Another week of July means another week of summer in Greater Manchester.
The sun is shining, the temperatures have been soaring, and the events calendar is packed with plenty to be getting up to across the region once again this week, so we’ve cherry-picked a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide.
As always, some of the events we’re going to mention are completely free, while others will set you back a few pounds, and many will need to be booked in advance.
Here’s our top picks.
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Crossing The Line: The Story of Women’s Football
National Football Museum
Monday 18 July – onwards
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Crossing The Line / Credit: National Football Museum
The National Football Museum and Manchester City Council has launched a new exhibition dedicated to the history of the women’s game.
Coinciding with the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament, the new exhibition, Crossing the Line: The Story of Women’s Football, chronicles the game’s early growth, the effects of the FA’s de facto 1921 ban, its survival and its resurgence in recent decades.
The exhibition is split into two halves, with the first half telling the story of the women’s game up until the ban, from its nineteenth-century origins to the all-conquering Dick, Kerr Ladies, and the second half kicks off later in the summer, focusing on the present state of play within women’s football, from the grassroots up to the professional game.
Afternoon tea fans can once again enjoy scones and finger sandwiches by the waterside as Heaton Park has reopened its lakeside dining domes for the summer.
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The newly-refurbished domes are back to help us enjoy a bit of the al fresco experience this summer – no matter what the Manchester weather decides to do with itself.
Set in the midst of beautiful parkland, the refurbished domes will once again serve up a range of afternoon teas alongside a soon-to-be-launched summer evening picnic menu to help you make the most of the lighter evenings.
A critically-acclaimed photography exhibition is currently in Manchester as part of its international tour.
In what is the first UK exhibition of this scale outside of London for over 20 years from the world-renowned Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, the Science and Industry Museum has will welcomed Amazônia – a major photography exhibition that celebrates the indigenous peoples and breathtaking landscapes of the Brazilian rainforest.
Salgado worked in the Amazon for seven years with 12 different indigenous communities, and the result is an incredible collection of powerful photographs that present his vision of a forest that is approaching a crucial tipping point in the fight against climate change, the Museum says.
Bingo Balls at the Printworks / Credit: Bingo Balls
Bingo Balls is the newest member of the family at Printworks, and it’s home to the North West’s first ball pit for grown-ups.
Having officially opened its doors to the Manchester public last weekend, you can expect a wide range of entertainment throughout the summer – with everything from bingo, drag brunches, burlesque shows, and retro food and drink on offer.
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DJs will also be blasting out some of the hottest R&B, house, and disco mixes to keep you dancing all night long.
Looking for some new restaurants and bars to try out that have just opened in Manchester city centre this month?
Another month, another set of new openings to shout about – and boy are there some crackers coming to Manchester this July.
From a spanking new late-night music venue, late-night bar and restaurant over on Oxford Road, to a teeny-tiny Japanese street food stall, there’s loads to look forward to this month.
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You can read our round-up to find out where to put on your list this month here.
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UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Manchester Fan Party
Piccadilly Gardens
Monday 18 – Sunday 31 July
UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Manchester Fan Party / Credit: UEFA
UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 has announced a huge festival of football this summer.
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In Manchester, all the action will happen in Piccadilly Gardens from 11am – 4pm each day right through until Sunday 31 July, and thousands of fans from across Europe are expected to descend on the city centre.
Fans will be able to watch all the matches on a big screen, as well as enjoy food and drink which will be available throughout the tournament.
An all-new water park, funfair, beach, and giant 15sq m outdoor screen showing classic films and some of the summers biggest sporting events have all arrived at the Trafford Centre.
The UK’s third largest shopping centre has announced that its “most significant outdoor event to date” will offer a full lineup of family-friendly activities for everyone to enjoy throughout the day and into the night.
Summer Daze will span an impressive 2.5 acres of land, and will be located outside the Great Hall up until 4 September.
One of the new events arriving for 2022 is the Trafford Centre’s summer of sport – which is now live – and it will give sports-lovers the chance to gain free to access to a fan zone to watch some of the summer’s biggest sporting events such as the Tour De France, UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, and the Athletics World Championships, all on a 15sq m giant outdoor screen.
Coronation Street Stars Tour / Credit: Coronation Street: The Tour
Coronation Street has revealed that its famous ‘Stars Tours’ are returning this summer, and it means you can meet “mystery” cast members on the legendary cobbles.
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Just as the name suggests, the Stars Tours not only include the standard 90-minute guided tour of the external Coronation Street set in MediaCityUK, but they also give you the opportunity to meet the a surprise cast member from the show.
