A Manchester attraction has been named as one of the best things to do in the world in 2023 – despite the fact that it hasn’t actually opened yet.
Time Out has pulled together a list of ‘the 23 best things to do in the world in 2023‘, which includes everything from soaking in hot springs in Iceland to walking with bears in Canada.
And our fair city – naturally – has got a good look-in too.
Manchester’s shiny new Factory International is ninth on the list, even though it won’t actually open until June.
Time Out said that the ‘new blockbuster art venue’ is helping the city to remain as one of the world’s best places to visit.
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Last year, Lonely Planet said that Manchester was a ‘must-visit global destination’, the only place in the UK to make the list.
And now with Time Out’s vote of confidence too, we’re officially making a name as a global city.
Time Out said: “Manchester is making a storm right now, with the UK city being crowned one of the world’s very best places to visit by Lonely Planet in 2022.
“It’s not showing any signs of slowing down this year, with the long-awaiting opening of Factory International, a £186 million arts venue which will be the new, permanent home of the biennial Manchester International Festival.
“The 2023 festival (June 29-July 16) will be filled with all sorts of big shows and experiences to get stuck into – including the largest-ever immersive Yayoi Kusama exhibition and a stage adaptation of The Matrix directed by Danny Boyle.”
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Factory International. Image by OMA 24
The £186m new cultural space Factory International is already taking shape in the city, a looming grey structure that will be home to a massive programme of arts and culture.
The acclaimed Danny Boyle will direct the venue’s opening production, a performance inspired by The Matrix films.
5000 tickets for Free Your Mind, which will be presented across the flexible spaces in the building, will be sold for £10 or less, to give everyone in the community a chance to experience the huge site.
Factory International is set to open its doors in June 2023, programmed and operated by the team behind Manchester International Festival.
The enormous 13,350 sq metre space inside utilises supersized moveable walls, which can reconfigure the space for different performances.
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Its artistic programming has already begun too, in the form of its first installation First Breath, which has been lighting up the skies with something that locals say looks like an ‘alien invasion’. You can read all about that here.
Featured image: OMA 10
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Manchester City reveal world-first third kit… designed by AI
Daisy Jackson
Manchester City have just revealed the club’s third kit for the season, and it’s a world-first AI-designed kit.
The new Man City and Puma kit was revealed in full this morning after days of teasing on billboards across Manchester.
For the first time in professional football history, the kit is designed by a fan, using AI.
180,000 fans submitted designs through the Puma AI Creator, with the winning design now projected on some of the city’s biggest digital billboards – on Market Street, and at Printworks.
Created by lifelong Cityzen and stills photographer Elliot, the final design is inspired by Manchester City’s iconic 13/14 season away shirt.
Elliot’s creative interpretation was crowned in January 2025 after a global fan vote.
The digital billboards show each different stage of the AI design process, from prompt to finished design, with the tagline ‘designed by one of us, chosen by all of us’.
The AI Man City kit reveal
Eagle-eyed Man City fans may have noticed a cryptic ‘loading’ screen in town on Tuesday, with just a hint of the shirt visible.
Then on Wednesday, the screens displayed: “AI prompt accepted. Fan vote confirmed. Final Manchester City 26/27 Third Kit design processing.”
Then the full reveal has taken place today, Thursday 27 August, finally unveiling the full shirt with the words: “Designed by one of us. Chosen by all of us”.
Reacting to live images of the billboards, Elliot said: “Seeing my complete design revealed on billboards in the city centre this morning was unbelievable.
“City has been part of our family’s life for as long as I can remember, so this is as good as it gets for me.
“Creativity is naturally part of my everyday life as a photographer, but it was good to turn my hand to something else and see what could be created with the use of AI.
“The 13/14 away shirt was always my favourite, so it felt like the natural starting point for my prompt. From there, it was amazing to see the technology take that spark of an idea and turn it into something I could actually shape and refine.
“To know that a shirt I designed on my lunch break will now be worn by the players is something I still can’t quite get my head around!”
The 26/27 Manchester City Third Kit will be available at mancity.com/shop and Manchester City Official Stores, with 10% off for Members and Seasoncard holders (automatically applied when logged in with a Member account online).
Iconic Salford music venue The White Hotel to reopen under new ownership from 2027
Clementine Hall
After announcing plans to close at the end of the year, famed Manchester club The White Hotel is changing hands.
Just a couple of months ago back in May, it was announced that one of Greater Manchester’s most cutting-edge and best-loved nightlife venues would be closing its doors for good.
Despite ‘continuing to draw full houses’, co-founder Ben Ward told The Guardian that the venue had found itself in a flood-risk zone, saying: “Basically, it’s a swamp.”
He added that it was better ‘to go out on our own terms, long before we became a museum’.
But it seems the swamp may live on…and although it is the end for the cult favourite nightclub as we know it, the former garage in Salford will be reopening in new ownership from 2027.
From January onwards, the disused Dickinson Street space will be known as BASTION according to a social media post shared to Instagram yesterday.
It will be run by the team who operate neighbouring venue The Bag Factory and will be supported by the Strange Art Collective CIC.
Images: The Manc
The Bag Factory shared a black and white illustration of the iconic White Hotel’s exterior, along with coordinates to the venue, stating: “The underground has a new stronghold”.
Rather cryptic we must say, and although we hope The White Hotel that we know and love could stick around forever – we hope the new owners will keep some of its magic alive.
Daisy Jackson -
2nd February 2023 
