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New Year’s Eve firework display WILL return to Manchester this year – road closures and event detail

They're back with a bang...

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 21st December 2023

For the first time since Covid, Manchester will have a firework display on New Year’s Eve.

The city will once again ring in the new year with a free dazzling display over the city’s skyline, featuring a live DJ set and a huge countdown to midnight.

The family-friendly event will be taking over Castlefield Bowl this year, with capacity for 10,000 people on a first-come first-served basis.

Manchester’s New Year’s Eve firework celebration will be the first to take place here since we rang in 2020 – and we all know what happened after that.

The event will kick off at 10pm on Sunday 31 December with a live DJ set from Hits Radio DJ Jordan Lee.

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Then as the clock strikes midnight and we welcome 2024, a huge firework display will illuminate the skies.

Manchester City Council has confirmed that this will be an alcohol-free event, with bag searches in operation, and bags should be limited to being no bigger than A4 size.

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Councillor Pat Karney, Christmas and New Year spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “No-one can deny that 2023 has proved to be quite the year for Manchester with a list of successes in the fields of culture and sport as long as your arm, added to a rapidly growing global reputation as a city to do business with.

“Coming as it does after the dark days of the last few years, we think the time is now right to show how proud we are of our fantastic city and to celebrate it as we close the door on 2023 and look ahead to 2024 and beyond.

“This in no way means we’ve forgotten how hard life is for a lot of people just now, but we do know that bringing people together helps – it’s what Manchester does best.

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New Year's Eve fireworks will return to Manchester this year. Credit: Unsplash
New Year’s Eve fireworks will return to Manchester this year. Credit: Unsplash

“Mancunians really are the best people in the world and we can’t think of a better way of welcoming in a new year filled with new possibilities for all of us, than spending it with those we love.”

Castlefield Bowl is in a residential part of Manchester and as such, revellers will be asked to clear the area promptly after the New Year’s Eve fireworks have finished.

Councillor Pat Karney added: “We want everyone to be able to enjoy New Year’s Eve, including the growing number of local residents who live in this part of town.

“I will therefore be working closely with local Deansgate councillors and the Castlefield Forum to ensure that we minimise any nuisance for local residents.”

The event is being delivered by the city council in partnership with Hits Radio.

Road closures for Manchester New Year’s Eve firework display

  • Duke Place (Duke St – Arena) – 8.30pm – 1am
  • Rice Street (Duke St – Arena) – 8.30pm to 12.45am (Resident vehicles managed in and out of closure)
  • Liverpool Rd (Potato Wharf – Lower Byrom St) – 8.30pm – 1am
  • Duke Street (Stone St – Castle St) – 11pm to 12.45am
  • Beaufort St (Collier St – Duke St) – 11pm to 12.45am
  • Castle St (Car Park – Canal Bridge) 11pm to 12.30am (restrictions out of car park between 11.30pm and 12.15am).

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Featured image: Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash

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Manchester’s new real-life Pac-Man experience is coming soon and you can grab early bird tickets

Danny Jones Danny Jones Real-life Pac-Man experience Manchester

Manchester already boasts a whole host of interactive games bars and activity destinations to boast, but we feel pretty confident in saying that there are very places on the planet where you can find a place to play a real-life version of Pac-Man.

First announced back in October and now scheduled to debut in March 2025, the Pac-Man Live Experience is the newest addition to Manchester’s growing entertainment scene and it’s promising to be a popular one too.

This brand-new life-sized immersive experience plunges players into the nostalgic world of the iconic video game we all know and love, only instead of using joysticks on an old-school arcade machine, they’ll physically sprint, dodge, and chomp their way through a maze.

Although the launch itself is still a few months away, the team behind this ingenious idea are getting ready for the frenzy and putting early bird tickets on sale ahead of opening day.

Credit: Concept Image (supplied)

So how does it work?

