It’s hard to believe that we’re waving goodbye to June and saying hello to July across Greater Manchester already.
Where are these months going?
The start of July does mean that summer is really here now though, and the events calendar is packed with plenty to be getting up to across the region 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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Box on the Docks
MediaCityUK
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Monday 27 June – onwards
Box on the Docks / Credit: BOTD
Box on the Docks has returned to the banks of Salford Quays for the summer, and there’s be flowing beers, freshly-baked bagels, and boozy ice cream.
Back for its third year in a row, MediaCity’s popular outdoor dining concept, Box on the Docks, is set for another busy summer on the waterside piazza – but for the first time, it has taken on a brand-new format, as this year’s event is in partnership with SEVEN BRO7HERS.
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The Salford-based brewing company has been put in charge of operating a rotating residency of the region’s emerging and established independent food and drink pop ups.
There’s also been an exciting lineup of live music and events for all ages.
A critically-acclaimed photography exhibition has officially opened 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.
A new national collection dedicated to “the preservation and research of popular culture” has now opened in Manchester city centre.
The British Pop Archive (BPA) has been created by the University of Manchester (UoM) and has opened at the iconic John Rylands Library on Deansgate in the heart of the city centre, with the aim of celebrating British popular music and other aspects of popular culture to recognise its “pivotal influence” on the world stage.
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Featuring “iconic items” relating to quintessential British bands, legendary UK television, youth culture, counter-culture, and more that have set trends around the globe, the BPA will be an important academic resource for research and teaching, UoM says.
It’ll also be a public resource for exhibitions and public events that’s open to all.
Looking for some new restaurants and bars to try out that have just opened in Manchester city centre this month?
While some big familiar restaurant names have rocked up in Manchester in recent weeks, and will continue to do so before June is out, there’s also plenty of homegrown talent popping up all over the region – including some old favourites moving up in the world.
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Corner Slice x Jimmy’s, Pollen, and Neon Tiger / Credit: The Manc Group
Take Pollen, who have just moved into their enormous new site at KAMPUS, or pizza pedlars Corner Slice, who have paired up with Jimmy’s in Ancoats, as well as a very familiar old name in the form of a new Blockbusters cocktail bar, and plenty more newcomers joining the fray.
You can read our round-up to find out where to put on your list this month here.
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Sounds of the City 2022
Castlefield Bowl
Tuesday 28 June – Friday 8 July
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Sounds of the City 2022 / Credit: SOTC
Sounds of the City is back in Manchester city centre for 2022.
After having established itself as a staple part of the Manchester music scene, with some of the most acclaimed live artists taking to the stage over the years, the festival will be taking over Castlefield Bowl for a series of headline concerts this summer.
Lewis Capaldi, Foals, Crowded House, The Libertines, James, Pixies, Sam Fender, and Hacienda Classical are all set to play shows.
You can join esteemed football historian Dr Gary James for a celebration of women’s football this week.
The day is split into two halves, and the event kicks off with Gary outlining the history of women’s football locally, with stories of games played in Trafford in the 1890s, the sport’s growth in the early twentieth century, the 1921 FA ban and its local impact, the pioneering teams and individuals of the interwar and post war years, and then the game’s rise and development throughout to the modern day.
Dr James will then chair a discussion with women who played football in the region.
Festival Manchester 2022 / Credit: Festival Manchester
Live music, a fun fair, extreme sports, and a huge beach are just some of the attractions kicking off summer in Manchester this weekend.
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After a number of community action projects and events have been taking place across the region over the last few months now, Festival Manchester is set to finally come together for one last huge celebration in Wythenshawe Park.
Taking place on Friday 1 – Sunday 3 July, and organised by hundreds of churches, and businesses, as well as local charities The Message Trust and Luis Palau Association, Festival Manchester will also include a family fun zone, a high-tech gaming lobby, a mass children’s choir, and live music from a lineup of local acts.
The festival is free for everyone to attend, and you can find out more here.
