Chinese New Year 2022 is on the horizon, and as always, Manchester has a whole week of celebrations lined up to mark the occasion.
While Manchester’s usual annual celebrations for Chinese New Year – also known as Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival – may be on a slightly smaller scale this year due to the COVID restrictions in place to allow visitors to safely enjoy the events, there’s still plenty happening across the city centre to help bring in the ‘Year of the Tiger’.
Chinese New Year is officially being celebrated in Manchester this year from Tuesday 1 – Sunday 6 February.
As mentioned, 2022 has been named the ‘Year of the Tiger’, and according to the Chinese zodiac, people born in this year are predicted to be brave, competitive, unpredictable, and confident – just like the animal.
To honour 2022’s animal namesake, a large-scale tiger art sculpture will take centre stage in St Ann’s Square as just one the events in the calendar.
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You may have also seen that thousands of red lanterns have started adorning the city’s streets, and you can also expect the chance to take in some spectacular live performances, feast on authentic street food, and a make the most of a funfair, plus some traditional lion and dragon dances over the course of the week too.
Here’s everything happening for Chinese New Year 2022 in Manchester.
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Chinese New Year is being celebrated in Manchester from Tuesday 1 – Sunday 6 February / Credit: Instagram (@chinesenewyearmcr)
The New Year Tiger
St Ann’s Square
Tuesday 1 – Sunday 6 February 2022
New for 2022, commissioned by Manchester BID, and created by Decordia Events, this jaw-dropping installation will be a structural take on the traditional tiger made from wood and recycled corrugated plastic.
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While we know that the tiger is a symbol of power in Chinese culture and is considered to be brave and forceful, this origami-like tiger sculpture, however, will give the ultimate illusion to those who lay their eyes on it, as it appears to be weak and made of paper, but in fact, it will remain tall and strong for the world to see.
The tiger’s inner structure will also playfully-match the stripes and markings of a real-life tiger, casting stunning shadows at night with surrounding lights.
Chinatown Celebrations
Chinatown
Sunday 6 February 2022
The iconic Chinatown arch in Manchester city centre / Credit: Visit Manchester
While sadly, popular annual events such as the parade and the firework finale will not be taking place in 2022 due to COVID restrictions, there’s still plenty to make the most of in Manchester city centre’s very-own Chinatown.
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Think live performances, workshops, street food, stalls, and a funfair, as well as the illuminated Dragon, and other family-friendly activities such as traditional lion dances, Chinese acrobatics, singing, poem reading, and Kung Fu.
Performances will take place from 11am – 7pm in Chinatown Car Park, and you can see the illuminated dragon on the hour from 4pm – 7pm in Chinatown itself.
It’s asked that you please wear a mask when possible at all Chinatown events.
The Door Opened: 1980s China
Manchester Central Library
26 January – 26 April 2022
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The Door Opened: 1980s China at Manchester Central Library, with photographs by Adrian Bradshaw / Credit: Manchester Central Library
Brought to Manchester Central Library by the Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester, from 26 January – 26 April, English photographer Adrian Bradshaw’s exhibition The Door Opened: 1980s China will feature a blend of candid and posed photographs exploring China in the 1980s.
Bradshaw went to Beijing as a student in 1984 just as everyday life was in flux, and caught up in the ferment of the time, he went on to spend three decades documenting the transformation of China as the vast nation changed and opened up to the world.
Photographs captured document everything from opulent fashion extravaganzas, to sentimental family excursions, as he captures the fleeting beauty and simplicity of everyday life.
It’s described as a vivid record of a pivotal period in modern history.
Enter Shikari announce SUPER intimate show in Manchester
Danny Jones
Much-loved British alternative band Enter Shikari have just announced a very, VERY intimate gig in Manchester city centre, and it’s happening rather soon.
It doesn’t matter how die-hard or casual a fan you are, you are simply not ready for this one…
Almost a full 20 years from what they still covet as a watershed breakout gig here in Greater Manchester, Enter Shikari are set to play none other than grassroots rock bar and nightclub, Satan’s Hollow, right in the heart of the city centre.
