The Royal Variety Performance is taking place this month and for the first time in over a decade, it will be held in Blackpool.
The annual show was last held in the iconic Lancashire seaside town 11 years years ago and has now been confirmed to be returning to the Opera House stage in the Winter Gardens Complex during the event on Sunday 29th November.
Mancunian comedian, actor and singer Jason Manford will host the star-studded show.
Honoured to be hosting this years Royal Variety Performance up in Blackpool. After a year of no theatre I think it’ll be the show everybody needs to cheer us up in these winter months. Top line up at one of the best venues in the world. Seeya there (but not ‘there’!) https://t.co/GVglZmXA4s
The line-up for the 2020 performance includes Captain Sir Tom Moore, who of course captured the nation’s hearts with his fundraising efforts during the pandemic, and will be joining forces from his home for an exclusive performance with entertainer Michael Ball who will be on stage at the Opera House with the NHS choir to perform their chart-topping anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
Other stars set to be in attendance include a special solo appearance by local superstar Gary Barlow, exclusive performances from the award-winning Sheridan Smith as Cilla in the heart-warming and spectacular ‘Cilla The Musical’ and a mesmerising exclusive from ‘Frozen the Musical’, starring leading lady Samantha Barks.
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There’s more music from Brit Award winner and rising star Celeste, singer and Spice Girl Melanie C, and high energy choreography from the ever-popular Steps.
Comedian and actor Stephen Mulhern, West End sensation Marisha Wallace, Kenyan acrobats The Black Blues Brothers, musical comedian and Britain’s Got Talent 2020 winner Jon Courtenay, and stand up comedians Jo Caulfield and Daliso Chaponda will provide the rest of the entertainment.
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ITV
Speaking on his new hosting gig, Jason Manford said: “After appearing at the Royal Variety Performance three times since 2009, it is an honour and a privilege to be hosting the show this year.
“It’s been a hugely difficult year for everybody, so I hope that for a couple of hours on a cold Winter’s night in Blackpool, we can take people’s minds off things and do what us Brits do best – have a laugh.
The event is staged in aid of the Royal Variety Charity – the patron of which is Queen Elizabeth II – and the money raised from the show goes toward helping people from the world of entertainment in need of care and assistance.
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Although not due to be present in person this year amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, HRH The Prince of Wales will also deliver a special message to the charity and the artists performing.
The Royal Variety Performance will be screened on ITV in December.
You can find more information about the 2020 show via the Blackpool Winter Gardens website here.
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Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
18th November 2020 