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Greater Manchester Fringe 2022
Greater Manchester
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Friday 1 – Sunday 31 July
Greater Manchester Fringe 2022 / Credit: Craige Barker
The Greater Manchester Fringe is an annual city-wide theatre festival that celebrates new and emerging talent, and it’s back and taking over the region once again this month.
First taking place back in 2012 with six different venues and a handful of shows in each, the Greater Manchester Fringe has since grown each year with more performances, more ticket sales, and more venues taking part, and many past productions have moved onto established theatres, such as Bolton Octagon, Lowry Theatre, Royal Exchange theatre, and HOME theatre, have been recognised at the Manchester Theatre Awards.
Tickets are now on sale, and some shows are even free to attend, so you can find more information and grab yours here.
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Summer Natural Wine Night at GRUB
Cheetham Hill
Friday 1 July
Summer Natural Wine Night / Credit: GRUB | Reserve Wines
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 – is inviting you to a talk and guided tasting of six summer natural wines with Michael from Reserve Wines this Friday.
You’ll then get the chance to purchase bottles to take home from Michael’s mini natty wine sale.
Paloma Faith at Haydock Park Racecourse / Credit: The Jockey Club Live
Paloma Faith is just one huge name set to play a headline show as part of a live concert series at Haydock Park Racecourse this summer.
The Jockey Club Live is renowned for bringing live music to thousands of fans in the relaxed open-air setting of some of the UK’s biggest racecourses, and as double platinum and BRIT award-winning artist Paloma Faith will be heading out on her second UK tour within a year with this summer, she will be stopping off at Haydock Park on Friday 1 July.
She’ll perform and have fans singing along to hits from her extensive and much-loved repertoire, as well as new songs from her fifth studio album Infinite Things.
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP is back at the Science and Industry Museum for the first time in three years, taking ticket-holders on a journey through five decades of gaming, with everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more.
Power UP will be taking place every weekend and school holiday from 18 June all the way through to December 2023, and every ticket includes unlimited play all day.
IRONMAN UK returns to Bolton once again this weekend.
With Bolton having been the UK-based home to the world-renowned triathlon event for the past several years now, IRONMAN UK has become known for its iconic spectator support, incredible bike course scenery, and impressive finish line that’s in the heart of the town centre.
A number of temporary road closures will be in place across Bolton on race day to ensure the safety of athletes and the public.
Cheshire Oaks is partnering with Manchester-based nutrition and wellness brand Food4Thoughts (F4T) to bring an exclusive Wellness Festival to the designer outlet village this weekend.
The weekend takeover will see F4T – co-founded by famed Mancunians Scott Thomas and Eden Thomas – hosting fitness classes, live cook-a-longs, and wellness workshops led by industry experts across the two days, and all visitors will get to make the most of a range of live entertainment and music for free,
Visitors will even be given access to some exclusive offers, and the chance to enter a prize draw worth up to £2,500.
You can find out more and grab tickets for free here.
If you’re a big fan of Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes, or you just enjoy a brilliant night of entertainment and fine dining, then the heritage railway’s popular Murder Mystery Nights are back, and you’re invited to bring your best detective people skills and hop aboard a stunning steam train travelling through the picturesque Greater Manchester countryside.
Hosted by award-winning events company After Dark Entertainment, you will be guided through some “serious sleuthing” to find out whodunit, with each night featuring a different theme, a different cast, and a different riddle to solve.
This Saturday is the turn of ‘An Invitation to Murder’, and you can join an eclectic collection of famous golden age detectives as they investigate the killing of a reclusive author.
Featured Image – Sounds of the City | Craige Barker
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 30 December 2024 – 5 January 2025
Emily Sergeant
Can you believe it’s time to say goodbye to 2024, and welcome in 2025 this week?
The presents have been opened, the mince pies eaten, and you may have even taken down your tree too, but while all the fun of the festive season may’ve been and gone by now, this doesn’t mean there isn’t lots of things to look forward to in 2025, as Greater Manchester‘s events calendar already seems very exciting.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide to help you out.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
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Skate Manchester 2024
Cathedral Gardens
Monday 30 December 2024 – Wednesday 1 January 2025
Skate Manchester 2024 / Credit: Matt Eachus (via Supplied)
Skate Manchester is festive staple, and this is your last few days to get on the ice.
