NQ64 – Manchester’s retro underground gaming bar – has confirmed a second city venue will officially open its doors on Peter Street later this month.
Rumours surrounding the launch of a new nostalgic arcade bar first surfaced back in March, with NQ64 having already expanded into Liverpool, Edinburgh and Birmingham over the past two years.
Now, owners have released the first images of NQ64 Manchester V2 – which will take over the old Club LIV site next door to Albert’s Schloss.
NQ64’s Peter Street venue is a ‘levelled up’ version of the original – which has been luring gamers into Northern Quarter since 2019.
Containing all the bar’s hallmarks (neon lighting, retro art, classic consoles) the site will also boast a bigger bar area, more seating and a variety of new arcade machines.
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Accompanying the likes of Pac-Man, Time Crisis 2 and Guitar Hero will be additions such as the Mario Kart arcade game, Time Crisis 3 and NBA Jam.
NQ64 Peter Street will utilise the same ‘token system’ in which users swap cash for game tokens to play, with MegaDrive, PlayStations, GameCube and Super Nintendo consoles all free to use.
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A new themed cocktail list featuring NQ64 classics such as Princess Peach, Bubble Bobble and Pacs a Punch will also be available, as well as bags of retro crisps.
NQ64 Peter Street is set to open its doors on June 21 from 7pm.
There will be free drinks and merch for the first 50 people who arrive on the Monday and Tuesday of opening week.
The bar is also seeking games and beer testers in the days before launch. Head across to @NQ64MCR on Instagram for more information.
What's On
Eurovision 2023 grand final to be screened live in cinemas across the UK
Emily Sergeant
The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest is to be screened live in cinemas across the UK for the first time ever.
With fans from across the globe set to descend on Liverpool in a couple of months time as the UK hosts the 2023 edition of the world’s biggest song competition on behalf of last year’s winners Ukraine, those who weren’t lucky enough to secure tickets will instead by able to head to their nearest cinema to experience the action on the big screen.
Distributor CinemaLive has announced it will be broadcasting the Eurovision grand final show live in cinemas nationwide for the first time ever.
It means that Eurovision fans up and down the country who missed out on grabbing tickets to the final – which sold out in under 40 minutes after going on sale earlier this month – will be able to come together to celebrate what is set to be the “biggest, brightest, boldest music party of the year”.
Eurovision 2023 grand final to be screened live in cinemas across the UK / Credit: Krists Luhaers (via Unsplash)
500 cinemas across the UK, including several here in Greater Manchester, will be screening the grand final on Saturday 13 May.
Vue, Odeon, Cineworld, and Everyman are just some of the cinema chains taking part.
Vue Manchester Printworks, Odeon Great Northern, and Everyman Manchester are the Manchester city centre venues lined-up to screen the event – with cinemas in the The Lowry Outlet Mall, Trafford Centre, Didsbury, Heaton Moor, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, and more also set to welcome Eurovision fans through their doors.
Event organisers say the screenings will encourage singalongs and fancy dress.
“We’re delighted to be working with the BBC to bring Eurovision’s grand final live into cinemas across the UK for the first time ever,” said John Travers from CinemaLive.
“We want audiences to enjoy themselves, so get your fancy dress on, and come together to enjoy this historic occasion on the big screen.”
You cind out more and grab tickets to watch the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest grand final screened live in a cinema near you here.
Featured Image – Eurovision
What's On
The 2023 Davis Cup is coming to Manchester’s AO Arena this September
Danny Jones
After nearly three decades since it was last played here, the Davis Cup is returning to Manchester later this year and we can’t wait.
The international tennis tournament hasn’t visited Manchester since Team GB played Romania in the Europe/East Africa group tie back in 1994, but now the AO Arena is set to a group stage for the 2023 Davis Cup Finals in September, with the three other European hosts still yet to be announced.
Great Britain failed to advance into the knockouts of last year’s competition and will have to do without Andy Murray this year after the 35-year-old was omitted from the squad due to injury concerns.
Nevertheless, with the likes of Cam Norrie, Dan Evans and rising star Jack Draper named in the five-man squad, they stand a great chance of going far in this year’s tournament.
Team GB’s Davis Cup squad for 2023 is completed by the ATP’s world number one and four double players player Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury.
The Director of Major Events and Digital for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), Chris Pollard, said: “It’s particularly important to us to take these major events around the whole of Britain… therefore opening up our sport to more people and helping change perceptions of tennis across the country.”
With the AO Arena matches being played between 12-17 September, the draw to see which of the 16 qualified nations will fall into each of the four groups is set to take place tomorrow (29 March) at 3pm GMT and streamed live on the ITF YouTube channel.
Pot 1: Canada, Australia, Spain, Croatia Pot 2: Italy, Great Britain, Serbia, Netherlands Pot 3: USA, Sweden, France, Czechia Pot 4: Korea Rep, Chile, Switzerland, Finland
City Council Leader, Bev Craig, called the AO Arena’s Davis Cup games “a major coup for Manchester which further underlines our credentials as a great sporting city. We look forward to giving top-class tennis players and fans of different nations a warm Mancunian welcome.”
She went on to say that the event is not only exciting for tennis fans but it will serve as “a boost for the city’s economy” and “provide a legacy of inspiration which will encourage more people to get out there, use our city’s high-quality facilities and maybe even become the Davis Cup stars of the future”.
That’s what we like to hear.
The final eight teams will progress to the knockout stages in Malaga on 21-26 November; here’s hoping our Brits are amongst it!
The Manc -
2nd June 2021 
