No one could ever accuse Manchester of being boring, and this year’s news cycle has more than lived up to expectations.
It’s been a year of fighting over cakes, walruses pleasuring themselves in front of children, criminals exposing themselves in silly ways, and celebrities working shifts in takeaways.
There’s been viral puddings, knock-off corner shops, and torrential rain.
We’ve had silly news, far-fetched news, and news that can make our city genuinely very proud.
We’ve spent a few hours looking back on the Manchester news stories that got you all talking in 2023 – and as depressing as your energy bill or GP waiting list may be, at least we’ve had a few laughs along the way.
Tough Sheet
Bolton Wanderers’ new stadium name was one of Manchester’s favourite news stories of 2023
“We need to rename the stadium.”
“What, again?”
“Yeah, I know, again. I think we should come up with something really left-field this time. Something that will generate some headlines.”
“I’ve got just the sponsor boss.”
This, we imagine, is how the board meeting went when the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. went through yet another rebrand this year, when it decided to change its name to the… Toughsheet Stadium.
Social media had a field day over this one – have a look here.
Cake-gate
‘Cakegate’ was one of those Manchester news stories that really spiralled in 2023
When a local baker took a passive-aggressive email thread public, she probably didn’t expect to generate quite so much online debate.
But the Three Little Birds Bakery’s response to a PR request for 100 free cakes for a ‘celebrity client’ was so sassy it went incredibly viral.
She’d written: “Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn’t take payment ‘in the form of promotion on the socials’, and my staff can’t feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I’ll have to decline your very generous offer” – round. of. applause.
The celebrity behind the request willingly came forward, with Corrie queen Catherine Tyldesley saying the whole situation was ‘utterly bizarre’.
A crime-fighting ham sandwich
The incriminating can of Stella, along with the ham sandwich photo, that led to the gang’s collapse. Credit: Lancashire Police
Richard probably didn’t think twice before sending a photo of his lunch – a ham sandwich on brown bread – to his pal, also called Richard.
But the harmless exchange between Dick and Dick led to the downfall of an entire drugs gang.
The pair had been using what was at the time an encrypted, secure instant messaging service, but once law enforcement teams cracked the company’s encryption they were able to prove the identities of ‘Somesnail and Peppershirt’.
Officers used pictures of a ham sandwich and a can of lager, the backgrounds being matched to one of the criminal’s address in Blackpool. Busted.
Northerners were absolutely delighted when a walrus chose the British coastline to chill out in over New Year’s Eve, with hundreds flocking to see the magnificent beast.
His little holiday in Scarborough even led to the local New Year’s Eve fireworks display being cancelled, after the British Divers Marine Life Rescue advised that the loud noises could ‘distress’ the walrus. Surely not as distressing as the sight of him rubbing himself with his flippers lads!?
The name’s Bondy
“How will we know we’ve caught the right man, officer, does he have any identifying features?” Erm… yeah he does a bit.
A police manhunt at the very turn of the new year went viral after officers admitted they’d been unable to locate a man who’d missed his court appearance.
And the man who’d slipped past police wasn’t exactly hard to pick out in a line-up – he’d tattooed his own name on his face.
Not the smartest move for someone taking on a life of crime.
Morrisan
The ‘Morrisan’ corner shop in Manchester
We really expected this to be the next edition of Colin the caterpillar-style lawsuit fun times, but so far, this blatant Morrisons rip-off is sailing under the radar.
A new mini-mart opened near Printworks in July, selling your usual selection of innumerable flavours of Fanta and other soft drinks.
But what really got people in Manchester talking is the copycat store’s signage, which looks exactly like the real deal – except for an ‘a’ in the sign where an ‘o’ should be.
The room where fights happen
The arrival of Hamilton to Manchester – its first-ever UK tour – was bound to cause a bit of a stir, but no one predicted that people would be throwing hands over it.
And yet police had to launch an investigation after a fight broke out between theatregoers during a performance of Hamilton at the Palace Theatre.
Apparently staff at the theatre were having to physically restrain the two who’d decided to start fisticuffs in the crowd.
Tiramisu from a drawer from Onda Pasta Bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupOnda’s viral tiramisu drawer got Florence Pugh’s seal of approval
We all know that odd stuff goes viral sometimes, but we did not expect a local restaurant’s pudding to reach all the way to Hollywood’s a-list darling Florence Pugh.
Onda’s tiramisu drawer went so incredibly viral that it was viewed tens of millions of time, shared by Florence Pugh herself, and drove so many restaurant bookings that you now can’t reserve a table at Onda until spring.
Nope, not the African Grey, but the world’s most famous fashion house.
If you’d told us last year that the entire Northern Quarter would be brought to a standstill so that a high-fashion Chanel show could parade down Thomas Street, we’d have laughed you into the new year.
