The adidas Manchester Marathon is back for 2024 and the region is already getting set for thousands of Mancs to take on the annual challenge.
Not only the second-largest race of its kind in the UK but the fourth most popular in all of Europe, the Manchester Marathon welcomes more than 30,000 runners every year and even more spectators from all over the continent. We’re talking around 125,000 people lining the 26.2-mile route. Yowza.
With an unprecedented demand for places at this year’s event, which has been running rather unbelievably since 1908 (no pun intended), this year’s Manchester Marathon on Sunday, 14 April 2024 is genuinely set to be the biggest yet.
So if you’re taking part or just cheering the competitors on from the sidelines, here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon.
Manchester Marathon Route, waves and timings
The 2024 Manchester Marathon map.The start line.Along the way, runners can expect to take in some of Manc’s most iconic landmarks, from Bridgewater Hall and the Beetham Tower to the Theatre of Dreams itself and many more
As with previous years, the route will start and end over in Trafford. Participants will set off underneath Trafford Arch at White City Circle, making their way past Old Trafford before heading back towards the city centre via Chorlton and Hulme.
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After reaching the city centre, runners will then head towards Stretford, passing through Sale before turning off as they approach Timperley and eventually reach Altrincham around the 16-mile mark.
The final leg of the route will take runners through Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, with Talbot Road leading you back to the finish line. For those feeling any nerves (like the runner currently writing this), you’ll be glad to know the Manchester Marathon is one of the flattest in the country.
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You can see the full breakdown of timings and coloured waves down below. You can also watch the full virtual run-through of the running route HERE.
Event Village – entry points, bag drop, toilets and more
Event Village will once again be based around the Emirates Old Trafford, home of Lancashire County Cricket Club, where participants will also be able to find entry points to the start line.
Info points, bag drops and toilet facilities will also be available around the pre and post-race complex, along with first aid tents and dedicated access routes from nearby parking spots and local transport.
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Event Village will be strictly open to runnersbetween 7:30–10:30am, operating on a one-way system, before being opened up to the thousands of supporters expected to line the streets.
You can see a full map of the area down below, including where to drop your bags and nip to the loo before you set off on your race – and don’t worry, there will be places to stop for the toilet along the route if nature is annoying enough to calls.
To help you familiarise yourself with your surroundings.
Road closures for the Manchester Marathon
The road closures for this year’s marathon include the A56 (Northbound and Southbound), with the officials set to start closing roads at 3am and begin re-opening roads from 2pm onwards after the course begins to clear.
The last closed road is expected to re-open around 8pm through Chorlton and Old Trafford towards the end of the course.
You can find further details on road closure and what other parts of Greater Manchester are set to be impacted HERE.
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Travel advice
As mentioned, road closure will obviously impact people coming in and out of the city as well as to various spots along the marathon route, so whether you’re a local or travelling in from elsewhere, it’s worth knowing where to be and where’s best to avoid too.
In a nutshell, it’s expected that public transport will be very busy before, during and after the race, but the Metrolink trams still remain the best way to get around. Bus routes will be being diverted.
People have been asked to leave their cars at home or use park and rides where possible due to all the road closures, displaced traffic and expected congestion.
It goes without saying that there will also be a significant number of road closures throughout Sunday as well. However, once again, the wonderful organisers have you covered; you can see the full list of closures HERE and they have even put together an interactive map for you to check what’s shut when:
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Public transport
People are also being advised to leave their cars at home where possible to avoid the busy roads, or to at least use the free park-and-ride services on the way into Manchester and travel to their destinations via our city’s wonderful tram network.
Metrolink will be operating a six-minute frequency on the Altrincham line with more double trams and increased capacity along various other lines too. That being said, services are expected to be extremely busy throughout the day, so if you can travel flexibly, the predicted quietest time to travel is around 4pm.
Once you’ve tapped on and tapped off, most fan corners, cheer zones and regular spots for supporters to gather together should only be a short walk away from your chosen tram stop.
New mascots, event shirts and the 2024 finisher’s medals picked by the public
This year, the adidas Manchester Marathon also welcomes on board a brand new mascot, Chester the Bee, who will join the event’s much-loved existing mascot, Manny the Bee to help bring extra cheer to the festivities on the day.
As we all know and love, Manchester has a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and, as the organisers said in a press release, “introducing mascots that celebrate this diversity allows the marathon to reflect these identities within Greater Manchester. It’s a way to honour the unique contributions and experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals and showcase their pride within the larger community.”
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Better still, the organisers donate £1 for every participant taking on the marathon straight to the Trafford Active Fund, which offers local groups the chance to receive a special allocation of funding to build a long-lasting sport and physical activity legacy in Greater Manchester. Money from the marathon also goes towards planting trees across the region through the Green Runner scheme.
