Ahead of hosting the cleverly-named Drag Race event ‘Glam Prix’ in the city centre, Kyran Thrax plans their perfect day out in Manchester.
Now it’s not a secret that Manchester is home to music royalty, but this city has always been a must-visit for various celebrities – including Drag Race UK season six winner Kyran Thrax.
This talented performer has spent plenty of time in the city centre and is now sharing their Manchester city centre hotspots ahead of their upcoming appearance at entertainment venue Chaos Karts for ‘Glam Prix’.
Kyran Thrax and a whole host of Drag Queens are coming to Chaos Karts for their ‘Glam Prix’ event in Manchester / Credit: Supplied
Thrax begins the day with a light walk through Urbis to reminisce their teenage years, and a must-have time has to be a “three pound can of cider”.
From this, our horizons and tastebuds take a two-minute journey to the always-beautiful Corn Exchange ,which houses a huge selection of food options – but this performer loves one spot in particular.
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A special shoutout to the team at the Italian eatery’s city centre site as the performer notes: “[Vapiano] never hits as hard as it does in Manchester”.
After munching down on some much-needed carbs and cheesy goodness, the Drag Race UK winner must pay a visit to not one, but over 60 independent retailers, as they take us toAfflecks.
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Afflecks is one of Thrax’s favourite spots and with a huge selection of independent retailers we can see why / Credit: The Manc Group
The UK Drag Queen reveals a fun fact about themselves, noting: “I actually got my nipple pierced in Afflecks and she’s still going strong”.
Now that we’re dazzling in vintage fashion, jewellery, accessories and an all-new nipple piercing courtesy of this independent shopping hub, a night out on Canal Street is definitely necessary.
The Drag Queen has frequented this party paradise, also known as Gay Village, many times and has even performed on various stages.
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Thrax recounts: “I was on stage so late that when I left it was daylight. Everyone was going to work with their briefcases and I’m here, 30 inch wig, face immaculate, but my beard’s coming through,” – a stellar night out, if you ask us.
Gay Village is known for throwing some of the best parties including Manchester Pride Festival / Credit: The Manc Group
Kyran Thrax will be hosting Manchester’s first-ever Drag Queen Drag Race event ‘Glam Prix’ at Chaos Karts in Manchester with a team of iconic performers who are ready to take to the tracks.
The event, which cleverly combines both meanings of the phrase Drag Race, takes place just days before Manchester Pride Festival 2025, on Wednesday 20 August.
Although a whole host of Drag performers have been announced, there’s also chance for three lucky members of the public to try and secure pole positions by racing alongside these UK Queens.
If you fancy attending and racing as part of the ‘Glam Prix’ event at Chaos Karts, you can find all the information you need as well as your chance to enter HERE.
Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
What's On
Co-op Live appears to tease major Mariah Carey Christmas gig sending fans into a frenzy
Emily Sergeant
All we want for Christmas… is Mariah Carey in Manchester.
And maybe, just maybe, our Christmas wish might come true very soon, as Co-op Live has taken to social media today to tease its next gig announcement with its hundreds of thousands of followers, and without jumping to conclusions, it does appear to be hinting at the queen of Christmas herself making an appearance.
Look, we know it’s only July and right in the middle of summer, but even if you think it’s too early to be talking about the festive season, you have to admit that the potential of Mariah Carey coming to Manchester is worth getting excited any time of the year.
The US pop powerhouse last performed in our city nearly a decade ago now when she brought her famous All I Want For Christmasshow to the UK for the first time ever, taking to sold-out Manchester Arena stage on 10 December 2017.
Mariah has not performed in Manchester since, but all that could be set to change as Co-op Live has hinted that an announcement is ‘coming soon’.
Taking to its official social media platforms today, Co-op Live posted a very festive-themed AI video of snow falling on the arena as the camera zoomed in and the instrumental of Mariah’s absolutely iconic hit ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ playing in the background, and the caption hinting at the song’s title too.
Of course, we could be wrong, it might not be Mariah at all, but if the 300+ comments from fans in a frenzy thinking the same as us are anything to go by, it’s looking like we might be right.
“The countdown to Christmas is on,” Co-op Live said in its video, before letting fans know that they would be getting some form of confirmation soon.
So, is it Mariah then? What do you think? Only time will tell, so stay tuned.
Featured Image – Picryl
What's On
Blossoms to play special ‘intimate’ 10th anniversary gig at The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Danny Jones
Local indie and alternative lads Blossoms have announced a special one-off anniversary show at none other than The Deaf Institute right here in Manchester.
Coming to the iconic small-cap venue this summer, the Stockport band will be marking the 10th birthday of their self-titled debut album by playing one of the smallest gig spaces in the centre, but one that was a massive milestone for them back in the day.
Now a full decade on from the breakout LP, released on 5 August 2026, Blossoms will be rolling back the years by playing the biggest hits from the record, along with a selection from the many other bangers that they’ve gone on to release since.
This is going to be one very special night for the SK natives.
We’re playing an intimate gig at The Deaf Institute on Weds 5th August to celebrate 10 years of our debut album! We’re going to record the show & release it as a special edition double CD of our new album. Pre-order it now for exclusive pre-sale access. https://t.co/ztAkh95RWspic.twitter.com/kuZNnJJBok
Blossoms have never shied away from championing their Stopfordian roots, but neither have they forgotten the city that helped establish them as one of the biggest bands in Britain.
For instance, this upcoming Deaf Institute show – which promises to be a much more intimate show than they’re used to doing these days – comes not even two years on from the mini Manc residency, when they played five nights here in Manchester over the course of a single week.
As we come up to the sixth studio project, Songs From The Wedding Cake, and already have two singles from the next release, we have no shame in admitting we still listen to those first tracks as much as ever.
With that in mind, it’ll be a surreal full circle for everyone, we’re sure, when Tom, Chaz, Myles, Josh and Joe take the stage in that hallowed hometown room with a capacity of just 250 next month; they’re even playing it EXACTLY 10 years on the precise date that maiden outing dropped: 5 August 2026.
Combine this with them pulling stunts like playing people’s weddings and popping up with a surprise set from inside a van outside 42s nightclub on Deansgate, and it’s hard to think of an artist nailing it as well as Blossoms are right now.
Fans can enjoy exclusive early access by pre-ordering the new Blossoms album on their website, and those who have already done so qualify for presale automatically – just keep an eye out for the code in your email inbox.
This limited window will open from 9:30am this Thursday, 30 July, with general admission tickets for their return to Deaf Institute going live at the same time the following Friday (31 July).
Oh, and in case you somehow missed it, they’re also set to play their biggest ever arena shows across the UK later this year, including a huge gig at Co-op Live. Find out all the info down below.
Thomas Melia -
20th August 2025 
