Manchester Museum has been shortlisted as one of the best museums in Europe at a special awards ceremony.
Undeniably one of the most prestigious museum awards in the world, the annual European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) is an annual prize given to the best of the best on our continent, and for 2025, Manchester Museum – which is part of the University of Manchester (UoM) – will compete against 41 other cultural hubs.
Operated by the European Museum Forum (EMF), EMYA recognises new or redeveloped museums that showcase the best in excellence and innovation in their field.
According to the organisation, the aim of the award is to shine a worthy spotlight on museums that promote inter-cultural dialogue and community participation, demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, and show creative and imaginative approaches to the production of knowledge.
Manchester Museum has been shortlisted for the European Museum of the Year Award for 2025 / Credit: Manchester Museum
The nomination for Manchester Museum comes after its recent £15 million transformation project.
The major bricks and mortar redevelopment introduced new galleries, partnerships, visitor facilities, and sector-leading work around repatriation, restitution, and indigenisation to what was an already-important visitor attraction in our city centre, as well as the top floor being transformed into an environmental and social justice hub for environmental and educational charities to address issues affecting communities within Manchester.
“This nomination means an awful lot to the whole team at Manchester Museum, because it recognises our efforts to make this a place where everyone belongs,” explained Esme Ward, who is Manchester Museum’s Director.
“The Museum’s redevelopment was about much more than just bricks and mortar, it was about transforming our spaces and our approach to ensure we’re the museum our city and communities need us to be.”
The winner of next year’s EMYA is set to be announced in Białistok in Poland on 25 May 2025.
Aside from the main prize, there are also a number of other awards categories too – which Manchester Museum could also be in the running for.
Featured Image – Chris Bull (via Manchester Museum)
News
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
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 it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services 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.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
Emily Sergeant -
28th November 2024 
