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Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon to kick off UK tour in Manchester

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Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 31st March 2025

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.

Unfamiliar with the show?

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.

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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.

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Sunny Afternoon
Sunny Afternoon
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.

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Tickets are now on sale from just £15 each, and you can find out more information and get your hands on them here.

Featured Image – Kevin Cummins

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Drake adds extra Manchester date to UK tour after ‘unprecedented demand’

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

An extra date has been added for Drake’s run of Manchester shows next month following ‘unprecedented demand’.

In case you missed the announcement earlier this week, Drake announced that he’ll be coming to Manchester for two huge gigs next month (yes, literally next month), but now following so-called ‘unprecedented demand’, an extra date has been added.

The GRAMMY award-winning and multi-platinum global artist teamed up with fellow Canadian rapper PARTYNEXTDOOR to release their collaborative album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, on Valentine’s Day earlier this year, and now to celebrate the release, the duo are making their highly anticipated return to the UK and Europe.

The arena tour, aptly named ‘$ome$pecial $hows 4 UK’, will kick off on 20 and 21 July at Birmingham Utilita Arena, before Drake comes to visit us Mancs shortly after.

The Toronto rapper was already set to take to the stage at Manchester‘s newest live entertainment arena, Co-op Live, on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 July, following three nights of headlining Wireless Festival at London’s Finsbury Park.

But now, Monday 28 July has also been added into the mix in Manchester.

Following his three nights in Manchester, the tour will then continue across Europe, with stops in Munich, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and more, all before wrapping up on 23 September in Hamburg at Barclays Arena. 

The tour marks Drake’s first return to Europe and the UK in six years, following his 2019 Assassination Vacation Tour.

Throughout 2023 and 2024, Drake completed his monumental sold-out 80-date It’s All A Blur Tour across North America, featuring special guests 21 Savage and J. Cole.

$ome $pecial $hows 4 UK 2025 dates:

  • Sunday 20 & Monday 21 July – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
  • Friday 25 and Saturday 26 July – Co-op Live, Manchester
  • Monday 28 July – Co-op Live, Manchester

Breaking more records along the way, Wireless announced Drake as the 2025 headliner for all three nights, each featuring unique setlists and special guests, and the festival sold out within minutes – which is the fastest sell-out in its 20-year history. 

Drake will be at Co-op Live on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 July, and again on Monday 28 July, and in true last-minute fashion, tickets go on general on sale today (6 June).

Read more:

You can get tickets when they go on sale here.

Or, if you’re feeling a bit fancy, you can have a look at some VIP tickets and packages through SeatUnique here.

Featured Image – Supplied

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Disney On Ice is bringing its ‘Find Your Hero’ tour to Manchester this Christmas

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Disney On Ice

Disney On Ice is returning to Manchester with a brand-new magical adventure for the whole family this festive season.

I know June has only just begun and that officially means summer is here, but do you fancy just casting your minds forward to Christmas for a second?

That’s because Disney On Ice has announced today that it’ll be heading out on a tour of the UK once the festive season rolls around, and of course, the tour’ll be making a stop here in Manchester.

Audiences will get to discover what it truly means to be a hero, as Mickey and Minnie Mouse and all their friends from the Disney Kingdom come together to take families on a journey of unforgettable moments as they bring timeless tales to life on ice.

The production will travel throughout the UK, visiting places like Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle, Aberdeen, and Belfast, all before arriving at Manchester’s AO Arena.

This is your chance to re-live famous Disney stories with all of your favourite characters, alongside the magic of classic Disney songs and world-class ice skating.

Disney On Ice is bringing its ‘Find Your Hero’ tour to Manchester this Christmas / Credit: Supplied

The talented Disney On Ice cast rehearse for more than 550 hours to perfect each performance and encapsulate the characters, while a team of choreographers, and set and costume designers, create more than 200 props and more than 200 different costumes.

Encanto, Moana, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and Tangled are just some of the legendary Disney tales you can see reimagined when Disney On Ice presents Find Your Hero arrives in Manchester this December.

Disney On Ice presents Find Your Hero 2025/26 tour dates

  • bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham: 29 October – 9 November 2025
  • Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham: 12 – 16 November 2025
  • Utilita Arena, Newcastle: 19 – 23 November 2025 
  • P&J Live, Aberdeen: 27 – 30 November 2025 
  • SSE Arena, Belfast: 5 – 7 December 2025
  • AO Arena, Manchester: 10 – 14 December 2025
  • Utilita Arena, Sheffield: 17 – 21 December 2025
  • O2 Arena, London: 26 December 2025 – 4 January 2026
Disney On Ice
The magical production is arriving at the AO Arena this December / Credit: Supplied

The production brings beloved characters to life through cutting-edge figure skating, eye-catching costumes, and stunning set designs, with innovative lighting and thrilling special effects, making it an experience the whole family will treasure forever.

Disney On Ice presents Find Your Hero arrives at Manchester’s AO Arena from 10-14 December 2025, and tickets go on Three+ presale on Monday 9 June and AO Arena presale on Thursday 12 June, both at 9am.

All before they then go on general sale next Friday 13 June, again at 9am.

Read more:

You can get your tickets here.

Featured Image – Supplied

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