A warning has been issued to those planning on hitting the town for a Mad Friday night out in Manchester city centre.
Mad Friday – the nickname given to the last Friday in December before Christmas eve – is always known as the most popular night for end-of-year Christmas parties, which inevitably makes it one of the busiest nights of the year in Manchester city centre, and for ambulances and the police service too.
But this year, just the same as last, things are set to look a lot different.
This year’s Mad Friday comes the day after the UK recorded the highest number of new COVID cases since the start of the pandemic at 88,376.
It too comes after the UK government has now introduced all ‘Plan B’ measures in England in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, and it also comes amid an ongoing conversation around the hardships once again being faced by the hospitality sector and the question of “where is the Chancellor?”, as pubs and restaurants in Greater Manchester and right across the UK are hit by a surge of cancelled bookings in the lead-up to and at Christmas.
Yet, despite all of this, the message from one Councillor to clubbers and partygoers heading to Manchester city centre tonight couldn’t be clearer.
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Everyone has to remain “cautious”.
A warning has been issued to those planning on hitting the town for a Mad Friday night out in Manchester city centre / Credit: Flickr
Cllr Pat Karney – city centre spokesperson at Manchester City Council – told the MEN that people need to “be their own public health service” in the fight against the new Omicron variant, adding that: “For young people, Mad Friday is a big night out in the city, but people need to take into account that they will then probably be seeing family and older family members over Christmas.
“People will have a great time but must bear in mind who they will be spending time with over Christmas.
“We are all confused by the guidance but we need to be our own Public Health Service and look after ourselves and follow the guidance as best we can,” he concluded.
This year’s Mad Friday also comes two days after NHS COVID passes / or a proof of a negative Lateral Flow Test have been introduced for entry to nightclubs, unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people, and any venue with more than 10,000 people in England.
Cllr Pat Karney said that although the passes are “bound to cause problems”, he believes it is worth it to “protect the health of the country”.
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“People will have a great time but must bear in mind who they will be spending time with over Christmas.” / Credit: Unsplash
The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has also urged a simple message to revellers: “Try to avoid needing us,” as they also anticipate tonight and this weekend to be “much busier than 2020”.
Ged Blezard – Director of Operations at NWAS – said: “We have already experienced a very challenging year with more people calling 999 than ever and our staff have been working exceptionally hard. However, the festive period traditionally brings with it an increase in a certain type of 999 call as people can get carried away while celebrating the time of year.
“While we want people to enjoy themselves, we want to use this opportunity to ask the public not to add any unnecessary extra burden on the service by behaving irresponsibly or treating our staff with disrespect if they are called to help.”
“Remember, 999 is for life-threatening incidents and emergencies only,” he concluded.
Greater Manchester Police also confirmed that force will be continuing its high visibility patrols across the city tonight and over this weekend.
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“We expect people to drink and act responsibly while enjoying their night – remembering to plan their journeys home in advance and not to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol above the legal limit,” a spokesperson told the MEN.
Featured Image – Factory Manchester
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‘Danger to life’ amber wind warning issued for Greater Manchester as Storm Éowyn arrives
Emily Sergeant
Storm Éowyn is expected to bring very strong winds and widespread disruption to Greater Manchester later this week.
In case you hadn’t heard, the Met Office named Storm Éowyn yesterday, and confirmed that it will begin to influence the UK’s weather from early on Friday – with strengthening winds initially expected in the south west first, accompanying heavy rainfall, before it quickly spreads to the north and the rest of the UK as the morning progresses.
An amber warning for wind has been issued for large parts of the UK, including the majority of Greater Manchester, for most of the day on Friday.
#StormÉowyn has been named and is forecast to bring strong winds to much of the UK on Friday and into Saturday.
Coming into effect from 6am this Friday (24 January), the weather warning his means that power cuts are likely to occur, transport services will be affected with delays and cancellations, and there is a chance that buildings could be damaged.
Worse than that though, there’s even a ‘danger to life’ too, with potential injuries occurring from flying debris.
Speaking ahead of Storm Éowyn’s arrival in a couple of days time, Mike Silverstone, who is the Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Storm Éowyn will bring a period of very unsettled, potentially disruptive, weather to the UK through Friday and into Saturday.
Warnings for strong winds, heavy rain and snow are in place across many parts of the UK during Thursday, Friday and into the weekend ⚠️
“The strongest gusts are likely to be felt across parts of Northern Ireland, northern England, northwestern Wales and western Scotland, where exposed sites could get gusts in excess of 80mph, which has the potential to cause impacts for those in these areas.
“There will also be some heavy rain, bringing some unpleasant conditions to end the week.”
The initial warning for Storm Éowyn has been issued several days in advance, so it’s important to stay up to date with the forecast on the Met Office website here in the coming days.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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The 2025/26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season has been delayed
Danny Jones
The next Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) season has been officially delayed by nearly three weeks.
Announced on Tuesday, 21 January, the decision has been taken in an effort to help promote the Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC), the proximity of which is rather close to the national union championship competition.
With sporting bodies also trying to nurture a growing interest in female rugby, the start of the next PWR season will be pushed back not only to give players more time to rest but in an effort to drive a larger audience to the WRWC as well, the final of which is being played here in England.
The hope is that it will also better the Red Roses’ chances of winning the international tournament in turn – fingers firmly crossed.
Get excited 🤩
The PWR 2025-26 Season will officially kick off on Saturday 25th October PLUS the PWR Cup will return 🙌
The conclusion of the international tournament is taking place at Twickenham Stadium in London on 27 September, just days before the 2025/26 Premiership season was due to start.
Local side Sale Sharks are sadly at the bottom of the table this current campaign, which kicked off on 5 October 2024 and ends this March, but with eyes already on the WRWC the focus for lots of players in the division will no doubt already be shifting.
Not only is the domestic women’s rugby season being delayed by nearly three whole weeks – meaning the first games won’t happen until 25 October – but this comes after the current schedule of fixtures was also reduced with player recovery in mind ahead of the World Cup.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the PWR’s operations manager, Amy Walmsley, said: “The Rugby World Cup is a generational moment for women’s rugby and will create a huge opportunity for both PWR and our clubs to grow and celebrate with their fans.
“The optimum time between the Rugby World Cup Final and our first league match will ensure we capitalise on what we already know will be the biggest and best World Cup ever, while also ensuring player welfare with adequate rest across the season.”
The stats back it up too as 2024 saw numerous milestones for the women’s game; in addition to record crowds at the Olympics, last year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations was the most viewed on record with 8.1 million fans tuning in, not to mention an increased interest among 18-24-year-olds.
You can find the run-down of the Sale Sharks Women fixtures below:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗜𝗻
All of our fixtures for the 24/25 season are locked in. Let's bring that Northern roar to every game #SharksFamily 🦈
As for the final of the Premiership Women’s Rugby, the date has been reverted to its usual window in June, which should also fit within what congestion remains.
Nevertheless, with the Women’s Six Nations in late April and England – who have won all but one of their last 51 games – set to begin their World Cup on 22 August, the margins are still going to be somewhat fine if they are to head into the tournament in the best shape possible.
With the tickets selling extremely well, the expectation is that the Rugby World Cup final break is set to break the world record for the best-attended women’s rugby fixture in history.
In the meantime, Greater Manchester is gearing up for the men’s action as the Six Nations gets underway at the end of this month and the city is boasting the perfect place to watch it.
Emily Sergeant -
17th December 2021 
