Give yourselves a pat on the back, you lot — we’ve started off the new year in style just like we knew we would, as Manchester has officially been voted one of the best places in the world to visit in 2024, according to the only and only New York Times.
No. 12, to be specific. How’s that for repping the North?
That’s right, we were already comfortably named among the best places in the UK to visit in 2024 but year after year, the rest of the world is slowly but surely starting to realise what we’ve always known to be true: Manchester is mint, be it to live, work or play, sing and dance; eat, drink and everything in between.
Penned by Andy Haslam and Nora Walsh specifically when it came to our entry, Manchester was picked out on account of its arts scene — music being the standout — as well as its overall “revitalisation” over the past few years.
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Defining us as a “music-mad city” with new artists and venues popping up left, right and centre, The NYT picked out just a few highlights in what we know is going to be another massive year for 0161.
It starts off by stating that “music has long been at the core of Manchester’s gritty soul, from Joy Division and the Stone Roses to Oasis and, now, Harry Styles, who is backing Britain’s largest new music arena, Co-op Live, set to open in April.
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“Stars like Liam Gallagher, Eric Clapton and Barry Manilow are booked to inaugurate the 23,500-capacity space, which will complement the reopening of concert halls like the post-punk incubator Band on the Wall and New Century, where the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Tina Turner have all graced the stage.”
The column then goes on to shine a light on emerging talent, detailing how “the city will host two major music conferences this year, including Worldwide Music Expo, a behemoth packed with concerts, speakers, films and an awards ceremony, as well as Beyond the Music, which made its debut in 2023.
Following on from its inaugural warm-up event, they describe the festival as a “smorgasbord of performances, parties, workshops and more”.
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They also give a shout-out to Aviva Studios, naming Laurie Anderson as one of their top picks, as the American writer, director, visual artist and vocalist is set to headline the Factory International Arts Centre’s 2024 programme with ‘ARK‘ — a multimedia “dark comedy for the end of the world.”
Believe us, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what this city has to offer.
To be honest, we don’t need some New York Times writer bigging us up; we already know how lucky we are not just to be able to visit and enjoy this city, but to be able to live here and soak up every ounce of the culture that Greater Manchester as a whole is brimming with each and every day.
But it is nice of them — cheers, folks.
And as for the world-famous Manc music scene in 2024, they couldn’t be more right: it’s going to be a massive year and this little corner of the internet is exactly where you need to be if you want to make sure you don’t miss a single second of it.
Featured Image — The Manc Group/Anthony Mooney (supplied)/Manchester Pride
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Danny Jones -
13th January 2024 