You can also see what this year’s general public selected as the design for this year’s Manchester Marathon finisher’s medal design down below. It’s a pretty one.
Thousands of you voted on the colour of the 2024 medal. We can now reveal the official 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon medal is… GOLD! 🥇
A big thank you to Marv, Abbie, Alex and Andrew from Manchester Run Club and Chorlton Runners for revealing our 2024 medal. pic.twitter.com/yYancbt4Lr
With a record 32,000+ runners set to hit the streets of 0161 this year, we cannot wait for people all over the ten boroughs to get soaked up in the spirit of the day.
It’s genuinely one of the most wholesome dates on the calendar and we’re just praying for a sunny day to make it perfect.
It’s also estimated that the event will raise around £3.5 million for hundreds of charities, with nearly 2,000 places allocated to representatives from Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie. You absolutely love to see it.
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Good luck to everyone taking part on the day — you’re all going to absolutely smash it.
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | April 2025
Danny Jones
Fashionably late to the party this month, but we’re sure you’ll forgive us because we’re back with yet another stellar lineup of Manchester bands and artists for you to get your teeth into – some new, others criminally unsung, and all equally brilliant.
Your playlists are about to get a good old refresh.
In case you’re new around here, we here at The Manc and Audio North set aside some time every month to look back on the local musicians we’ve been listening to over the last few weeks.
Whether they are Greater Mancunians born and bred or they’re adoptees who have made Manchester their musical home, anything goes and there’s always something for everyone. Let’s get stuck in.
New Manchester bands and artists we’ve been listening to lately
1. Strawberry Lemonade
First up is the delightfully dubbed Strawberry Lemonade, who sound even sweeter than their name, not in a sugary pop music way, but in the sense that sliding guitar riffs as well as plenty of fast-paced strumming and drumming feel like you’ve just necked a glass of, well…
There’s a classic rock and roll swagger to their music, and while many might argue that a lot of new Manchester bands are trying to nail this kind of sound – already a challenge in a city so oversaturated within this genre – they’ve managed to catch our eye.
Having recently headlined a sold-out show at the iconic Deaf Institute, one thing we know for sure is that they’ll be moving on to even bigger venues sooner rather than later. In terms of standout tracks, we rate ‘Nightime’ and ‘Control’; plus, you’d be a fool not to give their latest single ‘Bother At All’ a go.
Next up is the alliterative Danny Darlington, who seems to have emerged out of nowhere to pique our curiosity with some of the most sprawling and varied songs in less than 12 months. He quietly released his first song back in March 2021 but we’re definitely paying attention to his most recent work.
To call it indie would be a major oversimplification; alt-pop doesn’t quite fit either – all we can tell you is that the solo artist from Bury seems to be more than happy pushing in different directions and experimenting with different sonics, with more effects, pedals and electronics being thrown into the mix.
‘Freya’ is a fantastically chill tune, ‘How To Feel’ ends with a really pleasant and punchy surprise, and we’re big fans and one of his older tunes, ‘Parma Violets’, which has a recognisable contemporary indie vibe with some great production for someone who was still just starting out.
3. Nightbus
Fittingly for number three, we’ve got a trio and a band that feels like one of the Manchester music scene’s best-kept secrets somehow. Seriously, we’re genuinely kind of annoyed that more people don’t know about Nightbus because they’re absolutely brilliant.
The xx, New Order and Cocteau Twins are some of the names that come to mind when making our way through their still limited discography, though there is a very fun collection of remixes of their work so far, which genuinely rival some of the original versions.
Also, it might only be a little thing, but we really like the very uniform aesthetic and visual style too; the album artwork typeface almost hints at limited gig poster prints with that self-contained theme per album cycle, a la The 1975. ‘Way Past Three’, ‘Average Boy’, and the E24 mix of ‘Mirrors’ are our three.
Such a jam.
4. Conor & The GreensKeepers
The penultimate name on our list is a collective that has actually been around for a while now and is steadily starting to earn some of the profile they’ve been long overdue in our opinion, but we’ll never tooting our horns about these lot. They’re also utterly incredible live.
Fronted by lead singer and charismatic performer Conor Michael, The GreensKeepers are some of the most underappreciated artists anywhere in Greater Manchester right now, and no matter how many new bands come along, we firmly believe these 13 unbelievable musicians deserve your attention.
As for picks, recent release ‘Roundabouts’ has that UKG and rap flavour they enjoy; ‘U + I’ is now a go-to lo-fi work soundtrack, and ‘Sip from a Rose’ is their spin on jazz and neo-soul in a nutshell. Put simply, it’s music that makes you feel something from the first note and almost never fails to inject a bit of joy.
