Punters basking in the sunshine outside a popular Manchester city centre pub yesterday spotted bees swarming and settling on a lamppost.
It’s no secret that bee swarms are a common sight across Greater Manchester, with several stories of city centre shoppers being shocked to see the buzzing insects collectively gathering and covering street signs, traffic lights, cars, and more, grabbing headlines over the past couple of years – and it seems 2023 is no different.
This time, it looks like they took a particular liking to a lamppost outside a busy beer garden.
As temperatures soared and the sun shone down on the city, shoppers walking passed The Mitre Hotel spotted thousands of bees congregating and covering a lamppost.
Harry Slater (@harryjslater85) was just one city centre shopper who happened to notice the bee swarm as he passed The Mitre yesterday, and made sure to grab a quick video and send it to The Manc on Instagram.
A walk past The Mitre this morning, however, has confirmed that the bees are no longer there, although it’s unsure whether they vacated themselves or if specialist help from a beekeeper was required to remove them from the lamppost.
As we all know, Manchester and bees go hand in hand – and considering the swarm was spotted yesterday on 22 May just steps way from the AO Arena, it could have been seen as a rather fitting and touching tribute to the 22 people who tragically lost their lives, and the thousands more injured and impacted, on the sixth anniversary of the Manchester Arena Attack.
The worker bee has not only been an emblem for our city for over 150 years now, but after the Manchester Arena attack back on 22 May 2017, bees have gone on to become an even more prevalent symbol, and one that’s synonymous with remembrance and resilience.
The Mitre Hotel in Manchester city centre / Credit: The Mitre (via Facebook)
The city claimed the crown thanks to a study analysing UK cities based on a number of metrics – including pollution, green space, the number of flower gardens, allotment sites, individual allotment plots, and the number of parks.
But why have there been so many bees swarming in Manchester city centre in recent years? And what does it mean?
Well, according to the British Beekeepers Association, a honeybee colony may swarm for a number of reasons but can often be seen swarming on warm and sunny days between May and July, and usually after a spell of poor weather.
It’s a completely natural process, and they will most likely swarm to reproduce after the old queen leaves a colony with some of the other bees.
The worker bee has been a symbol of Manchester for over 150 years / Credit: Pinterest | Damien Tupinier (via Unsplash)
Once the queen has left, scout bees will then head off in search of suitable places to construct the swarm’s home, and the successful scouts will eventually report back on the location of suitable nesting sites to the other bees – but in the meantime, the other bees will leave the hive and find a spot to wait until the scout decides on the new home for the colony.
The latter is most likely to answer for the swarm we saw yesterday.
With the warm weather set to continue, it remains to be seen whether this will be the last swarm we’ll see this week, but the city will no doubt be ready and waiting if it happens again.
Featured Image – Harry Slater (via Instagram – @harryjslater85)
Trending
A new music showcase is taking place at a beautiful and historic Stockport venue
Danny Jones
A new live showcase is coming to Stockport town centre as part of a wider music, art and cultural celebration next month.
And by new, we mean the artists; if you went to the last edition, you’ll know it delivers some serious talent.
Teaming up with the likes of Manchester-based music magazine and promoters, The Rodeo, as well as ticketing platform Skiddle, Stockport is set to welcome the return of Mercury Climbing Festival.
This week-long celebration of music, art and culture around parts of the Greater Manchester borough’s historic old town, and there are some exciting names on board already.
As for Mercury Climbing 2025 itself, the multi-day festival spread across several locations boasts the best in native and Northern music, visual arts, and comedy.
Popping up across a total of eight different spaces, including the likes of the brand-new Stockroom, pubs, and headline music venue St Mary’s Church – quietly one of the coolest places we’ve ever seen a gig – you have plenty of reason to be excited about this one.
Speaking of St Mary’s, while artists such as local legends Badly Drawn Boy, Manc indie outfit The Covasettes and Riding The Low – fronted by actor Paddy Considine – are set to play the stunning ceremonial space, The Rodeo is also hosting its own dedicated stage at the church.
Highlighting emerging new talent on Saturday, 20 September, Manchester-based solo indie project Better Joy is set to headline, with Denver County Council (who featured on our Manc artists of the month round-up), Henry Webb-Jenkins, Katie & the Bad Sign, plus more to be announced in support.
The last time we saw a ‘Live at St Mary’s’ event, we can’t stress this enough: it was nothing short of an unforgettable experience.
You don’t get to enjoy a ‘religious’ gig experiences like this often…
Taking place from Friday, 19-26 September, the festival as a whole will transform Stockport’s historic Old Town into a vibrant cultural hub.
And it isn’t just music: there are local food and drink traders getting involved, artwork from the one and only Stanley Chow, as well as plenty of other entertainment.
Above all else, the event is not only steeped in SK and Greater Manchester’s rich heritage, but it’s a great way of supporting new art coming out of the region.
The Rodeo’s St Mary’s stage gets underway from 4pm and is scheduled to finish at 10:30pm, but the wider Mercury Climbing programme is an all-day festival that won’t end until late. You can grab your tickets right HERE.
Manchester’s very own Jamie Hutchinson announces new stand-up tour dates
Danny Jones
Manchester comedian Jamie Hutchinson has just announced arguably his biggest domestic tour yet, and despite plenty of gigs around the North, he’s playing just one hometown headline slot.
So you’d best be quick about grabbing tickets.
The local stand-up has seen a huge rise in popularity over the last few years, not only thanks to his regular gigging on the live circuit, but numerous standout podcast performances and, in short, by being one of the most amusing comic storytellers around – at least as far as we’re concerned.
Now set to embark on an extensive run of UK shows early next year, Jamie Hutchinson is getting back on the road with his latest material very soon.
Taking his new hour, Can My Mate Come, He’s Sound (see, even his titles are low-key genuinely funny) on tour, the crown prince of Gorton, a.k.a. ‘Mash’ himself, is playing venues up and down the country, including plenty here in the North West.
After all, he can’t drive, so best keep the long train journeys to a minimum, eh?
To quote Broadway Baby, who shared their positive words only recently, their newest project promises a “brand-new hour of unfiltered mayhem, questionable logic and emotional chaos held together by takeaway boxes and blind optimism.”
If that isn’t a glowing review, then we don’t know what is..
The Hot Water’s Green Room host and regular Have A Word podcast favourite delighted his crowds and newcomers alike with his record-breaking Waterslide tour, which ran from 2023 all the way into last year, and now he’s looking to repeat that same success. As it happens, multiple dates have sold out already.
With more than 700 tickets sold within the first hour of presale alone, it’s no surprise that the likes of Chorley, Chester (already gone) and soon both of his Liverpool shows are soon to be sold out.
As for his Academy One show on Sunday, 24 May 2026 – which is just about the biggest Manc venue he’s played to date – we expect it won’t be long before that one books up too.
We can always hope he tacks on extra dates on the UK tour, but if you’re a Jamie Hutchinson fan, you’re still best just making sure you secure your seat while you can. Grab yours HERE.
Let’s just pray he makes it home in time for his appointment with ‘Dr Catford’…
He’s yet to record a live taping of a special, but this is the kind of charming nonsense you can expect.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd May 2023 