While bosses of the official guided tours are keeping names of the mystery cast members who are set to make appearances close to their chest, they have assured fans that they’ll pop out to say hello, and pose for pictures, as well as letting you in on a few filming secrets or a story during the special events too.
One of the city’s most popular bars has welcomed the return of its Aperol terrace this week.
With summer now officially here, and much of the UK set to see soaring temperatures over the next couple of weeks, Spinningfields sun trap The Oast House has decided to revive its much-loved Aperol-themed terrace to transport city visitors from the hustle and bustle of Manchester, to the serenity of an authentic Italian square.
With views overlooking the Spinningfields centre, fans of the Italian tipple can expect the new Piazza Aperol to be home to ample pavement café-style seating, and a double-tier Aperol Spritz Bar too.
It’ll be decorated with orange trees, Fiat 500s in Aperol’s iconic orange, swing seats, and art deco streetlights.
Didsbury’s very-own cookery school is giving you the chance to make your own Yang Sing dim sum during this three-hour dedicated cookery class.
Serving exquisite dim sum and Cantonese cuisine since 1977, the Yang Sing has earned a reputation as one of the city’s favourite food institutions, and has grown to become synonymous with Manchester’s vibrant food and drink scene.
Chef Ting Yeung – a third generation of the family behind Yang Sing, who grew up in the restaurant, and lives, breathes and indeed eats all things dim sum – will be sharing with you some dim sum perennials, as well as some that you may not had tried before.
Find out more and book your place on the class for £95 here.
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RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2022
Tatton Park
Wednesday 20 – Sunday 24 July
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park / Credit: Tatton Park
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park returns to bring the joy of gardening to summer 2022.
Over the five-day festival, you can find gardening inspiration in the colourful Community Borders, innovative Back to Back Gardens, and be the first to spot new talent at the RHS Young Designer Gardens, as well as drop in to the Floral Marquee and Plant Village to pick up tips from expert growers and buy perfect plants, enjoy wonderful floristry workshop, and attend entertaining and insightful talks from a range of speakers.
There’ll also be plenty of activities for kids, and plenty of live entertainment and fantastic food and drink amongst the buzzing atmosphere of this great summer day out.
Bluedot Festival is finally set to make a return in 2022, with headline performances from Bjork, Groove Armada, Mogwai and Metronomy.
The popular festival at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire is known for marrying the worlds of music, science, and culture in a family-friendly four-day extravaganza, but both its 2020 and 2021 festivals had to be cancelled, with organisers saying a ‘lack of government support around insurance’ had forced them to call it off.
But now it’s back for its fifth instalment this week, and there’ll be huge performances beneath the 76-metre-wide Lovell Telescope, which will be lit up with projections as a huge digital artwork for the first time.
An accessible rave created for adults with learning disabilities is returning to Manchester this week.
The Under One Roof rave will take over the basement at YES on Charles Street, and will be a fully wheelchair-accessible safe space with plenty of room for those with disabilities to rave the night away, with The Fat Britney – one half of the Fatcamp DJ collective – DJing at the event.
A magical night of candlelit music paying tribute to one of the world’s most-loved rock bands, Oasis, is coming to the historic surroundings of Manchester Cathedral this week.
This event gives fans the opportunity to listen to Oasis songs as you’ve never heard them before, as a talented violinist and band perform magical renditions of everything from Wonderwall to Champagne Supernova during an evening gently illuminated by candlelight.
Two of the most popular foodie favourite events are back at Manchester’s largest street food fair GRUB – which is currently based at the Red Bank Project just outside of the city centre in Cheetham Hill.
The GRUB Food Fair this week will see the likes of Bon Street Food, Igloo Pizza Kitchen, Little Yellow Rice Co, and Pud Club serve a wide range of mouthwatering delights for you to try, while on Sunday, whether you’re plant based or just curious, there’ll be big handful of the finest vegan food traders there for Plant Powered Sundays to show you what it’s all about.
Both events are free to attend, and you can find more information here.
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Featured Image – Tatton Park | Lucas Sinclair
What's On
You can ‘run and rave’ as part of this new charity-driven social in Manchester city centre
Danny Jones
If you’re looking for a fun new way to spend a night out or thinking about getting into running but maybe haven’t quite found the right way in for you just yet, this new Manchester run socialthat starts and ends with a good old-fashioned party might be right up your street.
Run The Streets MCR is a community-led and charity-driven fitness and social event that recently launched in Manchester and has already developed a bit of a cult following in the space of only a couple of months.
The concept is simple: it’s a running social where you can meet new people whilst getting your yards in, just not quite as you know it. Instead of people turning up for a 5k and then heading home, the fun carries on at a host venue where people can keep chatting and mingling whilst having a boogie.