Good question: participants can gear up in a PAC vest and step into the role of the instantly recognisable yellow chomper, collecting power pellets, dodging the classic ghost characters – BLINKY, PINKY, INKY, and CLYDE – and racking up points on their way to victory.

Guided through an epic 12-level adventure, players will be led by the ‘PAC-MASTER’: a lively gameshow host who serves as commentator and referee; players will also be accompanied by immersive in-game effects like sound bites, lighting, and haptic (vibration) feedback to elevate the experience. Cool, right?

The striking Arcade Arena will feature two massive PAC-MAN courts projected onto the floor, while dynamic visuals transform the walls, fully immersing participants in the retro arcade universe. There’s no need for headsets either, so players can embark on a multi-sensory adventure, seamlessly blending the real world with augmented reality.

Created by Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the CEO and Founder of Little Lion Entertainment – the same team behind The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Tomb Raider, and Chaos Karts to the likes of London and more recently Manchester –

The whole thing has been brought to life in partnership with Bandai Namco Entertainment, lending the proper licensing to make the experience feel both fun and authentic. It’s the real deal.

Credit: Supplied

Early bird tickets for Pac-Man Live Manchester

If you’re not sold on playing a human-sized, real-life game of Pac-Man in a huge augmented-reality arena right here in Manchester then we don’t know what to tell you, to be honest – all we know is that we’ll be first in line when it arrives.

The Pac-Man Live Experience comes to the Arcade Arena on 22 March next year in line with the game’s 40th anniversary, and they’re inviting players of all ages and providing engaging gameplay for younger participants while delivering a nostalgic throwback that parents and grandparents will cherish.

Better yet, if you book during the early bird window, you can access discount ticket prices from just £25 per person too.

Early bird tickets go on sale at 12 noon today (Thursday, 21 November) – you can grab yours HERE.

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Featured Images — Supplied

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Blood Brothers at Palace Theatre, Manchester – a timeless classic

Greg James Greg James Sean Jones and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman

Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End making it one of only three musicals ever to achieve that monumental milestone – and now it’s visiting us here in Manchester.

“Oh Bright New Day”, Blood Brothers has just landed back at the Palace Theatre. This musical written by Willy Russell is a British piece of theatre that is a staple in the musical theatre tapestry of our country. 

For anyone who is unfamiliar with this iconic story, it is an emotional tale of two twins who are separated at birth and grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with the most fateful of consequences.

The story’s central character, Mrs Johnston is the linchpin in this whole story and carries us through the show.

This role has been played by many superb women over the years including Mel C, Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson and nearly all of the Nolan Sisters. This time, Mrs Johnston is performed by Vivienne Carlyle who provides a lovely maternal performance. 

The other two lead roles are Mickey and Eddie, played by Sean Jones and Joe Sleight respectively.

These are really complex roles to play as the actors have to portray the characters from early school years to grown adults.

The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman

Sean Jones has been playing the role of Mickey now for nearly 25 years and so he is no stranger to this character. And I must say, he still fantastically plays the part, even when playing young Mickey, and the show really takes off when he enters the stage.

Joe Sleight is someone who I had not seen in the role of Eddie before and he gave just as strong a performance as Jones. He offered a real contrast to his counterpart with a really beautiful, touching performance. 

The whole ensemble did a gorgeous job of helping to carry these characters throughout the musical, showing a real flair for multi-roling and beautiful musicality in the group numbers too. 

Something which elevates this already gripping story though is the music. There are many recurring musical motifs throughout the show that on the surface may come off as repetitive but they offer perspective on how things can evolve and change over time.

Of course the song though that everybody is perhaps familiar with is the power ballad, ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’. This is the climax of the show and what a climax it is. There’s not a dry eye in the house when we reach this point of the story, I can assure you! 

So, whether you are returning to watch this show again, perhaps know the story from studying it in English GCSE or seeing it for the first time, it will always be an absolutely timeless classic.

Blood Brothers is on at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 30 November. Tickets are available HERE.

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Featured image: Jack Merriman

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