Manchester has officially been named the 28th most liveable in the world, according to a prestigious annual ranking.
And our city has ranked quite a bit higher than some other heavy-hitters.
The new Global Liveability Index for 2022 – which is published each year by The Economist, and assesses and ranks locations around the world based on whether they provide the best or the worst living conditions for residents – has officially been released today, and it’s revealed that Manchester has taken the 28th spot on the list.
A total of 173 cities across the world have been ranked, and every city is assigned a rating for ‘relative comfort’ for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories – stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable, or intolerable.
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For the qualitative indicators, a rating is awarded based on the judgment of the The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU)’s team of expert analysts and in-city contributors, and for quantitative indicators, a rating is calculated based on the relative performance of a number of external data points, and then, the scores are compiled and weighted to provide a score.
The Global Liveability Index for 2022 has been published, and Manchester has ranked at 28 / Credit: Unsplash (Josh Taylor | Fraser Cottrell)173 cities were ranked on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure / Credit: Thomas Foster (via Unsplash)
When it comes to the range of scoring, cities are given a score between one and 100, where one is considered intolerable, and 100 is considered ideal.
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This year, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and how well a city has recovered, has been incorporated into the overall liveability score – with the introduction of new indicators to assess stress and restriction levels for each city.
The liveability rating is provided both as an overall score and as a score for each category.
Manchester’s ranking at number 28 sounds even more impressive when you realise we have beaten out some real European heavy-hitters such as Spain’s cities of Barcelona (35) and Madrid (43), and Italy’s northern gem Milan (49), as well as other global tourist hotspots like the US city of New York at 51, and China’s capital Beijing at 71.
The index rates living conditions in 172 cities based on more than 30 factors, including indicators related to covid. These are grouped into five categories:
🕊 Stability 🏥 Health care 🌳 Culture and environment 📚 Education 🏗 Infrastructure
We’ve even beaten out our country’s own capital city too, with London coming in at number 33 on the 2022 rankings.
But which city has clinched the title as the most liveable city in the world for 2022? And what other cities have featured in the coveted top 10? Well, this year, the Austrian capital of Vienna has reclaimed the crown it wore back in 2018 and 2019 after knocking New Zealand’s Aukland off the top spot.
The Danish capital of Copenhagen has moved up 13 places from last year to take the second spot, and Zurich in Switzerland now shares third place with Calgary in Canada – which has risen from 18th position.
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Fellow Swiss city Geneva came sixth, Germany’s Frankfurt seventh, the Netherlands’ capital of Amsterdam at ninth, and the Australian city of Melbourne took 10th place.
NHS says it’s battling with ‘worst case scenario’ as flu cases surge nationwide
Emily Sergeant
Flu hospitalisations have surged by more than half in just one week, plunging the NHS into the ‘worst case scenario’.
Shocking new figures have revealed that an nn average of 2,660 patients per day were in a hospital bed with flu last week, which is the highest-ever for this time of year and up 55% up on last week – which, when put into perspective, means there are enough flu patients each day to fill more than three whole hospital trusts.
NHS bosses have warned that the total has already increased sharply since the week covered by the data, and at this time, there is thought to be no ‘peak’ in sight.
These new figures come as demand for A&Es and ambulance services are already soaring.
The number of patients in hospital with flu has risen by over 50% in the last week, reaching a record number for this time of year – and numbers continue to grow.
New monthly figures showed that A&E attendances were a record for November at 2.35 million and more than 30,000 higher than November 2024, while there were 48,814 more ambulance incidents compared to last year.
The record-breaking demand also comes just ahead of thousands of resident doctors going on strike this week from 17-22 December – with ‘major disruption’ expected for patients ahead of Christmas.
The public are advised to attend any planned appointments scheduled during the strikes, unless they have been contacted to reschedule.
Primary and urgent and emergency care services will continue to be available for those who need them, during the industrial action.
NHS says it’s battling with the ‘worst case scenario’ as flu cases surge nationwide / Credit: Pxhere
The public should use 111 online as their first port of call for urgent but not life-threatening issues so that they can be directed to the best place for their needs, while patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal.
“With record demand for A&E and ambulances and an impending resident doctors strike, this unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year – with staff being pushed to the limit to keep providing the best possible care for patients,” commented Professor Meghana Pandit, who is the NHS National Medical Director.
“Even worse, it continues to rise and the peak is not in sight yet, so the NHS faces an extremely challenging few weeks ahead.
“We have prepared earlier for winter than ever before, and stress-tested services to ensure people have a range of ways to get the help they need and avoid needing to go to A&E.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the flu surge as a ‘tidal wave’.
“We are working with the NHS to make sure it is able to cope with this as best as possible,” he concluded.
Featured Image – Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
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Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and hands out Christmas presents in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Erling Haaland has doubled as Father Christmas in his latest YouTube stunt, dressing up as Santa and handing out presents to local kids in the new episode.
We’re starting to think he might be one of the most likeable footballers on the planet right now.
The Norwegian footballer recently surpassed Alan Shearer’s ‘fastest to 100 goals record’ in the Premier League and has been well and truly back to his best as Man City continue to rediscover their form, but the big blonde number nine has been delighting both on and off the pitch of late.
For starters, even before any of the season’s givings began, we got the giggle just from our first glimpse of the thumbnail.
Yes, Haaland definitely has a habit of leaning into the humorous side of his celebrity status, having already dressed up as the Joker for Halloween in one of the first episodes published on his still relatively new YouTube channel.
However, the 25-year-old got up to some more heartwarming activities this time around, swapping the face paint, green wig and stripey suit for a red coat, hat, some little glasses and a big white beard.
With the video itself showing him getting into character and loading his car with a sack full of presents, he then goes on to visit multiple houses to dish out the surprise gifts.
While the title and description state that he drove around the streets of 0161, it’s hard to tell where exactly he went, but we’d guess it was more around Alderley Edge and/or the Cheshire side of the Greater Manchester borders.
One particular interaction between the disguised Blue and a young Red certainly produced a harmless little bit of comedy…
Either way, on the whole, this particular instalment was more wholesome than it was funny, and it’s always nice to see sports personalities and famous people spreading kindness.
Obviously, not everyone can afford to be as generous as a Premier League and world-famous international athlete, but it’s nevertheless a nice touch.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd June 2022 
