Printworks is helping parents keep kids this busy for the rest of the Easter holiday by hosting a totally free and family-friendly gaming event this Thursday, 4 April.
Fresh from the £21 million refurbishment of the iconic Manchester entertainment venue and leisure destination, which now includes the largest digital ceiling anywhere in Europe, Printworks will be putting their new and improved tech offerings to use through a giant interactive gaming screen.
Having already been unveiled as part of their relaunch party last month, the open area now known as the Pumpyard will see their very own gaming referee, Chris Dresden, hosting a huge interactive game that will see anywhere between 30 and 100 players take part at a time.
Able to play simply by joining through your smartphone, participants will compete in two easy-to-play, interactive multiplayer games created by Manchester-based, crowd-gaming specialists, Piing. We’ve already had a go and trust us, it’s a good laugh.
With the whole thing being shown on Printworks’ new gaming screen as visitors use their smartphones as the controllers, you just have to scan a QR code to get involved. It’ll be taking place between 12pm-4pm on Thursday and it’s sure to attract a big crowd.
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There’s no app to download or sign up necessary, you just join the screen and play – though we’d definitely recommend getting the Printworks app for more benefits throughout the year.
As for what people will be playing, gamers can try out Rebound – a ping pong game where players aim to keep the ball on the court – as well as Buggy Race: a classic racing gamer where you can steer around the islands and chicanes on a fast-paced F1-style circuit.
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A new gaming challenge will take place every 15–30 minutes as part of the family-friendly event, with the winner of each round able to select a fantastic prize from Printworks’ lucky dip, including vouchers for in-house restaurants and leisure destinations, chocolate fountains, footballs and plenty more.
Credit: The Manc Group
Better still, families can also take advantage of a variety of half-term offers with Printworks’ popular venues over the next two weeks, including Easter menus with Chiquito and Frankie & Benny’s, free face painting and balloon modelling events on weekdays with Treetop Golf and lots more.
Kristian Brennan, Marketing Manager at Printworks, said: “We’re so excited to host our first gaming event here at Printworks on our new gaming screen.
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“As part of the recent relaunch following our extensive refurbishment, this gaming event will not only bring free fun for families during the Easter break but will also offer an experience like no other, where they will be surrounded by mesmerising content on our giant digital ceiling.”
The screen isn’t just there as something to look at and to light up the internal street, Printworks is also planning a variety of free content scheduled to run throughout the next year, with families able to marvel at stunning ‘Out of Space’ scenes this school holidays. We can’t lie, it’s pretty bloody impressive.
‘Hefty’ Foo Fighters ticket prices for surprise Manchester gig divide opinion
Danny Jones
Foo Fighters fans, gig-goers and all-round music lovers in general have been left up in arms after the legendary American rock band announced some surprise shows in the UK and Ireland – including here in Manchester – as ticket prices have labelled ‘shameful’ by some.
In case you missed the news that sent us here in Manchester and all over the nation into bedlam, Foo Fighters recently revealed they would be playing just a handful of shows up and down the country, all at smaller venues than their usual arena tour dates.
Sharing the news fairly last-minute over the weekend, with tickets going on sale this past Sunday and (shock) selling out almost immediately, many have taken issue with the band’s and/or promoters’ approach to the event.
While lots have revelled in the excitement of a show scheduled for this week being dropped on our laps in the eleventh hour, lots of others feel the price point for the tickets is ‘ridiculous’.
Although they’re not quite on the level of the controversial Oasis/Harry Styles sagas, at £99 including all fees, they’re still up there with the most expensive gig tickets venues like these will ever charge.
Most poignantly, the tickets were sold strictly in person via the box office, with fans queuing up outside a trio of venues.
Taking place at the O2 Ritz, which has a capacity of roughly 1,500, the Foo Fighters’ Manchester date is not only one of the most in-demand gigs, but also promises to be one of their sweatiest – and, apparently, most divisive.
For some, this is a very cool bit of marketing and at least an attempt to curb online ticket touts, plus helping support live music spaces directly; on the other hand, the significant fee remains a sticking point they refuse to move past.
Responding in the comments underneath the post by the Ritz, one person wrote: “That ticket price is f****** disgusting. It’s not costing them f*** all to play there, if Harry Styles can play the Co-op Live for £20 then they should”; another simply added, “99 quid is wild, do better.”
Safe to say it has split opinions across the board.
i really want to know who is paying £100 to see foo fighters at o2 academy ritz and what they do for work to justify that
Big fan of the foo fighters but having only in person tickets and then still charging £100 is a joke. Then to move other bands earlier to slot them in isn’t fair
As you can see, it’s also affected other acts set to play these same rooms this month, too.
Others have also doubted whether the ‘face value exchange’ tactic really works all that much, as a few people on social media reported having already found a number of tickets being listed on resale on certain platforms.
What do you make of artists charging these kinds of prices for exclusive one-off shows like this, or the cost of gig tickets in general these days?
Better yet, did any of you succeed in grabbing tickets to see Foo Fighters at the Ritz here in Manchester this Friday, 27 February?
Featured Images — Audio North/Publicity picture (via Foo Fighters/O2 Ritz)
What's On
The K’s kick off Manchester’s BRITs Week celebrations early with jam-packed intimate gig
The Manc
If you were ‘Hoping Maybe’ to see The K’s at some point this year, this is your sign do it, as the rising indie band did not let the occasion of playing an intimate BRITs-backed gig get to them – they were buoyed by it.
Beloved city centre venue Gorilla was overflowing for The K’s last night, hosting an unreal small-cap set as part of Brits Week ‘26 for a very important cause: War Child.
Perfectly teed up by fellow nearby band, Florentenes from Bolton, The K’s took to a familiar stage many years on from their debut, and instantly had the crowd ready and raring for an hour of pure tunes and some very, very sweaty brows.
Earlestown’s finest certainly carried that Northern charm and energy throughout the whole night; their indie and almost nostalgic lyrical storytelling has you moshing one minute, whilst grasping your mate and ascending into live music heaven the next. There really aren’t many feelings like it.
Sobbing and swaying in the vast ocean of shoulders whilst screaming the lyrics to ‘Helen. Oh I’, I questioned how any compliment will ever compare to launching “thousand ships every time” from a kiss.
The K’s were yearning before Wuthering Heights made it vogue (again).
Musically, the band were seamless and a well-oiled machine, and so were the audience as they wholeheartedly echoed every lyric back at the lads and bounced it off the walls.
The K’s have come a long way since their first visit to Gorilla (Credit: Lucy Wagstaffe)
Every primary school assembly proudly led us to this moment, and it did not disappoint, displaying their increasingly seasoned and successful career, which I can only imagine is going to go from strength to strength this year.
I don’t think we even one more fan could have squeezed one more passionate fan into Gorilla on the night; it was heaving with people and pride; the sweat dripping down the walls indicated things are big for these local lads, and we couldn’t be prouder.
They are another prime example of shining a deserving light on Northern artists! And having the 2026 BRIT Awards up here with us is a testament to that.
Danny Jones -
3rd April 2024 
