News

Manchester festival cancels event – then deletes social media accounts and website

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 17th May 2022

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.

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.

“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 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.

“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.

Read more: Tributes, silences and applause planned for fifth anniversary of Manchester Arena attack

The replacement tickets also include entry to after-parties at Bar Pop and Churchill’s in the Gay Village.

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

News

All military personnel can travel for FREE on Manchester’s public transport this weekend

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant A Metrolink tram in Manchester city centre

All military personnel will be allowed to travel for free across Greater Manchester’s public transport system this weekend.

In case you hadn’t heard, this Saturday 28 June is Armed Forces Day.

Armed Forces Day sees Brits celebrate those who are currently serving troops, their families, serving reservists, veterans, and cadets, and Manchester will also be paying tribute to the hundreds who have ‘fearlessly served’ with day of commemorations in the city centre on Saturday.

Mancunians are expected to line the streets as a parade made up of armed forces personnel, veterans, and cadets will begin a procession that will proudly march through the centre of Manchester, starting in St Peter’s Square at 11:30am. 

You can also expect an afternoon of live performances by the lively Lancashire Army Artillery Band, alongside music hosted by BBC Radio DJ, Michelle Dignan, up until 4pm. 

Historic military displays, and stalls from organisations including the NHS, Royal British Legion, and Manchester City Council’s own Armed Forces Covenant, will also be in attendance, as well giving visitors the chance to explore an engaging display of military vehicles, uniforms, artefacts, and personal stories that span the rich legacy of the British armed forces inside a pop-up Military Museum tent.

This year’s Armed Forces Day is also particularly-special because it marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) which happened on 8 May, and the upcoming Victory over Japan (VJ Day) on 15 August.

All military personnel can travel for free on Manchester’s public transport this weekend / Credit: GMP | Bee Network

And so, in order to honour what an important weekend it is for hundreds in our region, the Bee Network has announced that all military personnel will be allowed to travel for free.

Free travel will be permitted on all Bee Network bus and tram services on both Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June for any members of the Regular and Reserve Services carrying their MOD90 card, veterans who carry their Veterans’ badge or Veterans’ rail card, and cadets travelling in uniform.

“The Armed Forces community makes an invaluable contribution to our society, and we’re showing our appreciation with free travel on Bee Network buses and trams across Greater Manchester this weekend,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

The free travel is part of TfGM’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly.

Read more:

“It’s a special weekend and one we’re proud to get behind,” Danny concluded.

Featured Image – Janus Boye

News

Stockport paedophile jailed after ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in early 2000s

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Christopher Oates

A prolific paedophile has been sentenced after admitting to ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in the early 2000s.

Christopher Oates, from Stockport, has been brought to justice this week after he subjected vulnerable girls to what Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has referred to as a ‘campaign’ of violence and sexual abuse 20 years ago.

The court heard how the 45-year-old groomed one of the survivors from when she was just 14 years old, by providing her with a false sense of security, paying her compliments, and pretending to be her boyfriend, all before he proceeded to ply her with drugs, gifts, and affection, and using the trust and control he gained to persuade her to start sex work on the streets of Manchester.

When the teenage victim began to doubt his intentions and asked to go home, Oates dragged her down an alleyway, violently attacked her, and threatened her with a gun, stating: ‘You do as I say, you’re mine now,’ commanding her to go to her ‘spot’.

It was this incident that prompted the teenager to confide in her mother and support services, and from here, found the strength to move forward with her life, while still courageously supporting the police investigation.

From this investigation, detectives were then able to identify a second teenage victim, a 17-year-old, who Oates also coerced into sex work.

The two victims recall Oates taking them to a designated spot in central Manchester at least once a week to carry out sex acts in cars for money.

Oates would supply both victims with cocaine and alcohol, and even pressured them to take crack cocaine and heroin, aiming to build an addiction and increase their dependency on him.

In April 2024, Oates pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children, taking indecent images of children, and attempting to engage a child in sexual communication, as well as pleading to the production of cannabis and two counts of possessing an identity document with improper intent.

After being remanded into custody, on 5 September 2024, Oates was postal charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15 years old, and two counts causing / inciting a child aged 13-17 years to prostitution.

A paedophile from Stockport has been jailed after ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in the early 2000s / Credit: GMP

In March earlier this year on the fourth day of his trial, Oates admitted to the offences, and this week (25 June 2025), he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for all his crimes.

“I would like to commend the two women at the centre of this case for the strength they demonstrated throughout our investigation and subsequent legal proceedings,” commented Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Eleanor Humphreys, from GMP’s CSE Major Investigations Team, as Oates was sentenced this week.

“It has been an arduous process for them to relieve the horrific abuse, and I am so grateful they placed their trust and confidence in our team to pursue justice.

“Their resilience and determination were the driving force behind reaching today’s outcome, where a dangerous man begins serving a lengthy sentence behind bars, far away from causing any more harm or misery.

Read more:

“Despite Oates’s cowardly attempts to evade facing justice, the evidence we uncovered was overwhelming, and his crimes finally caught up with him.

“I hope this brings these survivors a sense of closure after all these years.”

Featured Image – GMP

More News

Feature

You can sleep in a luxury train carriage at an old railway station in Greater Manchester

Affiliate

Olivia Rodrigo at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for GUTS: Spilled tour

Audio

Popular noodle bar Chopstix to host ALL-NEW live music event in Manchester

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches