The rich cultural landscape of Manchester means that the city has been home to number of notable cinemas and entertainment complexes over the years.
But perhaps none are more iconic to our generation than the Showcase Cinema.
The Showcase Cinema – which occupied the site of the famous Belle Vue entertainment complex – was one of the first multi-screen venues to open up in Manchester, bringing blockbuster flicks, quick queues, and car parks to fit a 1,000 cars along with it.
It was unlike anything the area had ever seen before when it first opened back in 1989.
The hustle and bustle of excitable film fans filled the foyer, hallways, and 14 screens of this beloved Hyde Road hangout right up until the world ground to a halt and it was forced to temporarily close its doors due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in March of last year.
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The cinema’s owners had grand plans to reopen the 13-acre site to the public once restrictions were lifted, but sadly none of that came to reality.
It was announced in October 2020 that the closure of the Showcase Cinema would be permanent.
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The effects of ongoing restrictions were seen to be slowly crushing the unrivalled collective cinema experience right across the UK, and Belle Vue’s community hub became one of the latest fatalities.
While you unfortunately won’t be able to grab tickets to see the newest James Bond or Marvel movie within the cinema’s four walls in the future, the building that thousands have stepped foot in over its 30-year life still remains intact on the site it’s always stood.
The only difference is, it looks a little different than you might remember.
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A series of photos captured by local urban explorer Exploring with Jake – known to his 47K+ followers for “exploring abandoned buildings and old work places in the UK” – show the cinema’s well-known frontage appearing rather run-down, and the inside looking like a shell of its former self.
It’s a pretty eerie sight for anyone who has fond memories of the place.
The rare photos, which were posted to social media earlier this week, have captured the attentions of people all across Greater Manchester, going on to rack up thousands of interactions, shares and comments.
Everything from smashed windows and empty popcorn cabinets, to abandoned control rooms, gutted cinema screens, and long out-dated promotional posters for films still yet to be released, mean the site of the former cinema no longer resembles the popular hub it once was.
And people are understandably a little upset.
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Sure, it’s an eerie sight for now, but it won’t be one for long.
Showcase Cinema agreed to sell the land to Manchester City Council last year, and a formal planning application to redevelop the extensive plot was officially lodged last month.
This news also gave Mancunians a glimpse at plans for The Co-Op Academy Belle Vue – which will be a free school for 1,200 pupils – for the first time, before it’s expected to welcome its first set of Year 7 students this September.
The plans released to the public showed a modern L-shaped building split into three ‘zones’.
It starts with a two-storey sports block, which will boast a sports hall, auditorium, and a drama studio, and the central three-storey building includes the school’s reception, a community hub with a library on the floor above, and a dining hall.
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An adjoining sports hall also has a separate entrance for out of hours use by the wider Belle Vue community, alongside a 140-space car park.
To the rear of the proposed building – which is currently a car park – two large playing fields will be provided, along with a multi-use games area (MUGA) and training grids, which would have three courts to accommodate tennis and basketball courts, a five-a-side football pitch, and practice areas for netball and hockey.
Things are going to look very different.
Fancy having a scroll through a couple more photos?
You can view the full collection of photos of the abandoned Showcase Cinema site on Exploring with Jake’s Facebook page here.
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And that’s not all there is to see either.
If you’re keen to look a little further around the site of the former ‘showground of the world’ that was Belle Vue, including both photos and a video tour of the iconic greyhound dog racing arena and motorcycle speedway tracks – which were the home grounds of Elite League team Belle Vue Aces from 1988 until 2015, and then used for stock car and banger racing from 1999 until 2019 – then be sure to head on over to Exploring with Jake’s page and check out the most recent posts.
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The celebrities who could come to Manchester for the MTV EMAs this week
Daisy Jackson
The MTV EMAs will touch down in Manchester this week, bringing a mass of famous faces and celebrities to our city for a night celebrating the music industry.
The star-studded event will be taking place at the Co-op Live on Sunday 10 November, and also streamed and broadcast live.
Now in its 30th year, the MTV EMAs celebrates the biggest and best of the music industry across genres, with categories honouring the best music videos, collaborations, live shows and even fanbases.
This is the first time the global music celebration has ever been held in our city and it’s expected to attract some of the hottest names in the industry.
