The city centre will be painted sky blue this evening as Manchester City are set to celebrate their treble title-winning season.
In case you somehow missed it, Manchester City made history this past weekend.
On what was a humid summer’s night in Istanbul on Saturday, Pep Guardiola‘s men fought hard in the Champions League final to clinch a 1-0 win over Italian side Inter Milan, and although it ended up being a much harder challenge than many seemed to be expecting, a decisive goal in the 68th minute by midfielder Rodri secured the Citizens the biggest title in European football.
Not only was it a historic moment for the club and fans, as the Champions League was the only major title missing from their ever-growing trophy cabinet, but it was also a historic moment in general, as City became only the second English side to claim this coveted domestic treble.
2022/23 will always be remembered as the season the Sky Blues took home the Premier League title, the FA Cup, and the Champions League.
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And tonight, the lads are set to show all three trophies off to their tens of thousands of fans.
As always when teams claim historic victories like this, a whole host of events are planned for fans to suitably celebrate – with an open-top bus parade right through the heart of Manchester hat ends with the players, manager, and staff taking to the stage to greet the crowds all set to take over the city centre this evening.
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From parade routes, to event times, road closures, and more, here’s everything you need to know about Manchester City’s treble-winning title parade.
Manchester City lifting the Premier League and FA Cup trophies / Credit: Manchester City (via Facebook)
Open-top bus parade route
The open-top bus tour through Manchester city centre is always the headline-grabbing highlight of any title parade, with tens of thousands of fans all coming together to line the streets and celebrate as their heroes show off their shiny trophies.
Manchester City has published a handy map of the open-top bus parade route this year.
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Manchester City open-top bus parade route 2023 / Credit: Manchester City
Pep Guardiola and the squad will depart from Tonman Street at around 6:30pm and travel down Deansgate, before turning right on to St Mary’s Gate, continuing past Marks and Spencer, and then turning right on to Cross Street.
At the junction of King Street, the bus will then turn left towards Brown Street and work its way along Brown Street, Booth Street, and Nicholas Street until it reaches George Street.
It will travel down George Street until it reaches Princess Street.
Road closures
We all know by know that title parades do tend to cause a bit of disruption across the city centre, with many major thoroughfares being shut off – and this year is no different, as Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now confirmed which roads will be closed as part of the parade route and stage show.
Oxford Street – Mount Street to Chepstow /Portland St
Hall Street – Bale Street to Oxford Street
12pm (midday) to 12am (midnight) on Monday 12 June
Portland Street – Oxford Street to Princess Street
Oxford Street – Portland to Whitworth
Chepstow – Great Bridgewater to Oxford Road
12pm (midday) to 9pm on Monday 12 June
Deansgate – Liverpool Road to Blackfriars Street
2pm to 9pm on Monday 12 June
St Mary Gate – Deansgate to Market Street
Market Street – St Mary’s Gate to Cross Street
Cross Street – Market Street to Albert Square
3pm to 10pm on Monday 12 June
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King Street – Cross Street to Brown Street
Brown Street – King Street to Booth Street
Booth Street – Brown Street to Mosley Street
Nicholas Street – Mosley Street to Faulkner Street
George Street – Charlotte Street to Princess Street
Princess Street – Cooper Street to George Street
Back George Street – Princess Street to Dickinson Street
Dickenson Street – back George Street to George Street
Manchester City lifting the Champions League trophy / Credit: Manchester City
Stage show and entertainment
As well as the open-top bus parade, a live stage show will also take place on Oxford Street, with onstage entertainment starting at 5:30pm.
The parade will be hosted by Manchester City’s City Square presenters Danny Jackson and Natalie Pike, who’ll also be joined by former players and special guests, and there’ll also be live music from bands and DJs, as well as three DJ booths dotted across the parade route.
The entrance to the parade stage viewing area is accessible via Oxford Street and Portland Street from 5pm, and all fans will be searched before entering.
As this is a non-ticketed event, Manchester City is advising fans arrive early to get the best possible viewing experience, but don’t worry if you can’t secure the best view in the house, as there’ll also be screens on Oxford Street, Chepstow Street, and Portland Street showing all the action on stage.
The players are expected to arrive on stage at around 7:30pm.
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The team and manager Pep Guardiola with the Champions League trophy / Credit: Manchester City
What is the Council saying?
As they have done in previous years, Manchester City Council has been working together with Manchester City and external partners to ensure the parade runs as smoothly as possible so that fans can properly enjoy the celebrations.
“Winning the treble, crowned with an historic first Champion’s League triumph, is an incredible achievement,” Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council said ahead of the event.
“We extend our congratulations on behalf of the city to the club and its fans.
“We’re sure the parade will be a joyous and unforgettable occasion as fans gather in the city centre to celebrate with the team a success which will resonate around the world and showcases once again Manchester’s huge sporting legacy.”
Find out more on the Manchester City website here.
Featured Image – Shaun Botterill (Getty via Manchester City)
Sport
‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
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Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
Emily Sergeant -
12th June 2023 
