BeeU, a new festival in Manchester that was to be headlined by Steps, has been cancelled.
The festival informed ticket-holders over the weekend that its Platt Fields Park event would no longer take place.
Shortly afterwards, the BeeU website and its Instagram page were taken down.
Organisers said it was ‘not a decision taken lightly’ and thanked everyone who had supported the new event.
Pop group Steps were meant to be performing as part of their 25th anniversary tour around the UK.
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Steps’ statement on BeeU Festival. Credit: Facebook, Steps
The band said they were ‘disappointed’ that the event, along with Party at The Park in Perth, had been called off.
They wrote in a Tweet: “We are disappointed to announce that the promoters of BeeUFest Manchester on Jun 18 and Party at The Park in Perth on Jun 19 are no longer able to proceed with these festival shows. Please contact your point of purchase for refunds.
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“We are sad we won’t be seeing you on those dates but we hope you can make it to other shows in our #Steps25 summer run. All other dates are going ahead as planned.”
A statement from BeeU Festival organisers said: “We are deeply disappointed to have to announce that BeeUFest will not be going ahead this summer.
We are disappointed to announce that the promoters of BeeUFest Manchester on Jun 18 and Party at The Park in Perth on Jun 19 are no longer able to proceed with these festival shows. Please contact your point of purchase for refunds. pic.twitter.com/rs8DybEatk
“We have worked hard over the last few months to bring an exciting and vibrant new event to the centre of Manchester however, sadly, we have been unable to manage this.
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“We appreciate this will be hugely disappointing for our ticket holders, many of whom supported the event from the very beginning.”
All ticket-holders have been contacted and will automatically be issued refunds.
Ticket-holders have also been given free tickets to a Jubilee party in Sackville Gardens, which is being headlined by The Vengaboys, Cheeky Girls, and Cascada.
The replacement tickets also include entry to after-parties at Bar Pop and Churchill’s in the Gay Village.
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A further statement from BeeU Festival said: “We would like to thank everyone for their support that bought tickets.
“Unfortunately with large scale events comes great costs and we understood that at the beginning, we did everything in our means to promote this event and bring a brand new fun festival to Manchester, this summer, but unfortunately we can only do so much our end and due to this had to make the decision to cancel.
“This was not a decision taken lightly but one we had to make. All ticket holders have now been contacted and fully refunded. Once again we thank everyone that was in support of this event and bought tickets.”
Featured image: Steps
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Premier League Darts is returning to Manchester’s AO Arena in 2027
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Premier League Darts is confirmed to be returning to Manchester next year.
Now’s your chance to see the youngest world champion in darts history, AKA Warrington’s very-own Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, show us how it’s done, as next year’s BetMGM Premier League Darts lineup has just been announced this week – with various dates confirmed across 17 different cities in the UK and Europe.
And Manchester is one of those cities, as the AO Arena has shared that they are set to host an evening next April, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
This means that we will be lucky enough to witness the biggest names in world darts all under one roof, including headliners Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries, as well as Littler.
Manchester is the only northern city to get the pleasure of hosting the event next year, as Liverpool is also on the lineup, as is Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle, while elsewhere in the UK, the stars will travel to Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and several other major locations.
BetMGM Premier League Darts is to be held on Thursday 8 April at the AO Arena in Manchester, and to avoid being disappointed, fans are advised to register for presale ticket access.
Following a successful season of events in 2026, tickets are expected to be like gold-dust, so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
To access the first wave of tickets, fans must become an active PDCTV Annual Member before 23:59pm on Friday 9 October. Alternatively, general sale is on Thursday 22 October 2026, but make sure not to hang about.
Featured Image – Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has claimed he wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on fans getting to drink alcohol in football stands.
It’s a ban that’s been in place in the top five tiers of men’s football since 1985, when fears over violence and hooliganism were at their height, but now the Prime Minister has raised the question of whether drinking in football stands – or ‘drinking in sight / view of the pitch’, as it’s known formally – is actually unjust, due to the fact that same rules don’t apply to fans of other sports.
“I don’t think it’s fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” Andy Burnham has declared this week, grabbing headlines in the process.
He continued: “I think that legislation dates to an era where football was very different, and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.
“I’m not going to back away from what’s been a long-held view of mine. I don’t see how it can be fair that some supporters of one sport can be treated differently.”
The Prime Minister’s comments have been met with mixed response.
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands / Credit: James Kirkup | Julia Nastogadka (via Unsplash)
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), for example, has very much welcomed the idea, saying that it ‘totally agrees’ the legislation is ‘outdated’ and ‘deserves to be reviewed’.
Tom Greatrex, chair of the FSA, said in a statement: “The FSA has always argued that it’s unfair to criminalise football fans for having a pint while watching the match – especially since you can sit in the same seat drinking alcohol whilst watching an Oasis gig or rugby league.”
However, on the flip side, the UK Football Policing Unit said it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to change the rules without proper consultation.
“Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour,” it said in a statement on the matter.
The Prime Minister did state in his initial proposition though that ‘there are different ways it could be done’, hinting that it could be done ‘on a trial basis’ perhaps.
The English Football League (EFL) added that it would be ‘receptive to discussions around reviewing current legislation and permitting alcoholic drinks within view of the pitch’.
No formal details on a review have been confirmed as of yet, so fans are encouraged to stay tuned for updates in due course.
Daisy Jackson -
17th May 2022 
