A lineup of local artists and creatives are coming together for this year’s Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity gala dinner to help raise money for the region’s homeless community.
Marking the third year of the event, the 2025 gala dinner isn’t just an annual occasion on the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (GMMC) calendar but is a major fundraising event for their flagship ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which works wonders in combatting homelessness each year.
Last year alone, more than 50 local businesses and organisations attended the affair, raising nearly £15,000 for the crucial cause at the heart of the GMMC‘s work. Incredible stuff.
2024 saw an insightful Q&A with the Mayor himself, Andy Burnham; Coronation Street‘s Julia Goulding carrying out hosting duties, as well as live DJ sets from some notable names – and they’re determined to double down for this latest edition.
As you can see, as well as Burnham returning to talk big picture stuff and reinforce how vital this work is – alongside the Charity’s CEO and lead, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock, as ever – the lineup for this year’s gala dinner is looking extremely exciting.
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In addition to speeches from veteran broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake, who will discuss the importance of prevention work and the impact of A Bed Every Night (ABEN), local presenter Matty White will be taking over as chief host of the evening at the wonderful New Century Hall.
‘Professional doodler’ Dave Draws is creating a piece of original art live as the evening unfolds which will be entered into an auction on the night, with exclusive limited edition prints also available, and guests will also be treated to a plethora of music and DJ sets from top local talents.
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The lineup includes Manchester’s very own Anna Kathryn Lynch, a headline performance from set from Mr Scruff Bb2b with MC Kwasi, as well as Salford-based ‘The Blind Poet’, who will perform a live reading of an original poem which shares the name of Charity’s pioneering scheme.
As for the audience taking all this in, a total of 350 guests from the North West business community are set to gather for the annual gala dinner and with over £30k raised in the last two years alone, the target is big but, if we know Greater Manchester’s generous spirit like we think we do, it’s achievable.
Naturally, with donations from the likes of SJM Concerts, Engine Number 4; AO Arena, New Century themselves and many more, there will also be a raffle with an enviable range of prizes on offer for those in attendance to win whilst doing their bit for the charity.
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The Chair of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, Tim Heatley, said of the upcoming event: “Our gala dinner is about celebrating the charity’s successes and this year, we’re making the event bigger and better by uniting the best of Manchester’s businesses under one roof.
It’s an unmissable evening for networking with industry leaders and a fantastic opportunity to join the growing number of organisations that are collaborating to help end homelessness.”
Gemma Vaughan, general manager for chief sponsors AO Arena, added: “The AO Arena is and always has been a proud supporter of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity. We’ve been part of the fabric of Manchester for three decades now, and it is truly our honour to bring joy to this great City.
“Our longevity wouldn’t be possible without the support of local people, and it’s important to us that we recognise this and give back where we can. We remain dedicated to Manchester, and always will be.”
The Charity’s work is never done and they deliver various key activations throughout the year, such as The Manchester 24-Hour Run Against Homelessness which blew people away with its fundraising power once again back in November 2024.
Taking place at New Century on Thursday, 27 March, tables and sponsorship opportunities are now available for businesses across Greater Manchester, with welcome drinks for local gin bar Atlas and flowers from Victoria Rose adorning the room.
We’ll level with you, they might not be cheap but they do seat six, packages are available and it’s for a cause that’s importance cannot be overstated.
If you’re interested in the charity dinner or figuring out other ways you can help the local homeless community, you can reach out for more information by emailing [email protected], or just visit Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity’s events page HERE.
No one should ever have to sleep rough, so let’s do our very best to make it a thing of the past.
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Featured Images — Emma Farrer (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
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All Greater Manchester boroughs to have 24-7 night buses from next month as new services launch
Emily Sergeant
Extra night buses, new routes, and more frequent bus services are being rolled out across the Bee Network at the end of this month.
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 plans to introduce these from September onwards have been confirmed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford will all get a 24-hour bus service by next month, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that once the new services have launched, it 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.
Some of the other changes set to be introduced from next month include a selection of brand-new bus services, and more frequent buses during the day and at the weekends.
All Greater Manchester boroughs will have 24-7 night buses from next month / Credit: TfGM
There will also be better connections overall to key employment and leisure destinations like Manchester Airport, Trafford Centre, MediaCity, Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton, Kingsway Business Park, and Logistics North.
“The Bee Network belongs to the people of Greater Manchester and it needs to work for every community,” explained Mayor Bev Craig.
“As we build it, we’re listening and responding to what residents want with the biggest set of improvements we’ve ever made in one go.
🚌 More improvements are on the way across the #BeeNetwork.
36 service changes will benefit around 740,000 people across Greater Manchester, helping more communities access reliable, convenient public transport.
“We’re bringing night buses to every borough, launching new routes and ensuring buses run more often in the mornings, evenings and weekends. In doing so, we’re making it easier than ever for people to get around the city region by bus, but we’re also supporting our businesses, whose staff and customers need a reliable and safe way to reach them.
“Almost three quarters of a million people live within walking distance of a bus route we’re improving over the next few months, and we’ll continue improving connections for even more communities based on the feedback we get.”
Danny Jones -
5th March 2025 
