Motown legend Diana Ross will be performing at the AO Arena tonight, fresh off the back of her landmark performance at the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.
The music icon is visiting Manchester on her UK Thank You Tour on 14 June before heading on to gigs in Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, and London.
She’ll also be taking the headline slot, known as the Legends slot, at Glastonbury Festival.
Diana Ross rose to fame in the 1960s as part of The Supremes, one of the world’s best-selling girl groups of all time.
They dominated the charts with songs such as Baby Love, Stop!, In the Name of Love, and You Keep Me Hangin’ On, before Diana launched her solo career and released well-known songs such as I’m Still Waiting, Touch Me in the Morning, Endless Love, and, of course, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, and the UK number one single Chain Reaction.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of her concert at the AO Arena tonight.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tickets for Diana Ross
Diana Ross performing at the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Credit: BBC
There’s still quite good availability for the gig tonight at the AO Arena.
Tickets are priced from £85.75 and go all the way up to £436.35 if you want to sit front row, as close as possible to the action.
For hospitality packages at the AO Arena, you can email [email protected] or call 0161 9501069.
Stage times
The Supremes. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Doors for the AO Arena will open at 6pm.
The show is set to start at 7.30pm, though times are always subject to change.
Support act
As things stand, no support act has been announced for Diana Ross at the AO Arena.
That means we’ll have hours of pure Diamond Diana delights, with the star likely to take straight to the stage at around 7.30pm.
ADVERTISEMENT
The setlist
Manchester is the first night on the Thank You Tour, so we can’t be sure what songs Diana will play yet.
But the below is her setlist from her gig at Cardiff Castle, which gives you an idea.
I’m Coming Out
More Today Than Yesterday (Spiral Starecase cover)
Where Did Our Love Go (The Supremes song)
ADVERTISEMENT
Baby Love (The Supremes song)
Stop! In the Name of Love (The Supremes song)
You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes song)
Love Child (Diana Ross & The Supremes cover)
Chain Reaction
ADVERTISEMENT
I’m Still Waiting
Upside Down
Love Hangover / Take Me Higher / Ease on Down the Road
Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers cover)
If We Hold on Together
ADVERTISEMENT
If the World Just Danced
Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) / Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor cover)
Encore
Thank You
Featured image: Publicity Picture
Audio
The UK’s much-loved ‘day rave’ with Vicky and Jon McClure returns to Manchester for New Year’s Eve
Thomas Melia
One of the UK’s most popular new club events and pioneering ‘day rave’ is returning to Manchester this New Year’s, featuring founders Jon and Vicky McClure, as well as some very special guests.
The Line of Duty star and Reverend and the Makers frontman started the parent-friendly event back in January of this year as an alternative day out for those looking to have a party and still manage an early bedtime. Since then it’s gone on to become a real phenomenon and is only getting bigger.
With Vicky swapping UK dramas and crime thrillers for the discotheque and ‘Big Jon’ switching lanes from his usual rock, indie and alternative roots to favour timeless dance tracks to still get people up on their feet, Day Fever has gone down a storm all over the country.
With their first year coming towards a close, they now look set for arguably their biggest day rave to date as Day Fever will be hosting a special New Year’s Eve for their final hurrah of 2024 right here in Manchester city centre – and no, you don’t need to be able to stay up until midnight.
The two McClures – unrelated, by the way, they just share a name and a fantastic taste in music – and the rest of their crew will be partying between 3-8pm for a much more tame and friendlier night (day) out, commanding the decks alongside some other special guests.
Not only does this alternative way to party promise a more responsible curfew, meaning clubbers don’t have to worry about missing the last train home but it’s also geared towards over 30s whilst still being super inclusive.
This day-time clubbing event is designed to reminisce on the old days and all those dance-filled memories of evenings spent out on the tiles, just minus the late-night finish – and hopefully the hangover but that’s down to you really, isn’t it?
In their words: ‘There’s no dress code, no egos—just pure positivity’; there’s nothing we love to hear more than the sweet relief of not having to get dolled up for a big night when we just can’t be bothered.
With New Century Hall hosting the Day Fever once again for their first-ever NYE party here in Manchester, along with two other events being held simultaneously in Edinburgh and Birmingham, you can get all your partying done way with plenty of time to get cosy in bed before the calendar turns over.
Just in time to watch Jools Holland’s famous Annual Hootenanny, as they put it.
Jon McClure and Vicky’s co-star, Martin CompstonVicky McClure leading the dance routines
This is guaranteed to be an evening to remember for everyone in attendance, especially when you’re joined by stars of stage and screen who will be powering you through with some proper dance bangers as they have done all year long.
The New Year’s Eve party isn’t just the last dance of the year either, it’s also effectively the prequel to next year’s raft of shows as Day Fever has already announced more than a dozen big dates in January and February.
This batch of 2025 dates sees the gang taking on lots of other cities, including North West neighbours Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Hull over in Yorkshire, two Newcastle shows and plenty more.
So, if you’re feeling those clubbing blues, that pesky seasonal affective disorder or just still not booked up for NYE 2024, why not make the most of this day-time opportunity?
Tickets for both the New Year’s Eve and the rest of their 2025 events are available on the official Day Fever website HERE.
Oh yeah, and help get Rev to Christmas number one – it’s for a good cause and they deserve it!
Sean Paul and Ashanti are hosting a massive Manchester show in 2025
Danny Jones
The one and only Sean Paul is coming to Manchester next year and we’re about to be smashing that buy ticket button it’ll be left sticking like glue.
A terrible pun, we know, we’re just very excited.
Better yet, he’s bringing a fantastic co-headliner along with him as fellow noughties and R’n’B throwback Ashanti will be sharing the stage too.
Landing at the AO Arena in spring 2025, they’ll be upping the ‘Temperature’ ahead of the summer and just in time for the festival season to start getting underway.
Having both enjoyed the scene for many years back in its 2000s heyday and each still boasting their own long-serving fan bases no matter how long it’s been, we wouldn’t think of this as a Sean Paul headline gig with a support act but two very special guests doing what they do best.
The Jamaican-born rap, reggae and dancehall artist as well as all-round popstar needs no introduction really but we’ll give him one anyway: you have to pronounce his name funny and he’s best known for countless club classics like ‘Got 2 Luv U’, ‘Get Busy’ and ‘Gimme The Light’, just to name a few.
Coming back to Manchester for basically a celebration of what many still revere as one of the golden eras for the genre will no doubt be an unbelievable night and playing the AO Arena after all this time is no mean feat.
General admission goes live from 10am, Friday 20 December but presale will be available for Three mobile users who want exclusive early access from Wednesday onwards from the same time.
The ‘Bring It’ Tour comes our way on 13 April 2025, with other dates including Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and a massive London show with Fat Joe joining too.
You can get ready to grab your tickets for Sean Paul and Ashanti’s AO Arena date HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
14th June 2022 