And the best part is that not only is it more of a causally paced, low-pressure jog and crucially social-first, but it’s all for a good cause too.
Started out by East Manchester locals and lifelong mates, Liam Parker-Worsley and Sarah Edwards, (‘Sezzle’ to those who know her among the Manc running circles), Run The Streets started out as a running social concept at its very core but has now become truly bigger than the sum of its parts.
While the ‘run and rave’ idea has been done before, this particular event is the first of its kind in Greater Manchester and after facing some serious obstacles to get it off the ground and plenty of adversity at the very first hurdle – for lack of a less punny phrase – they’ve managed to turn it into a force for good.
After pivoting the model at the start of 2024 to be completely non-profit, the monthly event is now helping bring people together for a good time, from the tarmac to the tiles, all whilst raising money for the likes of The Running Charity (TRC).
Not only do all the proceeds from the super affordable tickets – we’re talking the same price you’d pay for a decent pint in town these days – go straight back into running the next social, but they also help fund the chosen charity for that month.
Be it national causes like TRC, which recently received huge support from the incredible ‘Hardest Geezer‘s run across Africa, or charities strictly local to Manchester, everyone involved is striding towards a goal – quite literally.
Meet the team behind the new non-profit run social in Manchester.
Offering a different kind of night out
Speaking to The Manc, co-creator Sezzle says the mission statement is simple: “Everyone’s welcome and you can meet new people whilst running but at the same time we’re giving back to the community.
“We’re supporting local charities, artists and DJs, as well as local running clubs who want to get involved. Essentially, it’s just about bringing people together, which is what run clubs do, but we’re also in a big city and not everyone wants to go out and just drink at a bar all night.
“You want to keep fit, it’s good for your mental health, but you also still want to be social and enjoy yourself. Run The Streets is that Mancunian through and through but everyone’s invited.”
Sober for five months now, she acknowledged that outlets like this are crucial, insisting: “I don’t want to stop going out and having a good time or meeting new people, so this is a way that you can still go out on a Friday night and enjoy a party atmosphere with no pressure to drink”.
This is what the start of a night in trainers, hi-vis and glow sticks looks like. (Credit: Supplied)
The ‘by Manchester for Manchester’ ethos
Her partner in crime Liam echoed that party-run description, reiterating that whilst people can still get a bit boozy if they like, it’s all about “providing an alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to drink and want to be included but might have felt a little alienated otherwise”.
A fellow Tameside native, he explained how Run The Streets has already partnered with zero-alcohol brands like Clean Break for their inaugural event back in March and now alcohol-free favourite Lucky Saint for their sophomore social this month.
“It’s not about the financial aspect for us”, says Liam, “we only charge for tickets to sustain the event and pay for the talent, hiring spaces and so on… It might be different venues, different charities etc., but as long as we focus on core issues to Manchester with a cultural element that’s important to us, we’re happy with that”.
Sez couldn’t agree more, adding: “At the end of the day, we’re Mancs, we’ve watched the city grow into what it is today. When it comes down to it everyone knows about the Manchester spirit, it’s a hard-working area and there’s such a community to this place – we want to make sure everyone feels welcome.
“We look out for each other. That’s how it’s always been.”
Their recent running event with Matchroom ahead of the Gill vs Barrett fight at AO Arena. (Credit: Run The Streets MCR)
Roots in the running and wider Greater Manchester community
Chatting with Tom Lewis, founder of Manchester’s annual 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness and Chairman for the Run The Street’s official host club, Manchester Road Runners, he said that they became interested because they “really liked the idea of sponsoring different charities every month”.
Confessing that it felt like “a natural crossover” given MRR’s size and ethos, as well as their own non-profit work with the British Heart Foundation and Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, he said the “overall response from the first event was incredible – everyone just loved it”.
“There were people dancing on the streets as they saw us come past and there were so many videos on social media. That sort of stuff can really help get people into running who wouldn’t necessarily consider it in the first place.”
“I think it’s going to grow really quickly; the first event sold out and I think the next ones will too, definitely. It’s great to see what just a random group of friends can accomplish when we come together.”
Manchester Road Runners is helping bring huge numbers to the event already.
Liam himself couldn’t speak highly enough of the Castlefield-based group, insisting that “me and Sez find a lot of happiness and solace” at MRR.
While they are affiliated with others like KOKO (Keep On Keeping On’s Manchester arm) and Stretford Run Club that they want to help promote, the hope is that events like this might help people who run but don’t attend a club might give them a try in the future.
