News

Manchester set for its busiest weekend of the year with people urged to ‘plan ahead’

It's almost like it's Christmas or something.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 25th November 2025

Manchester is gearing up for what’s set to be its busiest weekend of the year, and people traveling into the city centre are being urged to ‘plan ahead’.

It’s officially a month to go until Christmas Day is here, and with the festive countdown now well under way, especially with Black Friday coming up at the end of this week (28 November) too, shoppers will be eager to bag a bargain and get some Christmas gifts for their loved ones – heading to the city centre shops or Christmas Markets.

This weekend, and Saturday (29 November) in particular, is traditionally one of the busiest of the year, and even saw the highest footfall in the city centre last year.

As well as people heading to the city centre to shop, there are also several other events happening across the weekend.

Manchester City host Leeds in a 3pm kick-off at the Etihad Stadium, while Bad Omens, and Sonny Fodera play Co-op Live on Friday and Saturday night respectively, while Wolf Alice are also set to return to Manchester for a Black Friday performance at the AO Arena.

ADVERTISEMENT

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), Manchester City Council, and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are all working together to manage the volume of people expected into the city centre this weekend – but even despite their efforts, people are still being urged to plan ahead, especially when it comes to transport.

Anyone looking to beat the traffic is encouraged to make use of the Bee Network, with trams and buses being both the quickest and cheapest way to travel this weekend.

ADVERTISEMENT

TfGM says roads are expected to be ‘very busy’ during peak times this weekend, so it’s important that anyone planning to make their way into the city centre by vehicle avoid the busiest periods if they can.

The busiest times are predicted to be 3pm to 7pm on Friday, 4pm to 9pm on Saturday, and 3pm to 6:30pm on Sunday.

The Manchester Christmas Markets. Credit: Supplied, Manchester City Council
The Manchester Christmas Markets. Credit: Supplied, Manchester City Council
Manchester is set for its busiest weekend of the year with people urged to ‘plan ahead’ / Credit: Manchester City Council

Some of the extra measures currently in place to help people get in an around the city centre this week include free pop-up park and ride services, later trams and all-night buses, dedicated matchday shuttle buses, and changes at key locations to help improve congestion.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s also worth noting that some TfGM staff are currently taking part in strike action until this Friday (28 November) meaning some facilities – such as ticket offices and toilets – may be closed, however bus and tram services will run as normal.   

“The countdown to Christmas is now in full swing and Black Friday weekend is always sure to be one of the busiest times of the year for the city centre,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is TfGM’s Chief Network Officer.

“Public transport will be the best way to get around, save money, and avoid getting stuck in traffic [which is why] we’re providing 1,000 additional parking spaces with our pop-up park and rides, putting on late night services, and running as many buses and trams as we possibly can.

Read more:

“We want to help people enjoy everything the season has to offer, so please remember to plan your journeys and leave yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going.”

Get all the latest travel updates this weekend on the Bee Network website here.

Featured Image – TfGM

News

Six teenage boys arrested following stabbing of 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant GMP synagogue attack

Six teenage boys have been arrested following the stabbing of a 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre over the weekend.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘serious assault’ near the Riverside Shopping Centre in central Rochdale on Saturday (29 August), and when they arrived on the scene, they found that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed.

The young boy currently remains in hospital receiving treatment, while a police investigation into the incident is open and ongoing.

Two teenage boys were first arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article on the same day the incident occurred (29 August), but have since been released on bail.

Officers then made four further arrests yesterday (31 August), again all teenage boys who were arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article, with enquires ongoing.

A Section 60 and 60AA ‘stop and search’ authority was introduced in Rochdale town centre following the recent incidents in area and following reports of youths carrying weapons in the locality, and this has now been extended to 3pm today (Tuesday 1 September).

“This was a serious and sustained attack that could have had far more tragic consequences,” explained Detective Superintendent, Richard Hunt .”Our team of experienced detectives is working around the clock to understand exactly what happened, identify all those involved, and secure the strongest possible evidence.

“We will relentlessly pursue every lead available to us and will leave no stone unturned in bringing all those responsible before the courts.

“Community safety remains our absolute priority, and we are committed to ensuring those who seek to bring violence onto our streets are held fully accountable for their actions.”

Read more:

Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the incident, was in the town centre at the time, or has any mobile phone, CCTV, or dashcam footage, is urged to come forward and speak to police on 101, quoting log 2750 of 29/08/2026, or using the LiveChat function on the GMP website.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. 

Featured Image – GMP

News

High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review

Amy Williams Amy Williams

What a night spent reliving our childhood.

Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.

We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.

The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending. 

High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)

From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see. 

Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming. 

Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.

It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)

There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along. 

If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant. 

Read more:

Celebrating 20 years of the trilogy, this brand-new production is at the Lowry until 19 September, make sure you grab tickets before it’s too late.

Get them here.

Featured Image – Matt Crockett (Supplied)

More News

Fontaines D.C. are heading back to Manchester on their new European tour

Audio

Fontaines D.C. announce massive return to Manchester on new European tour

Kids at Chester Zoo

Cheshire

Chester Zoo announces return of its £10 tickets for limited time only with extended opening hours

Business

Manchester Airport releases statement after customer data stolen in ‘targeted’ cyber security attack

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches