The floor of the AO Arena will be transformed into a giant street party for a star-studded show in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The National Lottery will bring together some massive names from the worlds of music and comedy for the one-off free party.
Taking place on Thursday 12 May, The National Lottery’s Big Jubilee Street Party will be hosted by Jason Manford and Fleur East.
Organisers say the show will combine performances, archive footage, and music from the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs, Becky Hill, Steps, Tom Grennan, House Gospel Choir, Calum Scott, Nathan Dawe and Ella Henderson.
It will also celebrate the organisations and individuals that played an important part in Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
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Jason Manford. Credit: Publicity picture
Fleur East. Credit: Supplied
Jason Manford and Fleur East will host the Big Jubilee Street Party
The floor of Manchester’s largest indoor gig venue will be decorated with lights, trestle tables, and colourful bunting to create a street party atmosphere.
The Queen will be marking 70 years of service this June, and Brits will be given a four-day weekend to celebrate.
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The event has been created to celebrate Her Majesty’s historic reign, with more than £22m of National Lottery funds earmarked to help communities commemorate the Platinum Jubilee.
10,000 tickets will be given away free to National Lottery players, with another 1000 set aside for community groups in the north west and charities funded by the National Lottery.
Credit: Unsplash
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Jason Manford said: “I’m delighted to be hosting The National Lottery’s Big Jubilee Street Party at Manchester’s AO Arena in honour of The Queen. It’ll be a huge celebration of our monarch’s extraordinary reign and a night of fantastic entertainment. The audience is in for a real treat.”
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Fleur East added: “The National Lottery’s Big Jubilee Street Party is going be the perfect way to kick start the Jubilee celebrations and we’re looking forward to keeping you company for the night, so get your family and friends involved for what will be a wonderful evening.
“With such an excellent star-studded line-up, and some special audience guests too, it is going to be such an exciting evening of celebrations!”
Nigel Railton, CEO of National Lottery operator Camelot, said: “The National Lottery is incredibly proud to be hosting the UK’s biggest street party for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in Manchester.
“It is going to be a superb evening that everyone will be able to see and enjoy on ITV soon after. The National Lottery will be celebrating the incredible role our monarch has played in bringing communities together, something very close to the hearts of everyone involved with The National Lottery and something players have helped make possible for more than 27 years.”
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Tickets are available on a first-come, first serve basis here, with a £2 booking fee and proof of purchase of a National Lottery product required.
ITV and ITV Hub will also air the concert for those who miss out on tickets.
The funds will help improve the already incredible music scene in Manchester, benefitting staples likes Night and Day Café, Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, SOUP and more.
All of the donations will be distributed across six independent music venues and will be used for various instruments, PA equipment, backline technology and other necessities depending on the requirements of each site.
Elbow have teamed up with Co-op Live in aid of supporting Manchester grassroots venues.Credit: Supplied
This initiative has been keeping Manchester’s Northern Quarter in the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to live music as well as the impressive Co-op Live.
Alongside providing vital resources for these local institutions, Elbow teaming up with Co-op Live also helps cement the North West as one of the main powerhouses in relation to live music.
The latest efforts from the largest indoor arena in Manchester fall in line with celebrating one year of bringing some of the best live music to the city, being officially open for 12 months in May.
Co-op Live have made a commitment to the people and the planet, promising to donate £1 million annually to the Co-op Foundation.
The stunning Co-op Live venue, Manchester’s largest indoor arena.Elbow performing at Co-op Live, marking history as the first act to grace the venue.Credit: Audio North/Supplied
Manchester’s latest live music venue also contributed significantly to selected charities, including Happy Doggo – chosen by Liam Gallagher and Eric Clapton’s addiction recovery centre, Crossroads.
As Elbow teams up with Co-op Live, even more money is making its way to necessary resources, this time in the likes of crucial live music establishments.
Elbow front-person Guy Garvey says: “Playing Co-op Live’s opening night will stay with us for a lifetime, not least because of how incredible the room sounded.”
“When the venue donated funds in our name to support the city we love, it made complete sense to carry that through to the Northern Quarter and to venues that have meant so much to my bandmates and I throughout our career.”
Guy Dunstan, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Co-op Live, adds: “In the past year, I have been proud to see Co-op Live become an integral part of such an incredible city.”
“Teaming up with Elbow to directly support the venues that first put Manchester on the map, and to share something so intrinsic to us as venues – proper sound – is something truly special.”
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon to kick off UK tour in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Multi award-winning musical Sunny Afternoon is set to kick off its UK tour here in Manchester later this year.
Following a sell-out run at Hampstead Theatre, the musical production featuring all the hit songs by legendary rock band The Kinks opened to critical acclaim at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran for two years ahead of its sensational UK and Ireland tour throughout 2016/17.
It also collected four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music for Ray Davies, along the way.
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon is kicking off its UK tour in Manchester / Credit: ATG Tickets
Set against the backdrop of Britain on the cusp of the rebellious 60s,Sunny Afternoon is described as being an ‘exhilarating and moving’ celebration of the music, life, and the band that changed it all, The Kinks.
Sunny Afternoon celebrates The Kinks’ raw energy, passion, and timeless sound.
Charting the ‘euphoric highs’ and ‘agonising lows’, the smash-hit production tells the band’s story through an incredible back catalogue of chart-toppers – including ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Lola’, ‘All Day and All of the Night’, and of course, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ itself.
Tickets are on sale now from just £15 each / Credit: Kevin Cummins
Producers Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions announced last week that the show would be returning for another UK tour later this year, and it’ll be opening right here on one of Manchester‘s most iconic stages.
The hit musical will open at Manchester’s Palace Theatre on 10 October 2025 and it will run right through until 18 October.
Sunny Afternoon has music and lyrics, and an original story, all by the band’s frontman Ray Davies, along with a book by Joe Penhall, direction by Edward Hall, design by Miriam Buether, and choreography by Adam Cooper.
Daisy Jackson -
13th April 2022 
