The largest World Cup fan park in all of Europe is set to open in Manchester this summer, in an ambitious project from 4TheFans, in partnership with Freight Island and Broadwick.
The We Are Football Festival will bring together 15,000 football fans in front of the biggest screens in the UK to cheer on England as they race for World Cup glory.
The enormous fan park will open in June at Depot Mayfield, transforming the space into an unrivalled celebration of football.
Fans will be immersed in all the action thanks to a massive sound system, pyrotechnics, CO2 cannons, DJs, and entertainment around the games themselves, providing the closest thing you can get to a big game atmosphere.
The venue will be open for all late kick-offs and every moment of the World Cup too, with the potential for some games to run well into the early hours.
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Fans can head to the rooftop or garden at Depot Mayfield for a 5pm kick-off in the sunshine, or enjoy late-night games in the warehouse.
We Are Football Festival by 4TheFansThe fan park will open at Depot MayfieldIt’s set to be Europe’s biggest World Cup fan zone
There’ll also be a dedicated Footy Fun Village, which will feature sponsor activations, games zones, and family-friendly areas, creating a safe space for fans of all ages to enjoy the tournament.
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And 4TheFans and Freight Island will deliver hand-picked and exclusive bar and food traders from around the world.
We Are Football Festival will welcome a special 4TheFans host plus Sky Sports presenters, and will even have genuine England football legends for quality match analysis at each screening.
Since launching, 4TheFans has welcomed hundreds of thousands of fans, and camera crews from BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, Sky Sports, England TV, and Match of the Day, to fan parks across the UK.
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It’s now chosen Depot Mayfield for its World Cup fan park, where they can fill the huge space at Freight Island first before scaling into the rest of the Depot as the fan community grows and the Three Lions march on.
4TheFans is the UK’s original and biggest fan park brand, and it’s working with Freight Island and Broadwick to deliver this game-changing We Are Football Festival – the biggest and best fan park in Europe.
5,000 early bird tickets are available from just £4.50 per person and are on sale HERE.
4TheFans presents We Are Football Festival will run at Depot Mayfield from 11 June until 19 July 2026.
General admission tickets include
4TheFans interactive show with on-stage banter from a Sky Sports presenter
Football legend in attendance
Guaranteed entry to the event
The most enormous anti-glare screens in the UK and a monster sound system
Special effects, lighting, DJ sets and music from doors till close
Access to Footy Fun Village with games, activations and family areas
Food from around the world and an exclusive bar traders
VIP table tickets include
VIP table section with the best view of the giant screens and the event
Meet and greet with a football legend
4TheFans interactive show with on-stage banter from a Sky Sports presenter
Guaranteed entry to the event
The most enormous anti-glare screens in the UK and a monster sound system
Special effects, lighting, DJ sets and music from doors till close
Access to Footy Fun Village with games, activations and family areas
Food from around the world and an exclusive bar traders
A dedicated anime, movie and gaming concert with a live orchestra is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Calling all self-proclaimed otakus, cinephiles and gamers: a huge concert experience will see dozens of musicians bring classic anime, film and gaming soundtracks and scores to life later this year, right here in Manchester.
The city is no stranger to events celebrating these beloved kinds of media, but you’ll struggle to find another bringing all of them together in one place.
Brought to us Mancs by KIN Music Entertainment, a locally founded arts, events and music label, this celebration of all things pop culture – and specifically, the music tied to it.
Entitled ‘The Kin & Fushigi Anime, Film & Videogame Orchestra’, this passionate collective serves as not only a platform for rising artists but also to hear some iconic sonic moments like never before.
KIN have created a large-scale live concert experience which will bring together a 25-piece pop orchestra made up of emerging professional performers and conservatoire graduates.
Aside from the impressive total of people behind this production to begin with, they also form an immersive hybrid orchestral and live band capable of bringing.
Speaking on the upcoming date, KIN Entertainment said in a statement: “We wanted to create the kind of live experience that many anime and videogame fans in Manchester have been waiting for — something cinematic, emotional and community-driven that brings these sound worlds to life with the energy of both an orchestra and a live band.”
Kin was founded by bassist, composer and ensemble performer Alejandro Urbina Diaz, who first brought his talents and wider interests over from Mexico to the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) here in the city centre at the age of 23.
Citing Manchester’s multiculturalism and cosmopolitan cultural fabric as a big part of his inspiration, he and his team have ended up carving out this niche for themselves, and now they’ll be playing this beloved music to Mancs at none other than the O2 Ritz.
Credit: KIN Music Entertainment (supplied via Academy Music Group Digital)
With new arrangements inspired by anime, cinematic and videogame culture, not to mention orchestral and even rock crossover twists – including both vocalist and rhythm sections, by the way – it’s set to be a highly unique experience that most will have never come across before.
This event itself is suitable for audiences aged 14+, although under-16s must be accompanied by an adult, and it’s taking place at the Ritz on Sunday, 26 July.
We’re not going to spoil any more details about the show for you, so which particular pieces of pop culture they reference will just have to be a surprise…
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via AMG Digital)
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You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Manchester’s Deansgate
Daisy Jackson
There’s a brand-new menu of smokehouse-style BBQ dishes being served up on a sunny terrace on Deansgate.
Motley, the neighbourhood bar and restaurant on the corner of John Dalton Street, has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen.
That means they’ve got a whole load of new dishes, slow-cooked over hickory wood, that are bringing a taste of a Deep South BBQ to Manchester city centre.
The smokehouse-style meats are all seasoned in-house and cooked for hours, for a perfect fall-off-the-bone experience.
It might be an authentic American smokehouse menu, but it’s firmly British too, with most products locally sourced.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
Motley are calling on local suppliers like Althams Butchers (established since 1856) for their meat, plus greengrocers R Noone and Son, and Cheshire Farm for their real dairy ice cream.
Signature dishes on the new menu at Motley include slow smoked brisket, seasoned in Motley’s signature rub before being slow-smoked for more than eight hours.
There’s also a beef short rib with a chimichurri sauce, and a pork belly strip that’s seasoned with sage and onion and finished with a panko breadcrumb crust.
And for the veggies, there’s a vegan smoked veg kebab with courgette, mushrooms, bell pepper, sweet corn and red onion drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce.
Motley has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen / Credit: The Manc Group
Prices across the board start from just £16, served with beef dripping fries, rainbow slaw, pickles and homemade beef gravy.
As for small plates, you can expect short rib bonbons, homemade corn bread, spicy chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower, mac and cheese, and frickles.
House favourites like steak, vegetable hash, salads, and burgers will remain on the Motley menu.
Victor Gonzalez, food and beverage manager at Motley, said: “Our new signature smoked dishes are all crafted and seasoned in-house then slow cooked for hours over hickory wood to create rich and smoky melt-in-your mouth flavours.
“From our slow-smoked brisket to our home-made sides, everything has been carefully crafted to bring an authentic taste of the deep south to Manchester and we can’t wait for guests to try it.”
Motley can be found at 2 John Dalton Street on the corner of Deansgate in the city centre.
Daisy Jackson -
10th April 2026 
