Manchester Rum Festival is back once again next week, and it’s all looking set to be the event’s “biggest and best” year yet.
Known for bringing a massive selection of rare rums and from all over the world to Manchester each year, the beloved festival is back in a few days time, and organisers are gearing up to transform one city centre hotel into the tropics.
As always, visitors to the beloved festival can not only expect to get to sample some of the best rum brands and buy bottles of their favourites to take home, but they’ll also get to taste some limited-edition drink collaborations, and tuck into delicious Caribbean street food from some of the region‘s best traders.
For the first time ever, anyone who grabs a ticket to this year’s event will get the chance to buy a limited-edition bottle of the official Manchester Rum Festival rum – which is a collaboration with Outlier Distilling Company of the Isle of Man.
Other brands making their much-anticipated debut at this year’s festival include Rhum JM from Martinique in the Caribbean, Takamaka – which is the the first ever rum from the Seychelles – two rums from the Portuguese island of Madeira, 970 and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, and Ron Piet from Panama.
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Tilambic from Mauritius, Eminente from Cuba, Paranubes from the mountainous Oaxaca region in Mexico, Bone Idyll from closer to home in Kingston-upon-Thames will also be making their Manchester debuts.
Manchester Rum Festival for its “biggest and best” event yet next week / Credit: Supplied
Organisers are, quite rightly, calling it a “truly global representation of rum”.
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Also for the very first time, MONIN will be at this year’s festival with the official cocktail bar for all those who fancy sipping on a Pina Colada, Mojito, or Daiquiri while they make their way around the event, with festival sponsors Stratford Sodas also set to serve up the perfect rum mixers.
And to top it all off, there’s even set to be a handful of local DJs spinning calypso-inspired sets all throughout the day to really bring those “tiki vibes”.
Visitors will get to sample some of the rarest rums from all over the world / Credit: Manchester Rum Festival
“The 2023 festival is set to be the biggest and best yet, with rum brands from all over the planet descending on Manchester for what has become a must-have diary date for rum lovers,” Manchester Rum Festival founder, Dave Marsland, said ahead of this year’s event.
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“It really is a fantastic day out, and has cemented itself as a brilliant annual event for rum fans across the UK and beyond.”
Manchester Rum Festival 2023 is taking over the Mercure Manchester hotel in Piccadilly Gardens on Saturday 8 July from 12pm right through to 7pm – with tickets already on sale and setting you back £25 each.
Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
Chester Zoo is offering £1 tickets to families who ‘struggle to afford’ a festive day out
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo is offering £1 tickets this Christmas to families who may otherwise struggle to afford a festive day out.
Christmas is a time when many of us feel strapped for cash more than ever before, especially for those families on Universal Credit, which is why Chester Zoo is embracing the season of giving by offering thousands of locals the chance to visit the UK’s largest charity zoo for a fraction of the price of normal entry tickets.
The discounted tickets will be available for anyone claiming Universal Credit on visits from today (18 December) right up until New Year’s Eve (31 December), and they’ll need to be booked online in advance.
This brilliant initiative is a new addition to the zoo’s long-running Community Connections Scheme, which aims to reduce financial barriers to visiting for households and community groups.
Chester Zoo is offering £1 tickets to families on Universal Credit this festive season / Credit: Chester Zoo
Tickets priced at £1 will be available to people receiving Universal Credit, including claimants of Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance, and Housing Benefit.
Chester Zoo said the scheme is designed to help families on lower incomes enjoy the zoo during the festive period and connect with nature.
“We know that spending time outdoors and around wildlife can have a really positive impact on people, and we hope this helps more families enjoy a special day out together over the festive period, especially when this time of year can be difficult for many,” commented Charlotte Smith, who is Chester Zoo’s Director of Conservation Education.
“We hope this brightens the season for many more households.”
Emily Sergeant -
28th June 2023 
