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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
Niall Horan at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Former One Direction member now-soloist Niall Horan is making his return to Co-op Live as part of his UK shows: ‘Dinner Party Live On Tour’.
Known for his work alongside One Direction bandmates Harry, Louis, Liam and Zayn, Horan has since started a solo career and continued to have a large fanbase.
His singles include ‘Nice To Meet Ya’, ‘Heaven’, ‘Drive Safe’ and ‘This Town’ with the latter amassing over 1 billion streams since its release in 2017.
Collaborating with the likes of pop artist Anne-Marie, Myles Smith, Maren Morris, the Irish-born musician’s style fuses both acoustic and country sounds.
Niall’s most recent LP Dinner Party dropped earlier this summer with the album title inspired by his initial encounter with his long-time girlfriend.
Gig guide – Niall Horan at Co-op Live, Manchester
Niall Horan UK tour dates
Tue 22 September – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Wed 23 September – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 25 September – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Mon 28 September – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tue 29 September – Sheffield, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 2 October – London, UK – The O2
Sat 3 October – London, UK – The O2
Are there any tickets left for Niall Horan at Co-op Live in Manchester?
If you’ve got ‘Slow Hands’ then you better get booking tickets to Niall Horan’s upcoming concert at Co-op Live in Manchester now as they’re selling pretty quickly.
You can find tickets for both seated and standing options starting from £50.75 HERE.
Although the official setlist for Niall Horan’s upcoming Dinner Party Live On Tour is yet to be revealed, here’s the tracklist for his most recent LP of the same name:
Tastes So Good
Dinner Party
Monochromatic
She Gets It From Her Mother
Better Man
Little More Time
Flowers
Boys Are Fun
Fighting Over Nothing
Pretty
Die If I Don’t
End of an Era
What are the stage times for Niall Horan in Manchester?
Doors for Niall Horan open from 6.30pm and expect to fall in love with singer-songwriter flowerovlove who will take to the stage just before.
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm meaning you have a ‘Little More Time’ to lie in before the clock hits twelve.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Featured Images – Publicity Picture (via Supplied)
What's On
‘Queen of Christmas’ Mariah Carey announces huge Manchester arena gig this December
Emily Sergeant
Mariah Carey has officially defrosted and she’s heading out on a UK arena tour this festive season.
That’s right, the rumours were true… the best-selling female artist of all time, and the undisputed ‘Queen of Christmas’ herself, will be bringing the magic of the most wonderful time of the year to UK this winter, taking to the stage at Manchester’s Co-op Live in early December, as well as several other major UK cities along the way.
The US pop powerhouse last performed in our city nearly a decade ago now when she brought her famous All I Want For Christmasshow to the UK for the first time ever.
But this upcoming tour will mark Mariah’s first consecutive run of dates on British soil since 2019.
The shows will see Mariah celebrate the festive season by bringing together her timeless festive catalogue, global hits, and fan favourites – including the song that has become synonymous with Christmas around the world, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’
Originally released in 1994 as part of her landmark Merry Christmas album, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ reached number 1 on the UK charts for the first time in 2020, and has been in the top five every year since.
Mariah Carey will take to the stage in Manchester at Co-op Live on Wednesday 2 December, and tickets officially go on sale this week.
Mariah Carey UK Tour Dates 2026
Friday 27 November – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Monday 30 November – The O2, London
Wednesday 2 December – Co-op Live, Manchester
Pre-sales start at 10am on Wednesday (23 September), with the general sale then following later in the week on Friday 25 September, also at 10am.
Emily Sergeant -
24th December 2024 
