In what was a genuinely touching moment earlier on today, one of Manchester’s most iconic cultural landmarks came to life.
Well, not quite – but it was recreated in a way that made for a truly sombre sight.
Stopping commuters in their tracks and drawing in crowds of on-lookers in their dozens just after 10:30am this morning, a military charity took the unique and memorable approach of marking the anniversary of a statue it installed in Manchester city centre five years ago with a special “living statue” display.
If you’ve been to Manchester Piccadilly station before, then there’s a good chance you’ve come across Victory Over Blindness before.
We’re of course talking about the bronze sculpture outside the front of the station that depicts seven life-sized soldier figures wearing blindfolds and guiding one another – which has been well-received by many for its “moving” subject matter since it was first erected back in October 2018, and has been described as “striking” for its interaction with passers-by at eye level.
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The ‘Victory Over Blindness’ statue outside Manchester Piccadilly station / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | David Dixon (via Geograph)
The now-iconic statue was unveiled half a decade ago by Blind Veterans UK – a national charity supporting the thousands of vision-impaired ex-Service men and women nationwide – to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War, but also serves as a monument to all the veterans the organisation has supported since then too.
The industrialised nature of WWI – which lasted from 1914 to 1918, and saw the deaths of an estimated 886,000 British and Commonwealth military personnel, as well as countless more injured – made for unfathomable human suffering.
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Around 30,000 of the wounded were discharged with damaged or defective eyesight, and of these, 3,000 were left permanently blinded.
Blind Veterans UK was then founded in 1915 in a bid to support those 30,000.
The sculpture was installed by charity Blind Veterans UK back in October 2018 / Credit: Flickr
The sculpture’s name, Victory Over Blindness, was a phrase used by the charity’s founder, Sir Arthur Pearson, and it’s a phrase the organisation says continues to guide its principles to this day.
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Conceived and designed by artist and sculptor Johanna Domke-Guyot, as mentioned, the sculpture shows seven blinded soldiers leading one another with their hands on their comrades’ shoulders – and this was exactly how it was recreated today.
After a symphony of trumpets and bagpipes sounded, the ‘living statue’ of actors dressed in WWI uniforms then made their way through the station and on throughout city.
Blind Veterans UK said it not only chose to recreate the sculpture as a ‘living statue’ today to mark the fifth anniversary of its installation, but also to highlight to that, although it currently supports thousands of blind veterans across the country, it knows there are thousands more who still need help to rebuild their lives after sight loss.
The charity hopes the ‘living statue’ display today showed the Greater Manchester public going about their day how important its support can be.
Know someone who served in the Armed Forces and is now struggling with sight loss? You can get in touch with Blind Veterans UK on 0800 389 7979 or via its website here.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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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.”