But it really did happen, with celebs including Hugh Grant, Kristen Stewart and Aitch in attendance, fleets of black-out vans whizzing around town, paparazzi everywhere, and the eyes of the world on our city.
The Northern Quarter looked incredible through the eyes of Chanel and we should all be very proud that the city was chosen to host the Metiers D’art, honestly.
Music stars getting new jobs
Aitch serving McDonald’s burgers definitely wasn’t on our Manchester 2023 news bingo card. Credit: The Manc Group
Times are tough out there but who knew that even the celebs were struggling to the point that they needed to get side-hustles as delivery drivers?
Aitch was notably polite while working his Maccies shift, and was seen chatting to customers as they came up to the van, saying: “here you go Sir, there you go Sir,” before pausing for a photograph with the McDonald’s team. What a nice lad.
Manchester weather was WEATHERING
Parklife was halted due to a thunderstorm and torrential rain in 2023The mud at Bluedot 2023 means that it will take a fallow year in 2024. Credit: The Manc Group
We know our weather isn’t famed for being good, but Manchester weather really turned on the chaos this summer.
It was properly miserable for weeks on end and caused a fair amount of upheaval for events that took place in 2023.
While Parklife festival started off in blazing sunshine, the whole festival had to be halted on the second day because of a pretty dramatic electrical storm – people were spotted sticking cardboard boxes over their heads to try and stay dry.
We thought we’d made it to the end of 2023 without any more mad news, but then along came Blackpool Tower, gripping Manchester again.
The iconic seaside landmark caught fire on 28 December – except it turns out it wasn’t on fire at all and we’d all just been fooled by a bit of orange netting flapping in the breeze.
That’s not before an entire emergency services team was called out and people evacuated from the area though.
Whoops…
Featured image: The Manc Group
News
Heaton Park’s ‘Gallagher Hill’ where people have been watching Oasis for free is no more
Thomas Melia
The Heaton Park viewpoint coined ‘Gallagher Hill’ which fans flocked to to watch Oasis for free has been closed off ahead of the remaining gig dates.
The particular high area of Heaton Park has gone viral online after Oasis fans have been using it to watch the Live ’25 shows for free, with a distant view of the huge screens.
But as thousands of ticket-holders flock back to the remaining Manchester gigs of Oasis Live ’25, fans who couldn’t manage to get any tickets will be disappointed to learn that the viral viewing point Gallagher Hill has been shut down.
Usually, this hill section of the Manchester green space isn’t filled with Gallagher supporters – it’s normally home to a herd of cows who use this land to graze and walk about on throughout the day.
Huge fences have now been erected around the area to prevent any further groups from gathering, with Oasis still set to perform on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Manchester City Council has said that there are also around 300 young trees that have been planted in this part of Heaton Park to develop a new woodland area.
The purpose of the fencing is ‘dual purpose’, a council spokesperson said: “Both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there. The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”
After seeing videos of fans in this particular area, one TikTok user checked it out for herself asking her followers: “Would you get on Gallagher hill now?” before panning her camera to show cows grazing on the land.
Although fans of the Manchester icons were flocking to this spot in order to join in on the Oasis fun from afar, issues have been raised via safety concerns of visitors, the cattle herd and reports of litter.
Fans are now being directed to enjoy the many, many events taking place in the city centre, including the MCR Live Hub at Piccadilly Gardens.
‘Gallagher Hill’ in Manchester today ahead of the next Oasis shows. Credit: The Manc Group
Some fans have been very understanding reasoning this fair decision admitting, “Probably because of security and threats unfortunately”, while others express their disappointment asking, “How sad do you have to be to put that up?”.
One social media user, who was planning on taking a family member to this brand new Manchester landmark commented, “They could’ve utilised Gallagher hill”.
The fan went on to pose the question of making it an official viewpoint for concerts, posing the question, “£30 entry fee, is that too steep?”.
Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Employment, Skills and Leisure, Manchester City Council, said: “The atmosphere across Manchester has been electric over this last week with the whole city swept up in Oasis fever and peaking over the weekend with the first two hugely successful homecoming concerts at Heaton Park.
“As you would expect given the size of the concerts and numbers of people attending, we go through a continuous process with partners of re-assessing the plans in place for the concerts to ensure both public safety and that any environmental impact on our award-winning park is minimalised.
“The steps being taken ahead of the next concert regretfully mean the distant view of the large screens behind the event stage will no longer be there. Unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place to protect the very recent extensive planting of young trees in that location as we try to establish a new woodland area in the park, and the wellbeing of our cattle herd in the field, as well as to keep people in the park safe.
“Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead. The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time. We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”
The Maccabees’ Orlando Weeks on Gavin and Stacey, Glastonbury and comeback tour
Thomas Melia
UK indie band The Maccabees announced their comeback tour earlier this year alongside a very impressive All Points East headline date.
Since rocking into the music scene in 2007, The Maccabees have a Mercury Prize nomination to their name as well as three UK top 40 singles and one chart-topping album ‘Marks To Prove It’.
