Ex-rugby stars turned motor neurone disease campaigners Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have both been honoured at this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony.
The former Leeds Rhinos teammates have both gone on to become truly inspiring individuals in their own right but remarkable fundraising figures too, generating millions for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) and other charities in the last few years.
Raising huge awareness around the condition in the UK, the pair’s impact could not be overstated, with Burrow earning the Helen Rollason Award “for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity” and Sinfield also handed a special award for his own extraordinary efforts this year.
We’ll pre-warn you, it is a tearful watch:
This year's Helen Rollason award goes to Rob Burrow 🏆
From fundraising efforts to his fight against MND, the rugby league legend is an inspiration to us all ❤️
Having already been awarded an MBE not only for his services to sport but for MND charities and now this, Burrow told the audience: “I’m totally overcome with this award due to the amount of amazing people that have won this before, in particular my MND hero Doddie Weir.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Weir – a fellow rugby and fundraising hero in Scotland – sadly passed away in November this year, with legends of the sport turning out for his tartan memorial service earlier this week.
Speaking via the same computer that allowed him to read his own CBeebies Bedtime Story in his own accent earlier this year, Burrow said that he didn’t feel he would be here without having met Weir less than a week before his diagnosis in 2017, insisting that he was accepting on the award “on his behalf”.
ADVERTISEMENT
He also recognised his friend Kevin, “who makes the impossible, possible”, and his family and wife Lindsay for putting their lives on hold to care for him, stating that he would not be here “without [their] sacrifice”. He also thanked his fellow MND warriors, assuring them, “we will not stop, we’ll find a cure”.
As for local Oldham lad and OBE, Sinfield, he delivered some rather moving words of his own as it was clear there was a lot of emotion on the stage, throughout the room and certainly among those watching back home.
"Rob's probably the most inspirational bloke in the UK at this moment" ❤️
Rob Burrow's former teammate, Kevin Sinfield, who's raised money for MND causes, is recognised with a special BBC Sports Personality award.
The 42-year-old dubbed his friend and colleague as “the most inspirational bloke in the UK at this time”, remarking that his efforts have “shown us all how to be better friends” during difficult times.
ADVERTISEMENT
He also went on to reflect on the power of sport and its ability “to bring communities together and provide hope” for groups like the MND community, also honouring Doddie Weir by sharing his lasting and crucial message: “MND isn’t incurable, it’s underfunded”.
However, Sinfield’s own inspiring and simply incredible feats cannot be overlooked, having completed the ‘Ultra 7 in 7’ marathon challenge in 2022 on top of numerous other unbelievable achievements in previous years, helping raise over £7 million for MND charities.
The newly-named England defensive coach summed up his speech by reassuring that “we are going to keep fighting; these people need us, the families need us”, adding that he and his team, not to mention everyone else involved in MND will “keep banging the drum and doing our best”.
Truly powerful stuff and more than well deserved, both of them.
If you want to help Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield and make an impact in fighting this disease, you can donate to the MNDA here.
Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”