Arriving by way of Birmingham, the Manchester-based group will be returning for MJF 2025 as well as Green Island Festival.
5. Slap Rash
Last but not least, we’re finishing the loudest, most raw, raucous and in-your-face artists we’ve probably ever put on one of these lists, and it comes in the form of the ferocious duo known as Slap Rash. Great name, even better ragers.
This absolutely riotous project is the brainchild of locally-based brother-and-sister partnership, Amelia and Huw Lloyd, who might just have knocked the likes of Royal Blood off the top spot for making the most noise that is physically possible for two humans to make.
We honestly love this pair. It’s the epitome of thrashy hardcore with an unhealthy dose of distortion, boasting hints of Drenge, early IDLES, Demob Happy and more. We genuinely don’t know where to best to start, but ‘Holy Smoke’ puts hairs on your chest, ‘Griefcase’ is class, and so is ‘Histrionic’.
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Swordplay and rock ‘n’ roll: A Knight’s Tale comes to Manchester Opera House
Danny Jones
From the moment the curtain rises at Manchester Opera House, A Knight’s Tale bursts into life with exhilarating energy. This stage adaptation of the beloved 2001 film expertly blends medieval spectacle with a bold, modern twist.
Full of jousting tournaments, noble quests, and underdog triumphs, the production delivers both heart and high drama – all with a heady dose of rock ‘n’ roll.
At the centre of it all is William Thatcher, a young squire who dares to defy his lowly birth and enter the world of high-born knights. Played with charm and confidence by Andrew Coshan, William’s journey from peasant to jousting champion is rousing, if occasionally veering into heroic cliché.
Still, Coshan’s likability and natural charisma keep the audience cheering for him through every lance charge and dramatic monologue. The supporting cast also shines.
A standout is Eva Scott, whose comic timing and delivery consistently land laughs, often stealing scenes with her sharp one-liners.
Meanwhile, Meesha Turner brings elegance and spark to the role of Princess Jocelyn. Her powerful vocals during the show’s pop-classic ballads transform the character into a fiery, modern princess you can’t help but root for.
The production’s standout sequences are undoubtedly the jousts, theatrical set pieces that are an absolute masterclass in stagecraft. Using a clever combination of rigging, physical choreography, and dynamic sound design, the creative team conjures a truly immersive atmosphere.
Dramatic lighting and resonant sound effects make you feel the thud of hooves and the crash of lances. The cleverly designed set, featuring an arena-style jousting field, draws the audience into the action in a way that feels fresh and cinematic.
However, the show stumbles slightly in its quieter, more emotional scenes. The dialogue, while laced with humour, sometimes dips into melodrama. The villain, Count Adhemar, feels a touch underwritten, with motivations that don’t quite match the emotional weight the story strives for, but is still well-acted.
Don’t just take it from us: the A Knight’s Tale reviews from Manchester crowds are already very strong.
The stakes between him and William never fully build to the payoff they could – leaving certain dramatic beats a little flat. Musically, the show makes a bold departure from traditional scores. Instead, it leans into a soundtrack of classic rock anthems; think Queen, AC/DC, The Who and more.
At first, it seems like an odd match for a medieval tale, just as it did with the movie, but it works brilliantly. The music injects the show with rebellious energy and gives it a timeless quality. It’s loud, bold, and exactly what this high-octane tale of ambition and identity calls for.
A special mention must go to the ensemble and choreography. The jousting scenes are beautifully choreographed, blending acrobatics, dance, and swordplay with seamless precision. Even in quieter moments, the movement on stage supports the storytelling with subtle grace.
But the unexpected stars of the show? The horses. Designed with clever costume and movement illusions, they create the convincing effect of riders in full gallop – and at times, they very nearly steal the spotlight altogether.
Credit: Supplied
Though clearly aimed at adult audiences, with its cheeky humour and classic rock soundtrack, the show flirts with the spirit of panto, oversized characters, regional accents, and exaggerated physical comedy. And it works.
The regional dialects add warmth and levity, grounding the fantasy in a cheeky, very British sensibility. In the end, A Knight’s Tale is a triumphant and entertaining spectacle, an electrifying mix of medieval mythology and modern musical theatre.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the original film or seeing the story for the first time, this production offers a fun, fast-paced, and surprisingly heartfelt night out. It’s not perfect, but it’s hard not to be swept up in the clashing swords, galloping hooves, and power chords.
Put simply, this is a knight to remember – with a soundtrack that slays.
Danny Jones -
10th April 2024 
