The Bridgewater Hall, one of Manchester’s finest music venues and concert halls, has announced a busy programme of Christmas events this year.
The beloved landmark has a schedule that includes something for all ages, from family-friendly shows and carol singing to epic orchestral evenings.
Over the course of the festive season, the Bridgewater Hall will host the music of the world’s greatest composers, travel back in time with nostalgic swing nights, and welcome in fans of all ages to get into the festive spirit.
This year’s schedule includes appearances from Sir Karl Jenkins, Horrible Histories, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and loads more.
Have a read below for the five big Christmas events at Bridgewater Hall this year.
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Christmas with Sir Karl Jenkins
Christmas with Sir Karl Jenkins
The Bridgewater Hall will welcome a musical icon this Christmas, with a very special evening with Sir Karl Jenkins.
He’ll be conducting a spell-binding night of carols and festive classics, brought to life by the Manchester Concert Orchestra and presented by John Suchet.
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Expect choirs, a full orchestra and a timeless evening of live music to get you into the Christmas spirit.
There’ll be music from Sir Karl’s hit festive albums Joy To The World and Stella Natalis, including Silent Night, Dulci Jubilo, Healing Light and plenty more.
Can you think of a more magical way to ring in Christmas than with traditional carol singing on Christmas Eve? Because we can’t.
The ultimate night of carolling will hit the Bridgewater Hall this winter, led by the inimitable Jonathan Cohen and featuring West End star Louise Dearman.
Belt your heart out to the likes of The Twelve Days of Chrismtas, Winter Wonderland, Frosty The Snowman, and plenty more beloved carols.
The Music of Zimmer vs Williams returns to Bridgewater Hall this Christmas
Composers don’t get much more iconic than Hans Zimmer and John Williams, who between them have crafted the most legendary movie music soundtracks of all time.
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The 70-piece Manchester Concert Orchestra will be performing a selection of these in an almighty concert, where you’ll hear live renditions of soundtracks including Star Wars, Interstellar, Harry Potter, The Holiday, Pirates of the Caribbean, E.T., and loads more.
This night will be an epic head-to-head battle between two of the film industry’s composing greats.
The legendary Horrible Histories team will bring Horrible Christmas to the Bridgewater Hall in December, taking audiences on a festive romp through British history.
From Victorian villains to medieval monks, partying Puritans to terrible Tudors, and even a visit from St Nicholas himself.
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The show will follow a Christmas that’s under threat from a jolly man in red (clue – it’s Santa), and one brave child’s mission to save the day.
It’ll be a night packed with family-friendly laughs, villains, and seasonal cheer.
Wrapping up the seasonal programme at the Bridgewater Hall is The Glen Miller Orchestra, stepping back in time to relive the music that defined an era.
The UK’s most celebrated big band will perform war-time chart-toppers from the 1940s, harking Manchester back to the golden age of swing.
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Special guest Ray McVay will join the orchestra on stage, adding to the concert’s vintage charm.
And for the second half of the show, the band will don the iconic US Army Air Force uniforms of the Second World War for a truly immersive experience.
Manchester’s beautiful winter Teepee is back, with free pints this weekend and live music every day
Daisy Jackson
Nothing heralds the arrival of the autumn/winter seasons quite like the appearance of The Oast House’s beautiful winter Teepee.
The popular seasonal space is officially reopening its doors this weekend, and inside you’ll find roaring fires, a giant disco ball, live music, and plenty of pints to keep the colder months feeling a little less grim.
After giving its beer garden a major glow-up this spring and hosting a summer packed with live music, The Oast House is bringing back one of Manchester’s favourite winter hangouts – and it’s kicking things off with a proper belter of an opening weekend.
We’re talking twinkling fairy lights, faux fur throws, and a dedicated bar pouring Staropramen fresh from the tank, all inside its massive winter Teepee.
And there’s even better news for the first few through the door.
To celebrate the Teepee’s return, The Oast House team will be cracking open a full tank of fresh Staropramen on Saturday 10 October, with free pints up for grabs for the first 440 guests.
There’ll be live music every night in the winter TeepeeManchester’s cosiest venue is back
The Teepee will be keeping things lively seven nights a week throughout autumn and winter, with The Oast House’s much-loved Open House programme moving indoors for the season.
Expect everything from Bandeoke and Musical Bingo to Retro Sounds and Oast Acoustic sessions, meaning there’ll be something different on the cards every night of the week.
The venue’s free monthly live music festival, Oast House Live, isn’t going anywhere either. It’ll continue inside the Teepee on the last Saturday of every month, bringing even more live music to the heart of Spinningfields.
Of course, it wouldn’t be The Oast House without a menu worth getting stuck into.
The kitchen will be serving up its 12-hour-brined rotisserie chicken, alongside a line-up of tempting sides like Ziggy Fries tossed in chicken salt and chicken butter, cheddar and onion slaw, and charred corn on the cob drenched in house-made Scotch bonnet butter.
Food in The Oast House Winter TeepeeThere’ll be 450 free pints given away on SaturdayRotisserie chicken
And if you’re after something a bit different, the house-special ‘addictive’ Chicken (T)oastie is one you won’t want to miss.
Sundays are all about the roast, too, with the kitchen dishing up its signature rotisserie chicken alongside chicken-butter roasties tossed in chicken salt, all the trimmings and bottomless house chicken gravy.
Basically, if you’re after somewhere to escape the cold without sacrificing a good night out, you know where to head.
The Oast House and its Winter Teepee are open daily from 11am until late throughout the season.
The Oast House Winter Teepee opens Saturday 10 October, with free Staropramen pints for the first 440 guests.
For more information and to book your table, head HERE.
Science and Industry Museum’s adults-only ‘after hours’ event returns with a Halloween twist this month
Emily Sergeant
A popular adults-only ‘after hours’ event is returning to Manchester later this month… and there’s some spooky surprises in store.
If you need an excuse to leave the little Mancs at home, or you just fancy releasing your inner child, then one of Manchester’s most visited museums might have just what you’re looking for, as the Science and Industry Museum has announced that its popular After Hours event especially for adults is returning for one night only at the end of the month.
The museum will become your playground once it’s closed for the day as you settle in for a unique evening of live music, giant interactive games, and spooky surprises for Halloween.
Science and Industry Museum’s adults-only ‘after hours’ event returns with a Halloween twist this month / Credit: Science Museum Group
The Museum’s permanent galleries and displays will be open after hours, so you can get hands-on with science in Experiment, meet mighty machines in the Textiles Gallery, and discover Manchester‘s rich legacy of industrial innovations, creativity, and world-changing ideas in Revolution Manchester.
You’ll also get free access to the popular Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos exhibition, which just opened earlier this year, and get to indulge your playful side in Power Up – with more than 150 consoles to choose from in the ultimate gaming extravaganza.
Especially for spooky season, you can look forward to some very special one-off events too, like stellar performances from Manchester drag royalty, Anna Phylactic, a cosmic cabaret with live vocals, and a monster mash-up soundtrack guaranteed to get you into the Halloween spirit.
There’ll also be a chance to meet Albert Slime-stein – a larger-than-life monster popping up the museum as part of Halloween in the City’s iconic Manchester Monsters trail.
And as this is an adults-only event, the museum’s events bar will be open on the night, serving up a wide range of wines, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks to wet your whistle while you’re looking around, with some delicious food to accompany too.
Museum After Hours is happening on Thursday 29 October from 7pm-10pm, with tickets setting you back £12 each or £6 for concessions.
Daisy Jackson -
17th October 2025 
