LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester is set to reopen this Saturday with a brand-new ‘play session’ format in place as the nationwide lockdown continues to ease.
Special pass holders are eligible to book a day early and enjoy a sneak preview of the sessions on Friday 17th July too.
While the site, located in Barton Square at the Trafford Centre, will continue to offer the same “brick-tastic fun” that’s always been on offer, some tweaks have been made in order to make sure guests of all ages and team members are kept as safe as possible.
In line with government guidelines, the centre’s brick pits are currently not in operation, but to ensure the site still offers opportunities for imaginative play and adventure, each guest will be given their own bag of LEGO to build with during their visit.
These bags are returned once the session ends and then deep cleaned before other guests are able to use them.
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LEGOLAND Discovery Centre / Visit Manchester
All rides, 4D cinemas and other elements of the Discovery Centre remain in place for visitors of all ages to enjoy, although the Driving School is currently closed.
Guests won’t be required to wear PPE, but will have their temperature taken on arrival, and are asked to respect and adhere to all social distancing measures in place across the centre.
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As with any activity post-lockdown, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester will be asking all visitors to closely observe safety guidelines, maintain a safe distance from those outside their party, and to keep up with good hygiene practices. If any member of a visiting party displays any symptoms of COVID-19, they are asked to postpone their visit and contact the site to change the date of their play session.
Re-scheduling dates can be done at no additional cost.
Stuart Jarman, General manager at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester, said: “We are really looking forward to offering families brick-based adventures, play and learning once more this July.”
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“We’re utilising an extensive range of safety measures, designed to ensure a happy, safe and healthy experience for all of the family.”
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LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester will reopen on Saturday 18th July.
The centre will open seven days a week and run two daily play sessions, one from 10am-12pm and another from 1.30pm-3.30pm, with entry from 9.30am and 1pm respectively, and guests will need to book online to attend either session.
The entire centre will be completely cleaned before and after each event.
If you’re keen to book your session ahead of reopening this weekend, you can do so via the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester website here.
What's On
Manc music legends James announced MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
What's On
Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2020 
