One of Manchester’s most iconic charities is inviting daredevil Mancs to join them in a towering fundraising challenge this year.
In case you missed it, We Love MCR Charity asked The Manc’s loyal audience of over 200,000 Mancunians on Instagram to lend a helping hand in deciding on its official fundraising challenge for 2022 earlier this month by casting their votes on three head-to-head polls shared to our Instagram stories.
The four challenge ideas battling it out were:
A Valentine’s Day dip in Debdale Park Reservoir
An abseil off a city centre high-rise tower
A skinny dip at dawn on the Autumn Equinox at Druridge Bay beach
A jump off a 10m diving board
And now that the votes from the final poll have been counted, it has officially been announced that the Manchester public have decided We Love MCR Charity’s next fundraising event will be an abseil at dizzying heights off one of the many gleaming towers that make up the city’s growing and ever-changing skyline.
It was a very close call in the end, but in our final poll, the abseil event was the pick of the bunch, grabbing 54% of the vote.
This will be the second instalment in We Love MCR Charity’s ‘Challenge Event Series’, which is aiming to set mind-over-matter challenges that raise funds for their work supporting Manchester’s communities and young people.
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The 2022 challenge comes after the success of the charity’s first – and probably the last – sponsored ‘firewalk’ event, which made history as 50 “brave soles” raised over £18,000 and counting by walking over 700-degree hot coals in St Peter’s Square in the heart of Manchester city centre last October.
The Manchester and Salford skyline / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Against a backdrop of Manchester’s Central Library and with a massive crowd cheering them on, each of the participants conquered their fears and completed what they previously thought was impossible.
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Speaking ahead of the abseil challenge this year, Ged Carter – Development Manager at We Love MCR Charity – said: “How could we top a firewalk? By going up into the sky. Our tower-block abseil will give people a chance to see the city from a birds-eye view, then step off and walk down the side of the tower.
“Our fearless supporters are really raising their game with this challenge.”
The abseil will take place in July, and We Love MCR Charity expects it will be over-subscribed, so if you want make sure you reserve a guaranteed place, then the charity has opened a pre-registration list for brave fundraisers to book their place “on the rope”.
The secret location has not been revealed yet, but the charity promises it is going to be somewhere “very special”.
This week, our mates at @TheMancUK polled their readers for thoughts on what our next fundraising challenge should be..
Top vote went to a city centre abseil! Nearly beaten by a skinny-dip in the North East 😳
Manchester’s iconic Rylands building is being reborn – and the developers want to hear from you
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s iconic Rylands building, formerly home to the Debenhams department store, is being reborn.
And now the developers working on its new chapter want Mancunians to weigh in on which businesses we want to see in the landmark building.
The transformation of Rylands Manchester will honour the heritage character of the building, which dates back to 1932, but will introduce contemporary design and a list of residents that’s bang up to date for our modern city centre.
The plans include building a four-storey extension with panoramic city views and a bright, central atrium. When it completes, this Grade II-listed art deco building will bring together workspace, retail, and leisure, right at the beating heart of town between the Northern Quarter, Piccadilly, Manchester Arndale, and the central business district.
Standing proudly at the top of Market Street, this next era for Rylands will establish it as an exciting new destination in the heart of town when its phased completion begins from late 2026.
Already confirmed to be moving in is Market Place Food Hall with its first northern location, which has signed on for a 15 year lease to occupy the ground floor of Rylands.
Market Place Food Hall is already confirmed to be moving into RylandsRylands is entering a new era
But now Rylands are putting it back to locals to ask what shops, restaurants, or cafes we’d love to see moving in.
It could be a high street hero you’ve loved for years, an independent business you’ve fallen for, or a foodie spot you return to time and time again.
Your ideas could help to shape the future of this landmark building and make it a destination us Mancs can be proud of.
And if you submit your suggestions in the comments of THIS Instagram post, you could be in with a chance of winning a £100 Love2Shop voucher (make sure you’re following @Rylands_manchester for a chance to win).
Science and Industry Museum announces new major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’
Emily Sergeant
A major new exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ is making its world premiere in Manchester next year.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will invite visitors to explore our wondrous Solar System when it launches at the Science and Industry Museum next February.
Fresh off-the-back of the new BBC Children’s and Education TV show, Horrible Science, the ‘thrilling’ new exhibition will encourage visitors to ‘do science the horrible way’, and join both scientists and supervillains to unveil the secrets of space.
The new exhibition will propel families up into space where mystery, intrigue, and rocket-loads of silly and surprising science await. You’ll get to venture through a series of cosmic zones, walk in the shoes of astronauts, explore the life-giving energy of the sun, marvel at mysterious moons, and discover far-off weird worlds.
Left teetering on the edge of our Solar System, explorers will then find themselves staring into the dark depths of space, on the lookout for any extra-terrestrial life that could be staring back.
Whether its sniffing astronauts’ smelly socks, dancing on an alien disco planet, feeling the tremors from a mysterious moonquake, or launching a space rocket, organisers say this new adventure will engage all the senses in a truly immersive experience.
This is the first time Horrible Science has been brought to life as a major exhibition.
The Science and Industry Museum has announced a new major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ / Credit: BBC | Science Museum Group
Visitors will get to see familiar characters from the BBC series – like Dr Big Brain, in particular – on their mission to find out more about our fascinating Solar System through interactive experiments, playful challenges, and sensory exploration.
The exhibition is being developed by the Science and Industry Museum in collaboration with producers of the Horrible Science TV show, BBC Children’s and Education, and Lion Television, together with Scholastic, who are publishers of the much-loved Horrible Science book series by Nick Arnold and illustrated by Tony De Saulles.
‘Unmissable’ objects from the Science Museum Group’s world-class space collection will also be on show when the exhibition premieres.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will open at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on 13 February 2026 for an 11-month run before heading down to London, and tickets are now on sale priced at £10 – with family discounts available, and under-threes going free.
Emily Sergeant -
25th January 2022 