This year, skaters can glide across a gleaming ice path and spin around a dazzling seven-metre Christmas tree taking centre stage in the middle of the rink.
Families, friends, and festive fun seekers will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas whatever the weather has in store for our city this year too, as although the rink will be outdoors in the heart of Cathedral Gardens, the ice is fully covered.
Bar Hütte’s legendary karaoke cabins are back in Manchester once again.
Bringing Alpine vibes, cosy furnishings, twinkling lights, live music sessions, and flowing drinks to two city centre locations from this Thursday onwards, dozens of cosy private hüttes neatly-positioned under twinkling lights are now open down at both Kampus and Great Northern Square.
There’s also a handful of other events on the lineup throughout the festive season, including live music and DJs, wreath making workshops, and movie nights.
Wicked The Musical / Credit: Jennifer DiNoia / Limited Engagement
Wicked The Musical has landed in Manchester and has taken over the iconic Palace Theatre stage for the festive season.
Sure, there may be a major motion picture adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande currently on in the cinema right now, but if you’re keen to see the beloved musical production on stage in the way it was originally intended, then you can head on down to the Palace Theatre to see the story of Elphaba and Galinda live.
Of course, this has been one of the hottest tickets in town for quite a while now, but there’ll still some last-minute seats left to get your hands on, so keep your eyes peeled.
Winter Holiday Programme / Credit: Science Museum Group
One of Manchester’s most popular museums has been transformed into an immersive ‘Light Lab’ for the festive season.
This is your chance to escape the cold and brighten up the winter holidays with an adventure though light and colour, as the Science and Industry Museum is currently running its full festive events programme and there’s loads to get involved with.
You can also explore a gaming extravaganza, and be engrossed by festive-themed science shows at the city centre-based museum this December.
A major Jurassic World exhibition that’s been mesmerising visitors all over the world has now arrived here in Greater Manchester, and it’s recently been announced that it’ll be sticking around until the new year.
Based on the beloved blockbuster film franchise, this official award-winning experience is one of the fastest-selling exhibitions in history.
Manc visitors will be able to walk through the iconic Jurassic World gates, explore some richly-themed environments, and encounter a life-sized Brachiosaurus, Velociraptors, and the most fearsome dinosaur of all, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex.
A groundbreaking new immersive exhibition exploring our relationship with the natural world is now open at Manchester Museum.
‘Wild’ look at how people are creating, rebuilding, and repairing connections with nature, and how the natural world has traditionally been presented and idealised through Western art, as well as looking at some unique approaches to environmental recovery too.
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
Across each of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs, there’s plenty of ways to welcome in 2025, but we’d be here all day if we tried to list them all, so instead, we’ve decided to just share a few with you – including fireworks, countdowns, and more.
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Manchester’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks
St Peter’s Square
Tuesday 31 December
Manchester’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks / Credit: Chris Curry | designecologist (via Unsplash)
Manchester city centre is hosting one of its famous fireworks displays to “say goodbye to the old and welcome in the new” this year.
Families from all across Greater Manchester are invited to the “fun-filled event” from 10pm.
This year’s end of the year celebration marks the first time St Peter’s Square has been used for the New Year countdown event, and also the first time that New Year fireworks will be let off from the roof of Manchester Central Library.
Find out more about the FREE event here, and check out all the road closures and parking suspensions that will be in place on the night here.
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Fireworks Extravaganza
Mayfield Park & Freight Island
Tuesday 31 December
Fireworks Extravaganza / Credit: Freight Island
Freight Island is taking New Year’s Eve into its own hands and kicking 2025 off with a bang by hosting a big fireworks display to remember.
Taking place in Mayfield Park as soon as dusk hits, there’ll be lots of family-friendly festivities – including free sparklers and marshmallow roasting for the little ones to enjoy as midnight nears – all before a spectacular 12-minute firework display lights up the night sky above Manchester to welcome in the new year.
