The historic coronation of King Charles III is finally happening tomorrow, and it’s set to be shown on big screens all over the UK.
It’s been a long time coming, but the coronation of King Charles III is to officially be held tomorrow on Saturday 6 May, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has spent the last couple of months dishing out a budget of £1 million to local Councils to enable them to erect large screens in cities and towns nationwide.
Over 60 screens are expected to be set up throughout the UK.
— Department for Culture, Media and Sport (@DCMS) April 27, 2023
Places such as public parks, gardens, cathedrals, and more are all set to be transformed into viewing venues, so that people can collectively come together and watch the historic event surrounded by hundreds of others.
It was confirmed by the DCMS that several screens are being set up in public places across Greater Manchester.
ADVERTISEMENT
As well as showing the coronation ceremony and processions on the big screens, most of the venues also have other activities planned – including in Piccadilly Gardens, where a “party fit for royalty” is planned.
Here’s everything you need to know.
ADVERTISEMENT
The coronation of King Charles III is happening on Saturday 6 May 2023 / Credit: gov.uk
What can I expect from coronation day?
King III will be coronated alongside his wife and the Queen Consort, Camilla, in a religious ceremony held at Westminster Abbey in London – which is the same place his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II‘s coronation was held in 1953, as was her State Funeral in September of last year – on Saturday 6 May 2023.
The ceremony will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
On Saturday, King Charles III will become the 40th Sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, with The Queen Consort crowned beside him.@WAbbey has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066, with William the Conqueror being the first monarch to be crowned there. pic.twitter.com/4daqSOVYM7
Expected to be a more “simmered down” event in comparison to that of the late Queen’s, Buckingham Palace said the coronation will “reflect the monarch’s role today” and will “look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.
ADVERTISEMENT
During ceremony, Charles will be anointed with holy oil, and then blessed and consecrated by the archbishop, before he is then crowned with St Edward’s Crown.
Where can I watch the coronation in Greater Manchester?
The DCMS has confirmed big screens will be in the following Greater Manchester locations:
You can find out more about everything Manchester City Council has organised for the coronation celebrations in Piccadilly Gardens here.
Manchester Cathedral, Bolton’s Library and Museum Lecture Theatre, and Sale Waterside in Trafford have also confirmed they will be screening the coronation ceremony and proceedings, although these are not official DCMS events.
King Charles III’s coronation will be shown on a big screens in Greater Manchester / Credit: The Royal Family
Where else is the coronation being shown in the North West?
As far as official Government-funded events go, the only other big screen to be erected in the North West is in the newly-established Eurovision Village in Liverpool city centre – which has been set up for fans to gather and celebrate the 2023 edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest.
ADVERTISEMENT
Aside from DCMS screens, local communities throughout the region also have events planned.
It’s advised to check Council websites for more information on other coronation fringe events happening over the bank holiday weekend.
Information about all coronation events can be found on The Royal Family website here.
Featured Image – The Royal Family
Trending
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
Trending
‘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.
🔵 Subscribe to our Manchester City page on BBC Sounds for the latest interviews. #MCFC#bbcfootball
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.
Emily Sergeant -
5th May 2023 