Pretty much the life and soul of the heavier music scene here in 0161 for decades now, it remains not only a treasured small-cap venue but arguably still among thego-to post-gig spots after any hard gig; you could say Enter Shikari are simply cutting out the middle man.
It’s fair to say that a group of their size very rarely get to play rooms as tiny as this one these days, so it’s sure to be quite a rowdy one for the electronically influenced post-hardcore outfit.
Formed way back in 1999 (if you can believe that), they’re more used to selling out arena tours all over the world, including their upcoming Co-op Live gig this winter.
It’s also worth mentioning that this will be their single biggest domestic headline show to date.
But not before they go back to where it all started for them in this city, booking a certain-to-sell-out Shikari show at Satan’s Hollow – a Manchester venue they first played in 2006.
In fact, they’ve actually shared footage from that fateful night, and yes, the quality is as bad as you’d expect, but it gives you an idea of what the atmosphere was like then, let alone now their fan base has grown so much over the years.
Here’s us, almost 20 years ago, playing ‘OK Time For Plan B’ at our first ever Manchester show in @satanshollow on April 10th 2006.
Funny to think that in November, Manchester will host our biggest ever UK headline show at the @TheCoopLive. Both shows with the same promoter. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uHKVOwZbM2
Speaking on this milestone moment, the band wrote in a statement: “Manchester’s a city that means a lot to us. The Satan’s Hollow show back in April ’06 was the first sense we got that ‘something’ was ‘happening’. A queue around the block and total chaos inside.
We’ve had a lot of memorable shows in Manchester since then (and in November we’ll play our biggest ever UK headline show there!), but for some reason that night at Satan’s Hollow kept coming up in conversation, so the anniversary show was just too tempting.”
Tickets for this unmissable show will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for those who register HERE up until 9:30am tomorrow, Wednesday, 25 March.
The gig itself is happening on 9 April, with support from Liverpool’s very own East Exchange as support. Best of luck to all those trying to cop tickets, and hopefully we’ll see you at Satan’s.
Featured Images — Kate Hook (supplied via Chuff Media)
What's On
Gladiators Live Tour to make ‘triumphant’ return to Manchester on UK arena tour
Emily Sergeant
The Gladiators Live Tour will make a triumphant return in 2026.
Following its explosive debut in 2025 and overwhelming fan demand, the Gladiators Live Tour is set to head out on a UK tour later this year, bringing the iconic phenomenon back to arenas nationwide for an electrifying new run of shows, and making a stop off in Manchester, of course.
Audiences will, once again, have the chance to experience the action-packed spectacle featuring the stars of the hit BBC reboot series on an epic scale.
The 2025 live tour thrilled audiences nationwide, selling over 200,000 tickets and proving the arena spectacular is ‘bigger, bolder, and more electrifying’ than ever, and that energy is only set to continue this year when the show returns to Manchester’s popular AO Arena.
GLADIATORS, READY!
Following its epic debut in 2025 the triumphant live show brings the energy to Manchester on 14 & 15 Nov!
This adrenaline-fuelled event sees the legendary Gladiators storm back into the arena to face fearless contenders in a heart-pounding live adaptation of the smash-hit television phenomenon.
Expect iconic fan-favourite events, breathtaking stunts, epic head-to-head battles and the unforgettable Eliminator finale.
Featuring stars from the hit BBC series, audiences are being told to expect a truly immersive, high-octane experience, as arenas are transformed into modern gladiatorial battlegrounds complete with purpose-built sets, spectacular lighting, and cinematic staging.
The Gladiators Live Tour 2026 kicks off in Aberdeen on 10 October, before heading to other major cities like Glasgow, London, and Birmingham, as well as northern locations like Leeds and Newcastle, and of course, Manchester’s AO Arena for two nights on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November.
Tickets officially go on sale this Friday 27 March, with two shows per day available, and you can grab them when they go live here.
Emily Sergeant -
18th January 2022 