Find out more and get your last-minute tickets here.
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Featured Image – Bar Hutte | Chris Curry | Skate Manchester
What's On
10 of the best theatre shows to see in Greater Manchester in 2025
Thomas Melia
Greater Manchester already has a jam-packed 2025 theatre schedule, and in the words of Hairspray, Manchester really can’t stop the beat.
There’s no denying that Manchester and its surrounding areas are no stranger to a live performance or two, after all, with three cracking theatres to choose from, it would be hard to miss one of these spell-bounding tours.
Without further ado, here’s a brief overview of 10 of the best theatre shows to see in Greater Manchester in 2025.
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Wicked
Palace Theatre Manchester
3 December 2024 – 12 January 2025
Wicked / Credit: Matt Crockett
The smash-hit blockbuster of the year is continuing its reign even into the New Year for two weeks of gravity defying awesomeness.
Currently nearing the end of its remarkable cinema run, thanks to leading ladies Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, continue the magic of the two witches in the form of live theatre.
Expect all the usual hits like ‘Defying Gravity’, ‘Popular’ and ‘What Is This Feeling?’, get lost in the world of Ozian storytelling and recline in your own comfy bright red theatre seat.
It’s all about star power with this musical as Johannes Radebe from Strictly Come Dancing playing Lola and the music and lyrics handled by pop icon Cyndi Lauper.
The musical follows the life of a struggling businessman who’s inherited his family’s shoe factory, all seems dire until he meets Lola a drag queen who might just solve all his problems.
‘Come Fall in Love – The DDLJ Musical’ as its titled is directed by Aditya Chopra, the film’s original director.
Since its big-screen release in 1995, the show has never left cinemas in Mumbai, becoming the longest-running title in Indian cinema.
This stage adaptation has a huge emphasis on colliding cultures, with the Bollywood production following the love story of two lovers from different backgrounds.
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, back in Manchester LIVE.
The six wives of Henry VIII have a special place in Manchester’s hearts, becoming a returning favourite since its not-so-quiet 2018 debut. For those who haven’t been lucky enough to see it, imagine Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour but a few centuries earlier – it’s a pure pop celebration.
Something’s just go hand in hand – Fish and chips, tea and biscuits, and thespians and The Rocky Horror Show.
This musical carries alongside it one of the biggest fandoms of all time, and with Jason Donovan playing the role of Frank-N-Furter, the love for this production is set to grow much stronger. Manchester is no stranger to doing the ‘Time Warp’ and with the musical returning in summer 2025, they’re most definitely about to do it again.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe / Credit: Matt Crockett
Start filling your Christmas calendar for 2025 early and enrich yourself in a classic novel set in the fantasy land of Narnia.
Watch Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter tackle enemies, face foes and create solutions while venturing through a world of wonders. You’re about to be in awe as you get whisked away to this mystical land and watch the story unfold on stage with a live cast and some mesmerising set designs.
Dates for this show are very flexible too, meaning theatregoers have lots of opportunities to see the miracle worker that is Ms. Poppins fly about the streets of London.
It’s a double Australian bill as both Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers who are reprising their roles as Mary Poppins and Bert, respectively, are both from down under.
‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’, ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘The Best’, you can’t deny the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll has certainly earned her royal musical status.
This monumental singer achieved 12 Grammy awards during her musical career and grew a strong cult fanbase who stuck with her through thick and thin.
Now fans and musical lovers alike can enjoy a show all about the life of the vocal pioneer while also reminiscing on some of the biggest hits of her career.
Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of…) / Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
There are lots of fantastic productions happening throughout the year and but we had to include this one because it’s Pride And Prejudice… well sort of.
Jane Austen’s groundbreaking novel has seen itself take on numerous adaptations since it’s original hardback debut from the big screen release in 2005 to this new stage musical coming in 2025. The drama will feature some of pop’s greatest records throughout the tale like ‘You’re So Vain’, ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ and ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’.
Emily Sergeant -
24th June 2022 
