Blondie will play at Manchester’s AO Arena next year as part of their first UK tour in over four years.
The seminal rock band are booked to perform 10 dates over 15 days in November 2021 – visiting cities across England, Wales and Scotland.
Blondie will be supported by Garbage – the Shirley Manson-fronted rock group with more than 17 million album sales to their credit – for the second time, having already performed side-by-side on their “Rage and Rapture” tour of North America in 2017.
Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry said: “Next year’s UK tour is more meaningful to me perhaps than the very first time Blondie played there in the mid ’70s.
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“The UK has always been a special place to us, and being able to come back to perform there after sitting out most of 2020 is very exciting.”
She added: “All tours are rarely the same, however, I really hope the new Blondie/Garbage concert events are even better. I have always been a fan of Garbage (and of Shirley Manson dating back to her days in Goodbye Mr Makenzie).
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“Along with Butch, Steve, Duke and Eric this band set the stage on fire. I can’t wait to play these shows with them!”
Crowds will get the chance to see live performances of ‘Heart Of Glass’, ‘Atomic’, ‘Tide Is High’, ‘Maria’, ‘Sunday Girl’, ‘Rapture’ and ‘Call Me’, with the band also set to play songs from the latest album Pollinator– which reached Number 4 on the UK charts.
Garbage
Harry’s bestselling autobiography, FACE IT, was released at the end of last year to overwhelming praise, with the paperback edition set for release in Autumn 2021.
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Also coinciding with the new tour is the first Blondie Archive project in the band’s history: “BLONDIE 1974-1982: Against The Odds”. This will be released in four formats and include extensive liner notes, “track by track” commentary by the entire band, complete discography, and unreleased bonus material.
Tickets for the Against The Odds tour go live to pre-sale customers on Wednesday 21 October at 10am.
A second pre-sale will take place on Thursday 22 at 10am, before a general sale 24 hours later.
The full tour dates for Blondie are as follows (all dates are in November 2021):
Sat 6 – M&S Bank Arena Liverpool
Mon 8 – Utilita Arena Birmingham
Tues 9 – AO Arena Manchester
Thur 11 – Bonus Arena Hull
Fri 12 – Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Sun 14 – The Brighton Centre
Tues 16 – Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Thu 18 – The O2 Arena London
Sat 20 – The SSE Hydro Glasgow
Sun 21 – First Direct Arena Leeds
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Little Mancs can become pilots as Manchester Airport’s Flight Academy returns over half term
Emily Sergeant
Little Mancs can try their hand at becoming a pilot this half term, as the popular Flight Academy returns to Manchester Airport.
After proving to be massively popular with families during plenty of school holidays in recent years, the Flight Academy programme is back at Runway Visitor Park next week, just in time for February half term across Greater Manchester.
During 90-minute sessions, curious kids will get the chance to learn all about the different job roles that help keep Manchester‘s airport in action throughout the year.
The first part of the session takes place aboard a retired DC10 airliner, so kids can sit in the cockpit and find out about everything from the cabin crew’s role, to what the the ground operators get up to, and so much more.
Manchester’s popular Flight Academy for kids is returning over half term / Credit: Runway Visitor Park
They’ll even get to dress the part, and “take control” of the flight deck too by sitting up front in the captain’s coveted seat.
And if all of that wan’t fun enough as it is, they’ll then get to head outside to have a look at Manchester Airport‘s runways, watch the planes taking off and landing, and get to see some of the various jobs they’ve just learnt about in action.
After the session, families will then be free to make the most of all the rest of the impressive facilities on offer at Runway Visitor Park.
With stunning views over the nearby airfield, some of the unique activities on offer at the popular Greater Manchester-based tourist attraction include watching aircraft, such as the giant A380, coming and going at close quarters, taking in a tour of the Park’s retired airliners – including the iconic Concorde – and stopping off at the giant play area and on-site café.
Flight Academy at Runway Visitor Park will be running on selected weekday and weekend dates from Wednesday 19 – Saturday 22 February, with sessions split into two age groups – one for children aged four-seven years, and another for those aged eight-12.
Tickets cost just £14 for one child with an accompanying adult, and you can find out more and book your place here.
Featured Image – Manchester Airport
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Chester Zoo is giving away more than 30,000 FREE tickets to children
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo is giving away thousands of tickets to local schools to help inspire a new generation of young conservationists.
The UK’s largest charity zoo is on a mission to help nature to “survive and thrive”.
And so, in a bid to do just that, has announced that it will once again be handing out tens of thousands of tickets to schoolchildren for completely free of charge, so that they can explore the zoo up close and learn all about the inspiring work the conservation charity does.
Chester Zoo‘s free ticket scheme has been running since 2017, and has already seen more than 175,000 children get to experience all the wonders the zoo has to offer.
We’re giving away 32,750 FREE tickets to the zoo! 🚨
Schools, nurseries, and colleges across the UK – this is your chance to inspire future conservationists and ignite a passion for helping wildlife thrive! 🌍💚
With the hopes of empowering as many youngsters as possible, and sparking their passion for saving species once again, the zoo has now opened the scheme back up for the 2025/26 season – with a whopping 33,000 tickets available for schools, nurseries, and colleges to claim.
Those who secure tickets will have the opportunity to visit the zoo between this November and February 2026.
Applications are open to any school in the UK that hasn’t already benefitted from the scheme within the last four academic years, while home educators are also eligible to apply as a group through a Home Educators’ Network.
Chester Zoo is giving away more than 30,000 free tickets to children this year / Credit: Chester Zoo
“We’re offering thousands of children the opportunity to experience the wonders of the natural world firsthand at the zoo,” commented Charlotte Smith, who is the Director of Conservation Education and Engagement at Chester Zoo.
“Young people are more concerned than ever about nature decline and climate change, and by working closely with schools across the UK, we can provide them with the skills, knowledge and inspiration to make a real positive difference.”
She added that “every child has the potential to be a future conservationist”.
Places are limited each day to ensure everyone can enjoy their zoo visit – with priority given to schools who have not benefitted from the scheme before.
You can find out more and apply for free tickets here.