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King Charles III’s Coronation to be shown on a big screen in Piccadilly Gardens

The historic ceremony is to officially be held on 6 May 2023.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 17th March 2023

The historic coronation of King Charles III is to be shown on dozens of big screens in public places all over the UK.

And one of those places will be Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre.

It was confirmed by Buckingham Palace back in October 2022 that the coronation of King Charles III is to officially be held on 6 May 2023.

King Charles III acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022, and on the day of his coronation will be 74 years old – which makes him the oldest person to be crowned monarch in British history.

The King will be coronated alongside his wife and the Queen Consort, Camilla, in a religious ceremony held at Westminster Abbey in London – which is the same place his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II‘s coronation was held in 1953, as was her State Funeral in September of last year.

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The ceremony will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

King Charles III’s Coronation will be shown on a big screen in Piccadilly Gardens / Credit: The Royal Family

Expected to be a more “simmered down” event in comparison to that of the late Queen’s, Buckingham Palace said the coronation will “reflect the monarch’s role today”, adding in a statement that it will “look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry” – with more details about the ceremony expected to be announced “in due course”.

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During ceremony, Charles will be anointed with holy oil, and then blessed and consecrated by the archbishop, before he is then crowned with St Edward’s Crown.

Camilla will also be anointed and crowned during the ceremony.

And now, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has revealed that a budget of £1 million will be dished out to local Councils to enable them to erect large screens in cities and towns nationwide, so the public can collectively come together and watch the historic event surrounded by hundreds of others.

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29 locations for big screens have already been confirmed, according to the DCMS, and seven more areas have also been agreed upon, but these exact locations are yet to be revealed.

“The coronation will be a magical moment that brings people together to celebrate the best of Britain over a special weekend in May,” Culture Secretary Liz Frazer said.

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“These big screens, in major locations in towns and cities in the four nations of the UK, will make it easier for everyone to take part and have a memorable experience to mark this exciting and historic event.”

As well as the Piccadilly Gardens screen, it’s also been confirmed that a big screen will pop-up in Parliament Square in Oldham too.

Featured Image – The Royal Family

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Police seize an estimated £6m worth of counterfeit goods from Rochdale industrial units

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Rochdale counterfeit goods

Police have seized an estimated £6 million worth of counterfeit goods from several industrial units in Rochdale.

It comes after the Trading Standards team and officers from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Rochdale Neighbourhood Policing Team attended a joint visit to a business park, at Crown Top Lane, on the afternoon of Thursday 1 May last week, following the receiving of some intelligence that an Organised Crime Gang from Cheetham Hill had extended their operation and opened another site in Rochdale. 

According to GMP, the visit was part of a ‘targeted operation’ tackling organised crime in the Castleton area of Rochdale. 

When police arrived on the scene, seven units containing counterfeit goods – including a range of branded sports trainers, perfumes, luxury accessories, high-end tech products, and illicit cigarettes – were all discovered.

Two men, aged 29 and 70 were present at the site, and they were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession and control of counterfeit goods.

Police have seized an estimated £6m worth of counterfeit goods from Rochdale industrial units / Credit: GMP

They have been bailed pending further enquiries, GMP revealed.

Due to the large scale of the boxed goods, the scene was secured overnight and officers and trading standards returned the following day (Friday 2 May) with a HGV to recover all the items.

Police are now appealing to the public for information, with Inspector Anthony Taylor, from GMP’s Rochdale Neighbourhood Policing Team, explaining that it takes any intelligence submitted by the public ‘seriously’ and acts upon it ‘accordingly’.

“If you have any concerns about organised criminals operating in your area, please get in touch with us,” he concluded.

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Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101, or via the LiveChat function on the GMP website. 

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. 

Featured Image – GMP

News

The annual Manchester Remembers Foundation charity football match has shut down

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Remembers charity game 2025 cancelled

The annual Manchester Remembers charity football match has been cancelled for 2025, and unfortunately, the wider Foundation has also shut down for the foreseeable.

Set up back in 2020, the Manchester Remembers charity game was created to help raise funds for the families of those lost in the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena attack, raising nearly £200,000 in donations for multiple organisations.

It has been a truly treasured community event across Greater Manchester, welcoming thousands to the likes of Manchester City Academy Stadium and Oldham Athletic‘s Boundary Park, as well as spotlighting local musicians and notable figures volunteering their help for a deeply important cause.

However, the Foundation is now set to hang up its boots. Confirming the news over the bank holiday weekend, founders Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan shared “a difficult statement to make and a decision not taken lightly.”

As explained in the lengthy and emotional post, it is with a “heavy heart” that this year’s charity match has now been officially cancelled, and tickets already purchased up to this point are now being refunded.

Having played a small part in helping spread awareness around the game and the Foundation since it began, we were gutted to learn of this sad news.

The 2025 MCR Remembers game was scheduled to take place this June at a new venue for the event, Bury FC’s home ground at Gigg Lane, but following what they have labelled “a lack of support” from Greater Manchester leaders and “influential people needed to carry the event forward.”

Lee – a former police officer turned firefighter who was one of the emergency responders on 22 May, 2017 – went on to share a follow-up video reflecting on the announcement.

As he puts in the piece to camera, he says that even if those who had been reached out to in recent times were to suddenly respond, that it is “sadly too late.”

Taking time to thank not only past sponsors, managers, ex-pros and celebrity players who have been part of the event in the past, but everyone who bought tickets to the event(s) over the past few years, stating simply: “We cant thank you enough.”

Lee, who was given both a Chief Fire Officers Commendation and British Citizen Award in 2024, went on to address those “so-called leaders and influential people” in a subsequent post, adding: “All we needed was a bit of help. But we were ignored. Thanks for the memories.”

Unsurprisingly, the comments on social media have been awash with messages of love, support and sadness upon learning of this year’s cancellation and the end of The Manchester Remembers Foundation after more than half a decade.

There is some hope, though, as he ends the video by saying, “Who knows if this is the end or not? […] I dare say we’ll be back at some point.” We can only keep our fingers crossed he’s right and the MCR Remembers charity game won’t be shut down for good.

Manchester will always remember.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Manchester Remembers Foundation

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