For the more than 550,000 people who are lucky enough to call this city our home, you don’t have to tell us twice about how great it is.
You’ll probably find us shouting about it from the rooftops at any chance we get.
Manchester is global powerhouse that’s instantly-recognisable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, acclaimed food and drink scene, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, world-beating football teams and sports clubs, impressive transport connections, and so much more.
But what is it that makes the city so close to our hearts? What makes the hustle and bustle of city life so appealing to Mancunians and the people who visit?
Here at The Manc, we’re always keen to know where you stand. And in this case, we want to experience the wonders of our great city through your eyes and see what it is you think makes Manchester so special – a different viewpoint.
So, we took to two of our social media platforms this week – Facebook and Instagram – to ask you, our loyal audience of Mancunians, to finish this sentence – ‘I love Manchester because_____‘.
And here’s what you said:
___
The People
There’s no denying that a significant part of what makes a city so special is the people that inhabit it. The people you find walking down the streets, lending a hand, entertaining the masses, or working so diligently in all of our shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, office buildings, and beyond.
Our family. Our friends. The people that we love.
Of course, it makes sense that so many Mancunians said that their favourite thing about the city of Manchester is the people who live here.
“It’s full of Mancs.”
“I always loved how diverse it was, full of wonderfully colourful people.”
“I met my wife here – Best thing to ever happen to me.”
“I love Manchester because of its salt of the earth people – the city has some of the world’s warmest hearts! Manchester made me and you are beautiful.”
From globally-loved bands such as Oasis, The Stone Roses, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, The Smiths, and too many more that we just don’t have time to list off, to the iconic Madchester music scene and the days of Factory Records and The Haçienda, and right through to the music of all genres that’s being produced here today, there’s bound to be something that the Manchester music scene has created for everyone to tap their toes to along to.
The city is also full of live music venues of all shapes and sizes, which has cemented Manchester as a staple location on the touring schedules for artists all over the world.
Manchester is a city such a rich culture – and you all seem to love it.
“I’d spend a lot of time in Manchester with my aunt, especially Afflecks and the market, a lot of collectors / album shops, and you’d just see people with all different styles there.”
“There’s always vibe about the place, a uniqueness and surprise around every corner or street and alley. Little cafe or antique shop, or a pub or bar you have never noticed. And the buildings where ten of thousands of people walk passed every day and not the beautiful architecture or a fantastic piece of graffiti art on a wall.”
“I love Manchester because of Afflecks.”
“It’s just a lovely place. Not too fast paced not too dull. I think it’s the right balance of all things – a bit of country side nearby, a bit of modern infrastructure in the expanding city, a bit of history and everything here.”
Just as the famous quote from the iconic Tony ‘Longfella’ Walsh poem This Is The Place goes, “Some are born here, some drawn here – but we all call it home.”
Manchester is a city to call home, and that is something so many of us are proud of.
“It’s home (and a million other reasons).”
“It’s home. I’ve been all over, but I always come back – best city in the world.”
“It’s where I was born and raised.”
“Because I was born there, and it will always be home no matter where in the world I am.”
“It’s where I came for six months, and stayed 12 years.”
“Because whenever I visit, inside it feels like I’ve come home.”
“No need to finish the sentence… It says all it needs to say.”
“Everyone from every age, colour and religion come together. It’s the best city on earth.”
“Best city in the world – very cosmopolitan and good mix of Western and Eastern culture, and food places, and all my uni memories are here too.”
“It’s my happy place.”
“There’s nothing else like it. Best city in the UK by a country mile.”
___
Not found an answer you agree with? Do you have a different view? We received hundreds of replies to our question across all social platforms, so we unfortunately haven’t been able to include every single one in this article.
Instead, we chose to feature a few that seemed to resonate the best with our audience and received the most interactions overall.
Are you keen to have your say?
Well, there’s still time to chip in, so make sure you head on over to The Manc on Facebook and Instagram to take part, leave your thoughts and discuss with other Mancunians in the same position as you.
Nostalgic ready-to-drink Breezer makes UK return after a decade
Daisy Jackson
An iconic ready-to-drink favourite has launched back into the UK – oh yes, Breezer is back.
First launched in the 1990s, Breezers – then pitched as an ‘alcopop’ – were a staple on dancefloors and at barbecues right across the UK.
And now Bacardi has decided to bring these delicious, fruity, easy-drinking bottles back to British shores.
There are three new flavours to try as Breezers return to your fridges – Zesty Orange, Zingy Lime, and Crisp Watermelon.
And Breezer launched back into Manchester last night with a suitably memorable party, turning a spot in the Northern Quarter into a corner shop.
