As England’s final game of the group stage looms, we can’t help but feel stressed and apprehensive — especially after seeing what these poor sods in Newcastle had to put up with the last time out.
In a series of viral clips circulated on social media following the England vs USA game, fans watching the match (or at least trying to) at the NX Newcastle music and events space were left in limbo and utterly furious as the venue struggled with audio and video issues throughout the 90 minutes.
Punters resorted to throwing drinks, hopping barriers; shouting abuse at the staff, as well as chanting “we want our money back” and “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.
At least someone got a chuckle out of it… Well, mainly us and the rest of football Twitter.
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Even despite some more positive pint launching when they eventually got the game on, albeit sarcastic, you can only imagine the sheer frustration expressed by so many who not only chose to watch the game there but also had to pay even just to enter the Newcastle fan zone.
As detailed above, the organisers issued an official statement apologising to fans for “such a disappointing experience”, adding that they are now looking into exactly why the various technical issues occurred. We’d definitely not trust the remote to whoever was holding it on Friday night.
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Either way, the damage was already done and hundreds of Geordies were left incensed. I mean, you would be, wouldn’t you?
NX went on to assure that further information regarding refunds would be shared and seemed to intimate that the lion’s share of the blame lies with the promoter Box 2 Box, who despite having a “long-standing track record of delivering sports events” clearly fell desperately short of the mark on the night.
We also resisted the urge to make a ‘they didn’t miss anything’ joke given the disappointing 0-0 result, as those present were kept in the dark for so long that they didn’t know what was going on in the game.
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Moreover, we’re sure they were only further annoyed once they did learn of the score and even when partial coverage did return, they were ultimately forced to watch it without sound. Pain.
Anyone got the score?
Screens went off and now we are watching Angels of the North briefly.
After a while, football is back on but with no sound at all. Fans are calling for a refund and, to be honest, they probably deserve one… #ThreeLionspic.twitter.com/pL3EDN0fy7
We can only sympathise with those unlucky enough to be present for the shambolic screening and pray nobody else suffers the same for the England vs Wales game on Tuesday, as the Three Lions look to secure qualification into the knockout stages of Qatar 2022.
While the promoters have insisted the screen is now fixed and are trying to tempt supporters back with an after-party, we imagine locals will be steering clear of this particular Newcastle fan zone for the rest of the tournament.
To make sure you avoid any similar dramas round this end, it’s probably best you check out our list of the best places to watch the World Cup in Manchester — we’ve given them all the Manc seal of approval.
Travel warning issued as tens of thousands to descend for Manchester Half Marathon
Daisy Jackson
A travel warning has been issued ahead of the Manchester Half Marathon this weekend, with tens of thousands of runners and spectators expected to arrive in the city.
People are being urged to plan their journeys ahead of time, with significant road closures in place from the city centre as far out as Sale.
Road closures – and subsequent bus diversions – will also affect parts of Stretford, Chorlton, Trafford, and surrounding areas.
Around 32,000 people are expected to take part in the Manchester Half Marathon this Sunday, with thousands more coming out to cheer the runners on.
Transport for Greater Manchester is advising people that the Bee Network trams will be the best way to get around over the weekend.
Extra trams will be operating to provide as much capacity as possible.
Road closures and bus diversions will start on Saturday 3 October and continue until the actual race day on Sunday 4 October, lifting fully by 8.30pm.
Tens of thousands of runners and spectators will descend on Manchester for the half marathon
Earlier this year, the Manchester Marathon led to a record-breaking day for Metrolink trams, with the highest number of passengers ever recorded on a single day in the network’s history.
Whether running or cheering, people are advised to use the Bee Network app to plan their journeys and are strongly encouraged not to drive within the affected areas.
Steve Gilholme, Head of Events at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “The Manchester Half Marathon is another one of those special occasions where the people of Greater Manchester and beyond come together, with thousands of people taking on the challenge and raising money for good causes, while many more will line the route to cheer them on.
“This does mean the city centre and especially trams will be incredibly busy so please plan ahead and give yourself extra time to make journeys.
“The Bee Network app and website will be the best places to get the latest travel information and tap and go contactless payments are the quickest and easiest way to pay.”
You can see all the road closures for the Manchester Half Marathon HERE.
Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the 14 national museums of the UK are all located in England – including the Imperial War Museum North, and the Science and Industry Museum in our region – and free entry to was first introduced all the way back in 2001, with millions of visitors having benefitted since.
National museums are said to add more than £1 billion a year to the economy, and bring in visitors from all over the world.
In fact, seven of the UK’s 10 most visited museums are national museums, and 7.1 million people visited the Natural History Museum and 6.4 million visited the British Museum in 2025 alone.
The Government has announced that all national museums in the UK will remain free for everyone to visit / Credit: Science Museum Group | Wikimedia Commons
Earlier this year though, the Government committed to working with local leaders and the museum and tourism sectors to explore whether charging overseas visitors could help museums’ finances.
But following this, it’s now believed that charging could deter visitors, and that the impacts and benefits would ‘not be felt equally’ across the sector.
Instead, the free entry will be funded by the £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund – which is providing £760 million for museums – while £600 million of infrastructure funding is supporting national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations.
The latter funding will be used to address critical maintenance and works to estates, and enable institutions to deliver on their commitments to share collections with visitors from around the world.
Danny Jones -
28th November 2022 