Just last year, the band ingrained themselves into UK pop culture for eternity thanks to the inclusion of their single ‘Pelican’ in the finale of the much-loved TV classic Gavin and Stacey.
The Maccabees have been a staple in British culture and indie music alike, and it’s safe to say fans were overjoyed when the news of a comeback tour was announced.
The Maccabees are coming to O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on 21 and 22 August.
After nearly a decade apart, the lads are ready to hit the road again with a string of UK tour dates, which are in preparation for their huge All Points East headline date at the end of August.
Lead vocalist for The Maccabees, Orlando Weeks, sat down with us to talk reuniting with fellow bandmates after almost a decade, as well as all things Glastonbury and the upcoming All Points East headline slot.
Orlando Weeks from The Maccabees | The Interview
The Maccabees have played Manchester almost 20 times since entering the music scene in 2007. What is it about our Manc crowds that keeps pulling you back?
Manchester has a musical heritage, which means there are enough venues that we can come back to so many times and people not be sick of us. The crowds are great, it’s always a good gig and always a good night out.
Having that kind of heritage and pride in your city makes it the kind of place [bands] want to come back to.
This will be the band’s first time playing O2 Victoria Warehouse, and after playing a variety of Manchester City centre music venues, how excited are you to be playing this one for the first time?
I’ve had friends that’ve played it, and everyone said that it’s a good gig. I have no doubt it’ll be good.
Due to incredible demand, you’ve had to add a second date after the first show sold out – what’s it like for you hearing news like this?
The original offer for us was to play All Points East, and so when we got that, it made up our minds to play these summer shows.
Getting to play once in Manchester will set us up [for this headline slot], and getting to play twice will set us up even better. I love being in Manchester anyway, so to have a little bit longer to have a wander and a drink is great.
What was it like getting back into the rehearsal process with the rest of the band after nearly 10 years of not performing or touring together?
It’s very odd how powerful muscle memory is. It’s crazy how quickly all of the songs, structures and playing came back to us.
When we used to play, I invented so many completely useless little triggers for me to help remember lyrics or a chorus that I’d get stuck on, and I still remember those foot taps and placements that bring it all back.
Felix [White] boasted before we even started rehearsing that he remembered everything off by heart, and he could go straight into a gig. To be fair to him, it’s amazing how much his brain has retained.
At your first show in nearly a decade at The Dome in London, you created artwork to raise funds for theMS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society. Will fans be able to buy your artwork and support this charity at both the Manchester dates?
There will be an MS charity stall as well as one for Doctors Without Borders. If you’re reading this or coming to either of the gigs and have anything that you can contribute to either of those charities, then we as a band would be extremely grateful.
This 2025 tour sees support from indie rock band, Sorry – how excited are you to head out on the road with this talented group?
The Maccabees have always been very lucky to travel around the world with other bands who are amazing, and Sorry are definitely part of that list.
You have a reason to get down early, because if you’re a fan of The Macs, you’ll be a fan of Sorry. I can guarantee that you’ll have a good time.
The Maccabees are taking part in some of the biggest events in the British music calendar[Glastonbury, All Points East]. How does it feel to have such immense support nearly 20 years into your career?
20 years in and 10 years off. There are a few people who aren’t in the band but have been such a big part of it, even through the 10 years that we weren’t really doing anything. They would say if you ever did wanna do something, there’ll be people there.
I just didn’t know that [The Macabees reunion] would be as popular as it has been. It’s very hard to explain or get your head around, really.
On the topic of Glasto, how surreal was it to be playing this major music festival for the third time?
I think we’ve been at least four times, maybe five times.
Headlining ‘The Park’ stage was special, and it was also the first time my son came and saw me on a stage singing. It was a great ‘take your son to Work Day’. We had Florence [Welch] coming out and singing with us, too.
I’ll remember all of The Maccabees’ Glastonbury experiences, but I think that’s the one I’ll hold onto for the longest.
Speaking of surreal moments, your song ‘Pelican’ featured in the finale of British favourite, Gavin and Stacey. How did this opportunity come about?
I think Matt might’ve texted me, but it was Christmas and I was swept up in all sorts of celebrations. We got a lot of messages after it aired because an insane number of people watch the show.
It’s all thanks to James Corden and Matt Horne, who have always been fans from early on. It was very flattering and very nice to be part of [Gavin and Stacey].
And finally, after playing Manchester so many times, are there any shops or special spots that you always make sure to visit when you’re in the city?
I remember when we were in Manchester last time for ‘The Farewell’ tour, I’d started running by then – and I loved the canals.
Usually, I defer to local friends and I’ll just let them take me to whichever pub or place they recommend – Wherever they go, I go.
The Maccabees are set to play two nights at O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, and there are still tickets available for their second date HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
29th December 2023 