The ‘local Cornerbop’ was stacked with your usual essentials, plus shelf after shelf of these colourful glass ready-to-drink bottles.
Inside the Breezer ‘Cornerbop’ corner shop in ManchesterBreezer is back, in three new flavours
The Breezer relaunch party saw Tarsza and Rennie Peters spinning nostalgic anthems with a modern twist at a pop-up party in a corner shop.
Steve Young, business unit director for Bacardi in the UK & Ireland, said: “We know there is a lot of love for Breezer in the UK, and we are confident a new generation of consumers will fall in love with the new Breezer.
“RTDs are booming, however, the Flavoured Alcoholic Beverages category could do with a bit more excitement. By bringing back Breezer we’re definitely putting the fruity taste into FAB.”
The iconic ready-to-drink classic is back – and better than ever.
Explaining the ‘Poznań’ and why Oasis fans are doing it at their Live ’25 reunion tour gigs
Danny Jones
The sun is shining, Britpop is back on top and, more importantly, Oasis are BACK – plus, they’ve got thousands of people that aren’t even Manchester City fans doing the Poznań. Here’s why.
Before you jump down our throats, yes, we’re fully aware of what the popular Man City supporter celebration is (including the fact that it’s nicked); however, we have seen plenty of people confused over what it’s all about.
Including a few in our office who couldn’t give a monkey’s about football, which is fair enough.
So, if like lots of other non-footy-obsessed Oasis fans, you’ve also been wondering A) what the Poznań is and B) why people on the Live ’25 reunion tour have been doing it, here’s a brief explanation.
What is the Poznań celebration?
For starters, if you’ve been keeping off social media completely to avoid any spoilers whatsoever, first of all, well done, your willpower is much stronger than ours.
Secondly, if you’ve never seen it before at all, here’s what it looks like:
It came out of Poland, hailing from the place of the same name and popularised by Ekstraklasa (a.k.a. the Polish first division) football team, Lech Poznań, who have been doing it since the 1960s.
As you can see, the group – and in this case, stadium-wide celebration – sees supporters turning their backs on the pitch/the centre of the arena and linking by wrapping arms around each other’s shoulders and jumping up and down in one, massive, continuous wave.
It is quite a striking visual, no question about that.
Why are Oasis fans doing it?
Come on, you must have put two and two together by now.
Manchester City fans adopted this now iconic celebration more than a decade and a half ago, and have been doing it regularly during big games, big scorelines, and big trophy wins, of which there have been a lot since then.
In fact, aside from the Burnage boys being massive Blues, Liam Gallagher himself actually instructed the Cardiff crowds on nights one and two.
Gallagher brothers kick off Oasis world tour with Cardiff show, as Liam tells fans 'do the poznan'.
It’s actually said to originate from Turkey or Greece, where it is also fairly commonplace, being simply referred to as ‘la Grecque’.
They’ve even used some pretty biblical official photography from the opening weekend of the reunion tour as the cover art for a live recording re-released of ‘Slide Away’.
It might be the coolest album artwork we’ve seen in a while, to be honest.
The history of the Poznań and its connection to Man City
Be it at Wembley for a cup final or at the Etihad Stadium, where the majority of fans saw the supporter stunt for the first time, it’s become arguably even more synonymous with City than its creators.
It was 2010, and the blue half of Manchester was hosting Lech Poznań in the group stage of the Europa League, but despite a 3-1 victory on the grass itself, more eyes were fixed on the stands themselves.
An army of 6,000 loyal Lech Poznań fans travelled for the game and had the ground quite physically bouncing with a shade of slightly darker blue, so when Emmanuel Adebayor wrapped up a hat-trick, the home support decided to turn the jubilation on their opponents and do it themselves.
It was all in good spirit, of course, but it went down a pretty instant hit with City fans and has only grown more prevalent and regular ever since.
Perhaps one of the funniest sights in recent years is Noel Gallagher being too hungover to join in, which also led to one of the coldest-looking images of the songwriter ever, and one that was quickly dubbed a perfect album cover for the next High Flying Birds album or, who knows, maybe another Oasis record?…
Ok, this is still up there in the cover art competition too.
So, yeah: that’s pretty much the long and short of it, we just thought it would help if we quickly explained the Poznań to anyone wondering why Oasis fans have been doing it.
Basically, if it was that big over in Wales, don’t be surprised if you see a literal sea of people flood Heaton Park before turning their backs to the stage, which seems to be triggered once Liam introduces ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol.’ It’ll be interesting to see if Man United fans get involved.
And finally, just imagine how much more epic this is going to be back home in Manchester as we brace for quite possibly the biggest headline gig the region has ever seen…
Emily Sergeant -
7th January 2022 
