whether it’s caring for highly-threatened animals and plants, making scientific discoveries, influencing Government environmental policies, impacting the National Curriculum to better connect young people with nature, or our conservation efforts in around 20 countries, we’re fully committed to protecting endangered species for the future.
“But none of this would be possible without our visitors.
“Every person who comes to the zoo for a fun and inspiring day out is helping to fund our vital work, so we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped us to rank so highly in VisitEngland’s latest report.”
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Manchester Museum saves a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum has made a stunning new addition to its natural history collections, and in the process has ensured a ‘national treasure’ stays in the UK.
Not long after claiming the coveted title of European Museum of the Year for 2025, Manchester Museum has done it again – this time working together with John Rylands Library to acquire Henry Dresser’s unique personal copy of his anthology A History of the Birds of Europe so that this ‘invaluable resource’ can remain in the UK for future generations.
The beautifully-illustrated collection of books provide an important historical record to help understand how and why bird populations have changed over time.
Dresser’s personal copy is heavily-annotated with personal notes and observations.
These books are deemed to be of ‘outstanding significance’, not only for scientific purposes but also for their aesthetic value, as they have also been illustrated by some of the leading wildlife artists of the day.
The volumes were recognised as a national treasure by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, which is supported by the Arts Council, and this meant that the Government placed a temporary export deferral on them to allow time for UK buyers to raise the funds to keep them in the country.
Brilliantly, the acquisition of these books reunites them with Dresser’s own bird specimens that are already cared for by Manchester Museum, including species such as the Slender-billed curlew, which is now believed to be extinct.
The now-extinct species’ presence in both Dresser’s beautifully-annotated volumes and the ornithological collections at Manchester Museum highlights the vital role that historical records play in tracking biodiversity loss over time to uncover the long-term impact of environmental change.
Manchester Museum has saved a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK / Credit: Manchester Museum
“Threats to the natural world and biodiversity have never been greater and while this anthology has historical value, it also speaks to the urgent issues of the present,” commented Esme Ward, who is the Director of Manchester Museum.
“These books are breathtakingly beautiful, and by bringing them together with natural history collections, we believe they will not only provide scientific benefit, but also capture the hearts of future ornithologists and conservationists.”
A History of the Birds of Europe will be officially unveiled at a private view on Friday 27 June, before being displayed to the public for the first time in Manchester Museum’s ‘Living Worlds’ gallery from Saturday 28 June 2025 right through until Sunday 25 January 2026.
The Manc -
28th September 2020 
