Girls Aloud will be performing in Manchester for the first time in more than a decade this week.
The iconic pop group are about to take on a three-night residency at the huge AO Arena, a tour that will honour founding bandmate and Mancunian Sarah Harding who sadly passed away in 2021.
Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine, Nicola and Sarah won over the nation on Popstars: The Rivals, and have legions of loyal fans excited to see hits like Sound of the Underground, Love Machine, and The Promise live.
Girls Aloud will be marking their 20 year anniversary with the tour, which kicked off in Dublin and is almost ready to head across to Manchester.
If you’re going along to the AO Arena to see Girls Aloud, here’s everything you need to know.
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Tickets for Girls Aloud in Manchester
There are still a handful of tickets available for Girls Aloud’s three shows in Manchester, though a lot of those are resale tickets.
You can also book hospitality packages and platinum seats still.
Stage times are always subject to change, but based on Girls Aloud’s tour dates so far, this is when you should be able to expect them to hit the stage.
Doors – 6pm
Support – 7.30pm
Girls Aloud – 8.45pm
Support act
Warming up the crowds so far has been DJ Mr Theo, who’s been filling arenas with back-to-back pop bangers.
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It should set the tone for a pop-tastic evening in Manchester.
Act I Untouchable The Show Something New Love Machine Can’t Speak French Biology Whole Lotta History Act II Wake Me Up Sound of the Underground Girl Overboard No Good Advice Graffiti My Soul Long Hot Summer I’ll Stand by Youn(Pretenders cover) ACT III Sexy! No No No… On the Metro Jump (For My Love) Call the Shots Something Kinda Ooooh Encore: The Promise
The Mezz at the AO Arena
The Mezz restaurant at the AO ArenaThe Mezz bar at the AO Arena
The Mezz is the AO Arena’s newly-opened, ultra-luxury members’ bar and restaurant, where gig-goers can kick back in relax in beautiful surroundings before, during and after the show.
There are a range of packages, including themed bottomless offers (for Girls Aloud, that means prosecco and small plates), plus a restaurant with a menu created by Simon Rogan.
Then you can head through your own dedicated entrance into the plush seats reserved for The Mezz guests.
After All 2026 – the affordable grassroots music festival happening in Northern Quarter
Danny Jones
Grassroots music event After All Festival is returning to Manchester this weekend, with rising local artists and affordable tickets.
Now well over half a decade since it was founded, All All Fest takes place in the heart of the Northern Quarter, and this year they’re proving that their slow and steady approach to backing the best new up-and-coming bands at core intimate venues is more important than ever.
With plenty of previous acts having impressed in recent years, we’re looking forward to seeing how 2026 stacks up in comparison to its predecessors.
Increasingly prolific native group Dirty Laces are set to headline the whole thing, Manilla Times are locked in, and Bolton’s very own James Holt also stands out on the lineup, just to highlight a few.
As the festival continues to grow in size and popularity, they have obviously had to scale things up even further this year.
That being said, beloved live music spot and Manc institution, Band on the Wall, is among the chosen arts spaces for this latest iteration.
BoW will be offering up their 500-capacity main room to the organisers for the very first time, serving as the de facto main stage of After All Fest 2026.
Joining them will be the Rose and Monkey next door, as well as cult favourite pub, Gullivers on Oldham Street, who have a long history of supporting local musicians and the arts in general.
And would you look at that, now you’ve got all the stage splits and set times, too.
Labelled by Dead Records’ Rob Fiddaman as “one of the UK’s most exciting new music festivals”, homegrown DJing legend Dave Sweetmore has also described it as “unique in so many ways”, hailing it as a “brilliant event with a great atmosphere to discover new music.”
Having been ourselves on multiple occasions since its inception in 2019 – both as Audio North off-duty and as punters before then – we can’t recommend it highly enough.
The latest edition takes place at 12 noon onwards this Saturday until 2am on Sunday, 17 May, and while the cheapest early bird tickets (£16.50) are long gone, general admission tickets are still available, with prices starting from just £20. Grab yours HERE before they sell out.
It’s not the only live music event worth being a part of this month…
Global girl group Katseye add Manchester to huge new world tour
Daisy Jackson
Katseye have announced a major arena world tour for this year – and the global girl group are coming to Manchester for the first time.
The pop superstars will be performing at the Co-op Live as part of their WILDWORLD TOUR, which is taking them right across the UK, Europe and North America.
Katseye formed through The Debut: Dream Academy, which narrowed 120,000 applicants down to just six talented singers and dancers – though the group will be touring as a five-piece this time (Manon Bannerman has taken a hiatus from the band).
The Los Angeles-based global girl group, formed by HYBE and Geffen Records, merges K-pop dance training with Western pop sounds, with members hailing from across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and beyond.
The group is currently made up of Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeung.
Katseye have not yet released a full studio album but have achieved major commercial success with songs like Gabriella, Pinky Up, Gnarly, and Internet Girl.
The group have already performed a major slot at Coachella, as well as taking the stage at the GRAMMY Awards this year where they were also nominated for two awards (including Best New Artist).
Katseye will be releasing their third EP, WILD, this summer ahead of their world tour, which reaches Manchester in September.
Tickets will first be on sale via a Weverse Artist Presale from 11am on Wednesday 20 May, followed by the Katseye.World presale from 3pm.
Fans can also register for presale access by pre-ordering Katseye’s new EP WILD or by signing up – no purchase necessary.
General sale will begin at 3pm on Thursday 21 May HERE.
Katseye WILDWORLD Tour – UK and European dates
1 September – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
3 September – London, UK – The O2
6 September – Manchester, UK – Co-Op Live
9 September – Paris, France – Accor Arena
11 September – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
Daisy Jackson -
21st May 2024 