Regular ambassador and volunteer at both organisations, Natasha Barclay – who herself is over a year into her own sobriety journey – described the flagship event as “such good fun, really welcoming” and filled with plenty of people who had never even run before.
Nat also urged people not to be scared if they’re first-timers to run socials or running full stop, reassuring that “no one gets left behind; even if you can’t really run, you’ll always make it back, have a good time and meet others in the same boat”.
She went on to add: “Run The Streets MCR is all about giving back to the running community which I think can often get overshadowed by social media and certain brands. The spirit can sometimes get taken out of it but this run social puts its straight back in whilst helping Manchester business and DJs.”
When we asked the guys to sum this whole experience up in three words or less that weren’t ‘rave and run’, they came up with some pretty telling answers too. “Community, soul and fun”, “alternative Friday fun” and our personal favourite: “Simply for Manchester”.
It’s also worth reiterating that these guys have done it completely off their own backs and are doing so on an entirely voluntary basis on top of their full-time jobs, sometimes juggling two or three different roles. It’s been built over countless late nights and dinner hours, all for the love of running and the city.
The second ever Run The Streets MCR running social and party kicks off this Friday, 26 April from 7pm at Joshua Brooks, with a light 5k around our lovely city centre starting at 7:30pm before heading back to the venue for more tunes, dancing, glowsticks and general good vibes from 8pm onwards.
You can grab the last few remaining tickets HERE and we hope to see a few of you there on the night.
Come rain or shine, there’s always tunes to keep you going.The turnout at the last Run The Streets Manchester social at The Deaf Institute.Credit: Supplied/The Manc Group
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Run The Streets MCR
What's On
Co-op Live announce UFC 304 is coming to the brand-new arena for Manchester return this year
Danny Jones
Co-op Live has announced one of the biggest nights yet and their first-ever sporting event after confirming that the UFC is coming to the new state-of-the-art arena.
While the shiny new music and live entertainment stadium suffered an unfortunate setback earlier this week, with both of Peter Kay’s gigs being postponed following power supply issues discovered during their test event, the confirmation of UFC 304 at Co-op Live is a big plus for the opening month.
Rumours had been circling that a huge sporting event might be coming to the UK’s newest indoor arena, one of the biggest of its kind in Europe, but this being just the fourth time the UFC has washed up on British shores, it’s a huge coup for their debut year.
Announced on Wednesday, 24 April, the global MMA phenomenon and multi-billion-dollar promotion company will be bringing their 304th fight night to Manchester on 27 July and you can roll your eyes at the pun all you like, but it’s going to be a knockout.
The UFC is coming back to Manchester for the first time in eight years.
As the UFC has said in an official press release, “UK MMA is currently experiencing what is being described as an unheralded golden era, with stars such as welterweight champion Leon Edwards, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, and local favourites, including Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Muhammad Mokaev, Michael Page and Arnold Allen, with more rising through the ranks.”
That being said, there isn’t a better moment for the brand to capitalise on the growing fight audience here in the UK and 0161, specifically, with the aforementioned Aspinall having created a real appetite for the discipline in and around the city.
The Greater Manchester region has always been home to iconic fighters regardless, be it boxing or otherwise; Ricky Hatton, Tyson Fury, Amir Khan, as well adopted Manc MMA legend Michael Bisping, whose pedigree helped bring UFC to Manchester and the AO Arena for the first time back in 2016.
Nearly a decade later the promotion is now part of Co-op Live’s maiden calendar and set to be the first of many sporting events they hope to host – a plan bolstered by their partnership with neighbours, Manchester City.
The UFC 304 fight card is yet to be announced but there are a few local names you can probably bank on. (Credit: The Manc Audio)
“I’m so excited to get back to Manchester, and no better time than this summer,” said UFC President and CEO Dana White. “We have two champions from the UK and fans have been dying for a UFC PPV event. So here we come to the largest indoor arena in the UK. See you soon, England!”
As for Co-op Live, Executive Director and General Manager Gary Rodenadded: “With the north of England home to so many of the world’s leading fighters, we are primed and ready for UFC and its knowledgeable, passionate fanbase.
“Offering a state-of-the-art platform for globally broadcast events, Co-op Live is extremely proud to welcome entertainment of this scale and calibre as the future home of combat sports in the UK.”
Co-op members get early access to presale tickets at 10am on 5 June and general admission goes live via Ticketmaster at the same time on Friday, 7 June. UFC Fight Club members will also have the opportunity to purchase tickets early on the Wednesday from 9am BST.
You can also register your interest HERE to gain access to a special pre-sale which starts on Thursday, 6 June 6 from 10am as well. Roll on fight night!
Emily Sergeant -
15th July 2022 
