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Major Manchester gig WILL be going ahead after band cancels prior dates

Save me a plate… I mean ticket.

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia - 8th October 2024

An upcoming gig in Manchester is still scheduled to go ahead even in light of recent high-profile cancellations of previous dates.

After a string of UK tour date cancellations, The Last Dinner Party, an all-female indie band, are ready to continue with the remaining shows including the upcoming event in Manchester.

Their breakout hit ‘Nothing Matters’ and accompanying album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ set them off to a very good start in the music industry and won them their very first BRIT for ‘Rising Star’ this year.

The band have called Manchester home four times playing The Deaf Institute in 2023 and more recently O2 Victoria Warehouse last month.

But during their scheduled gig in Lincoln on 28 September, upon entering the venue fans were left feeling ‘uncomfortable and disrespected’ with a security policy at the show which led to many male fans being searched by staff at the venue.

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The London-based indie rock band released a statement saying these security checks ‘would not have been implemented had we been made aware of them in advance’.

Unfortunately, the gig was cancelled while fans were in the venue and a show in Cardiff got the axe shortly after too, this time ‘due to illness’.

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Their headlining dates for Birmingham and three other UK cities were also cancelled after receiving medical advice, but now they’re back and fighting stronger than ever.

An official statement recently shared on the band’s instagram read: “We want to express how truly sorry we are to have missed the shows this past week and how grateful we are to you all for supporting and understanding whilst we take the time needed to feel better.”

The Last Dinner Party Manchester gig WILL be going ahead after band cancels several shows prior
The Last Dinner Party Manchester gig WILL be going ahead. Credit: @thelastdinnerparty on Instagram.

In this, The Last Dinner Party updated fans that they’re excited to play Dublin feeling “revitalised” which commences tonight and if all goes well they will be gracing the crowds of Manchester at the end of the week.

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The Last Dinner Party are set to perform their fifth Manchester gig and second show at O2 Victoria Warehouse on 11 October just three weeks since their last stint in our city.

Tickets for The Last Dinner Party’s upcoming Manchester show are still available and onsale here.

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Featured image: Publicity picture

News

Manchester City win watershed case against Premier League over sponsorship rules

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City win legal case against Premier League over sponsorship rules

Manchester City have landed an early blow in what is set to be a long and arduous series of legal proceedings over the coming months as they have won a case against the Premier League over their rules around sponsorship and related party transactions.

The current English champions, who have won a record four Premier League titles in a row, launched legal action against the division back in June after claiming that their restrictions around Associated Party Transactions (APT) rules and sponsorships were unfair and unlawful.

Now, as it turns out, an independent panel of three retired judges ultimately concluded that the rules were unlawful and, at least in part, contrary to the Competition Act 1998.

The details of the case are obviously numerous and complex but, in short, it has been found that Man City were unfairly blocked from moving forward with two huge sponsorship deals earlier this year.

Although the outcome has been somewhat debated by the league itself, it was decided that the imposed regulations were unfair and “discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.”

Issuing a statement following the decision, the Premier League said they “welcome the Tribunal’s findings, which endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system”, adding that it also “upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of City’s challenges” while reiterating that the rules are necessary for their “financial controls to be effective”. 

They went on to add that “the decision represents an important and detailed assessment of the APT Rules, which ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties.”

Meanwhile, the City Football Group responded to the news in a series of bullet points, insisting that the “Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position, […] had reached the decisions in a procedurally unfair manner” and that they will now have to “restate the fair market value of two transactions entered into by the Club.”

Safe to say people have noted quite a distinct difference in tone when it comes to statements from the two parties regarding associated parties and their transactions with clubs but, nevertheless, it’s a victory for the Manc club could have a huge knock-on effect regarding how much teams can spend in the future.

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The Premier League have also reassured that two particular aspects of the existing rules that didn’t fully comply with the Competition Act will be rectified promptly and will be “conducting a process that can allow the league and clubs to enact those specific changes quickly and effectively”.

Not only does this mean that CFG is likely to restart conversations with the two blocked parties – one being the Etihad Group and another with a bank based in Abu Dhabi – but that other clubs could now potentially look into further lucrative sponsorship deals, although ‘fair market value’ will still be assessed.

You can read page 164 of the document which summarises the full Tribunal HERE.

Meanwhile, the still outstanding case against Man City over their 115 charges regarding FFP breaches has now begun, though a decision is still a ways off.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Premier League

News

Date set for Manchester’s move to London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport system

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

The date for Manchester’s switch to a London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport system has officially been set.

With just three months to go until all buses in Greater Manchester are back under local control, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now set the date for the introduction of capped contactless payments on the Bee Network in a bid to “support multi-modal travel”, and it’s already being described as a “huge step forward”.

TfGM believes contactless pay-as-you-go systems on buses and trams will make travel easier overall, as it’ll guarantee passengers pay the right fare for their journey.  

But how exactly will it work?

Well, similar to how customers currently travel on the Metrolink, passengers will be able to use their bank card or smart payment device to touch in on all Bee Network bus services, and rest assured knowing that they will only be charged the lowest fare up to the daily cap of £5, or the new weekly cap of £20.

Under the new system, people travelling by Bee Network bus will simply ‘touch on’ as they board the service.

Not only that, but passengers will also be able to travel across both Metrolink and Bee Network bus services at the same time, and only be charged a single multi-modal fare, instead of having to plan or buy tickets in advance – which is similar to travelling in London.

Passengers who use both Bee Network bus and Metrolink can use pay as you go for unlimited all-day travel across Greater Manchester, which is expected to cost a maximum of £9.50, or £7.80 if you start your journey after 9:30am or at weekends.

Journeys will be cheaper if travelling across fewer Metrolink zones.

Manchester is set to move to London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport payment system / Credit: TfGM

For the time being, TfGM has confirmed that pay as you go travel will operate with adult fares only, but this may be rolled-out to others in the future.

“Pay as you go will be launching across Bee Network buses to build on the system that has been in place on the Metrolink since 2019,” explained Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

“This is a massive step forward in terms of delivering a London-style transport network for the people of Greater Manchester, putting our region on par with not only the capital, but also major cities across the world that offer seamless integrated travel by public transport.”

Mr Burnham also said it’ll be “affordable and easier to pay for”, and will ultimately “take the worry out of choosing the right ticket”.

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Manchester’s switch to ‘touch in, touch out’ payment across the Bee Network will arrive on 23 March 2025.

Featured Image – TfGM

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