There’s a big chance, based off the nominees and already-announced performers, that we’ll have some of the world’s biggest A-listers staying in Manchester, booking up luxury hotel rooms and restaurants.
Host venue Co-op Live has sent the rumour mill into overdrive this week by sharing photos of famous faces who have previously attended the EMAs.
It posted photos of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, all of whom have graced the MTV EMAs stage either as performer or to receive an award over the years.
Not since last year’s surreal Chanel Metiers D’Art show, where the Northern Quarter was turned into a catwalk and Hugh Grant and Kristen Stewart popped up in town, have we been so excited about a potential event guest list.
We do know quite a few celebrities who will definitely be attending the MTV EMAs, including those who are performing, presenting or hosting at the glittering ceremony.
British R&B queen Raye, the iconic Pet Shop Boys, and backflipping crooner Benson Boone are all among those performing at the MTV EMAs in Manchester.
Also on the bill will be Shawn Mendes, Teddy Swims, Tyla, The Warning, Le Sserafim, and Peso Pluma.
Busta Rhymes is also set to receive the 2024 EMA Global Icon Award.
Taylor Swift could be among the celebrities at the MTV EMAs in ManchesterCredit: Instagram, @beyonce
Then there are the presenters, including the main awards host Rita Ora, plus awards presenters already announced like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith and Lucien Laviscount.
But then there are all the big names on the nominees list, who may appear in person or may just opt to send pre-recorded messages of acceptance.
Taylor Swift herself is leading the nominations for the MTV EMAs for a second year running, with seven nods, with other top contenders including Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX and Ariana Grande.
It’s a huge deal for Manchester to be the host city, especially with our very own Liam Gallagher going up agains rock icons like Bon Jovi, Coldplay, Green Day, Kings of Leon, Lenny Kravitz and The Killers in the Best Rock category.
Beyonce herself is nominated for a few, as is this summer’s music darling Chappell Roan, plus nods for Post Malone and Lady Gaga.
You can see the full list of nominees for the MTV EMAs – and thus the potential celebrities you could spot – HERE.
Has Liam Gallagher just casually confirmed that a new Oasis album is coming?
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher is playing his usual social media mind games to perfection as it looks like he might have just revealed that a new Oasis album is on the way.
Keeping close watch on his social media needs to be someone’s full-time job, honestly.
The younger Gallagher sibling and his older brother Noel have finally patched things up after a decade and a half and barring a big bust-up on the first day of their upcoming reunion shows, the world will soon be able to see them back touring again next summer.
A comeback on its own was something we never thought we’d actually live to see come to fruition but now it looks like not only will be once again seeing the Burnage boys performing their many hits but they may or may not have been working on a new Oasis album. It all started back in September, actually.
Liam, 52, has been enjoying some playful back-and-forth with Oasis fans ever since the comeback was confirmed in August and the talk of new/unreleased music has been rumbling for a while.
Responding to a fan on 7 September, who asked point blank if it was true that a new album was on the way, “Yep it’s already finished.”
Then, as the days rolled into November, LG began swapping out the usual ‘RASTAS’ and ‘BUMBALCART’ tweets with two very random on-brand and what we presumed were merely innocuous words: “SPIRITUAL” and, most recently, “CELESTIAL”.
For a man who’s said the word ‘biblical’ more times than he’s had hot dinners, we didn’t make too much of it initially, but it was in his response to other fans on Saturday, 2 November and earlier this week that’s started to grab attention, even responding to a so-called leak about the number of the track listing.
As always, take this stuff with a big ol’ pinch of salt.
All that being said, the last time he did this sort of stuff it was about the support acts for the Oasis reunion tour and he wasn’t lying then, so who knows? Maybe we really are going to get the long-awaited eighth album from Oasis for the first time since 2008.
Elsewhere, the frontman has been joking that he and Noel are practically the best of friends nowadays and almost pretending that there was never any bad blood, adding that he’ll be on his “best behaviour” when they head out on the road for their first tour date at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in July.
Liam has also made it clear he’d much rather keep the Oasis reunion train rolling after the ‘Live ’25 World Tour’ ends than return to a solo career – as for Noel, he could always go back to his High Flying Birds project or maybe even switch industries…