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The Manc -
15th February 2020
The Manc -
15th February 2020 News
A giant ‘carnival on bikes’ championing Black culture is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
One of the biggest bike ride events in the country, dubbed a ‘carnival on wheels’, is coming to Manchester this year.
The Black Unity Bike Ride (BUBR) was set up in London following the murder of George Floyd, which took place on 25 May 2020 and set shockwaves around the world.
Now, as the event is looking to reach across the UK, the event celebrating Black culture, joy, empowerment and unity is coming to our city region and its surrounding areas for the first time ever.
It’s set to be a truly brilliant and inspiring event.
Teaming up with London Marathon Events (LME) once again, the mass participation veterans have been lending expertise since 2021, and now they’ve reached a new five-year agreement to help continue strengthening BUBR and, hopefully, create a national movement by setting up in two new cities.
Manchester marks the first stage of the Black Unity Bike Ride expansion, which will see thousands take to cycling from Alexandra Park in Moss Side on a 12-mile route through the city and back to the beautiful outdoor space.
Aiming to mirror the success of the flagship BUBR event down in the capital, Manc participants and supporters can expect a vibrant, ‘festival feel’ with pumping music throughout.
Back at Alexandra Park, there’ll be even a huge pop-up home base for the event, bringing together Greater Manchester’s Black community with a big food and vendor village, more music and an uplifting atmosphere all day long.
The inaugural Manchester event will come just a fortnight after the sixth annual edition of the founding Black Unity Bike Ride in London, which sees waves of cyclists take on 17 miles, starting at Leyton Sports Ground and finishing in Dulwich Park.
Promising route leaders, cheer zones and pitstops on the route, plenty of music, not to mention various indie food and drink traders pulling from a wide range of different ethnicities and cuisines, it’s this kind of full-on festival energy that BUBR Manchester is striving to capture.
Once again, it’s a ‘carnival on wheels’.
BUBR MCR 2025 will take place on Sunday, 17 August, the birthday of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a key political activist – the forefather of the ‘Garveyism ideology – as well as publisher, journalist and orator who has his own national day named after him in his home country of Jamaica.
He advocated for the empowerment and rights of African descendants and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA), in addition to organising America’s first-ever Black nationalist movement.
You can see the event documentary film, which chronicles last year’s Black Unity Bike Ride in full down below. It really is a moving watch – pardon the pun.
Read more:
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- England cricket legend Sir James Anderson joins Manchester Originals for The Hundred 2025
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It’s also worth noting that the Black Unity Bike Ride Fest is completely FREE, as the goal is to get as many people as possible. You can sign up
BUBR founder, Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, said of the upcoming event: “What began as a bold idea on London’s streets has grown into a national movement. We are very excited to bring the event to Manchester, it has been an aspiration for a few years so we can’t wait until Sunday, 17 August.”
“BUBR has valued London Marathon Events’ support since 2021, and we are very proud to extend this relationship with a new five-year commitment. The partnership is a true statement of intent when it comes to community, inclusion and inspiring active lives.”
BUBR aren’t the only lot getting on their bikes this summer
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Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)
News
Investigation launched after roof ripped off double decker bus in Salford
Daisy Jackson
An investigation has been launched after a bus in Salford crashed into a bridge, ripping the roof off the vehicle and injuring more than a dozen passengers.
The shocking collision took place shortly after 3pm on Monday 21 July, with a Bee Network bus colliding with a bridge on Barton Lane in Eccles.
The 100 service bus was in operation at the time of the incident, with CCTV of the crash showing passengers on the top deck crouching down in their seats.
The North West Ambulance Service declared a major incident and said that 15 people were taken to hospital for treatment.
TfGM has now confirmed that an urgent investigation has been launched to establish what happened.
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with everyone on board the bus. Our absolute focus has been on supporting emergency services in their response, with some people treated at the scene and some taken to hospital.
“An immediate and urgent investigation into the circumstances is underway and we are working closely with the investigation team at Greater Manchester Police and the bus operator, Stagecoach.
On camera: the moment the Salford bus crashes into a bridge
School bus crash in Eccles Salford this afternoon . Distressing 🙏 pic.twitter.com/niy0pOagEk
— MBK (@kiernanmb) July 21, 2025
“This is clearly a distressing situation for everyone involved and we’d like to thank emergency services for their swift response.”
A statement from NWAS said: “At 15.06 North West Ambulance Service received a call in relation to a bus collision on Barton Lane, Eccles, and declared a major incident shortly afterwards.
“The trust dispatched a number of resources, including ten emergency ambulances, advanced paramedics, our Hazard Area Response Team (HART) and colleagues from North West Air Ambulance. The first resource arrived on time at 15.10.
“NWAS treated 15 patients who were all taken to Salford Royal or Manchester Royal Infirmary hospitals.
“At 16:22 NWAS stood down from major incident status but continues to remain on scene.”
A similar incident occurred in the same spot in 2023, but no serious injuries were reported.
Read more
- UK’s ‘most dangerous’ road near Greater Manchester to undergo £7.6m safety improvements
- ‘Midweek mayhem’ predicted on roads as UK prepares for 13.9m summer holiday getaway journeys
- In memory of Gallagher Hill: an ode to one of the greatest moments in Manc music history
Featured image: Google Maps
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