What's On

The Student’s Guide to the City: All the best events and offers in Manchester this month

If you're going to be a student anywhere in 2020, you've made a good choice in picking Manchester.

The Manc The Manc - 23rd September 2020
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Just like every year, Manchester is getting ready to welcome around 80,000 new and returning students to our city over these next few weeks.

Although, the student experience is set to be a very different one amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

With nightclubs still closed and strict social distancing measures in place in bars – as well as the new rule of six and a 10pm curfew announced by the government – this means that usual bar crawls and club nights are out of the question.

Luckily, there’s still plenty of offers, deals and COVID-safe / virtual events either already happening, or set to take place in and around the city centre which are all intent on helping the iconic student adventure thrive despite the circumstances.

From discounted drinks deals, to virtual bingo events, student shopping weeks and even money-off gym memberships, there’s a lot going on in the rainy city that you won’t want to miss.

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If you’re going to be a student anywhere in 2020, you’ve made a good choice in picking Manchester.

This is your ultimate student guide to the city.

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Student Shopping Week

Trafford Centre

Trafford Centre

intu Trafford Centre’s annual Student Shopping Week is back.

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More than 50 stores, restaurants and leisure venues are getting involved and students will be able to take advantage of some amazing deals and exclusive offers, with up to 50% off some brands.

The popular shopping mall has hosted a huge student night for the past eight years, but in 2020, this will be extended to a full week and it means that students can choose a time to visit that is convenient to them, which will in turn help to manage the number of visitors in the centre and maintain social distancing.

Student Shopping Week is taking place from 28th September – 4th October and you can find out more of what’s on offer here.

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‘Fresh Deals for Freshers’

Printworks

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Printworks

The Printworks is ready to welcome students to the city in the safest way possible.

As Manchester’s number one entertainment complex in the heart of the city centre, the Printworks has a whole host of deals and discounts to suit the needs of every student and help you kick-start freshers in style. 

There’s over nineteen venues to splash your student loan on, including food, drink and leisure.

You can find out more information here.

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Bongo’s Bingo

Freshers Goes Virtual

Together with Southern Comfort, Schuh and Unihomes, Bongo’s Bingo is bringing the party from the comfort of your halls or student house this year with Freshers Goes Virtual.

Students will be able to tune in to the crazy three-hour live stream on an unprecedented scale.

Now, Joel Corry joins Clean Bandit – both UK chart No.1 artists debuting brand new mixes for the stream – at what is set to be a wild evening of mayhem and magic, with stream host Jonny Bongo keeping it very much unreal and where fabulous prizes can be won.

Bongo’s Bingo Freshers Goes Virtual is taking place on 1st October 2020 at 8pm.

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You can find more information here.

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Pints, Pool & More

Brickhouse Social

Ever-popular Wakefield Street hangout Brickhouse Social has already got plenty going on this month.

Students arriving in the city can make the most of free games of pool, 25% off food seven days a week – and 50% off food on Mondays only – £2.50 pints and vodka mixers, £2 shots, £1 coffee, four for £10 jagerbombs and 2-4-1 pizza.

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What more could you want? All you need to do is show your Student ID to be eligible.

You can find more information here.

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Free Beer & ‘Mates Rates’ Card

Yard & Coop

Buttermilk Fried Chicken experts Yard & Coop are offering something a little different for students in Manchester this year.

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The Mates Rates card is arriving in the rainy city, meaning those dining in the Manchester restaurant can now get 20% off the entire bill on Sunday-Thursday. Not only that, but they’re also giving away a free pint of Yard Pilsner when you sign up for Mates Rates with no strings attached.

All you have to do fill in the form on the Yard & Coop website and then you’ll receive an email with a voucher.

You can find more information here.

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Student Bottomless Brunch

Revolution Deansgate Locks

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Weird & Wonderful

Weird & Wonderful is bringing its student-focused bottomless brunch to Revolution Deansgate Locks.

With a signature soundtrack of Disco / Party / Hip Hop tunes, an endless selection of drinks – from Aperol Spritz, Pornstar Martinis and Prosecco, to Amstel and Heineken – and a wide array of mouth-watering food options, this is bound to be 90 minutes of bottomless fun.

There’s multiple events going on from 4th October right through to 6th December and you can grab your tickets starting at £25 per person now.

You can find more information here.

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We’re going to make sure we keep updating this list with any more unmissable offers that we see as the weeks go on, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.

Don’t forget to check back for all the latest.

What's On

There’s a full day of FREE outdoor yoga classes happening in Manchester city centre this month

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

There’s a full day of free yoga classes taking over an outdoor amphitheatre in heart of Manchester city centre in a couple of weeks time.

As a way of marking the summer solstice and welcoming in the new season, all while suitably-celebrating International Yoga Day at the same time, Manchester‘s famed ‘Yogathon’ is returning to Great Northern Warehouse later this month with a whole host of free outdoor yoga sessions, and it’s giving Mancs the chance to “get on the mat and work on the mind”.

Taking over the amphitheatre outside the historic city centre warehouse, you can join in with a full day of yoga classes led by award-winning instructors from The Life Centre from morning through to evening.

Early birds can kick-start the day with Sun Salutations from 7:30am, which is perfectly-timed as the sun rises over the city on the longest day of the year, while a lively functional flow class will follow as the ideal way to spend your lunch hour from 12:30-1:15pm.

You can then close out the day and unwind after work with a fun and friendly Vinyasa class from 5:15-6pm.

Yogathon 2023 is happening outside Great Northern Warehouse on Wednesday 21 June / Credit: Phil Tragen (via Great Northern)

Suitable for all ages and abilities to get involved with, each of the classes happening throughout the day are free of charge, and ultimately encourage Mancs to “treat your muscles and mind” and enjoy the physical and mental benefits of yoga in the great outdoors.

Yoga mats will be provided in the amphitheatre, but you should bring your own if you have one.

All proceeds from will go to Eat Well MCR to support people living in poverty across the city by delivering meals and providing much-needed respite during difficult times.

Yogathon 2023 is taking over the amphitheatre at Great Northern Warehouse, just off Deansgate in the heart of the city centre, on Wednesday 21 June from 7:30am right through to 6pm.

Read more:

Find out more and book your place on classes here.

Featured Image – Darren Robinson (via Great Northern)

What's On

Pink at University of Bolton Stadium — stage times, setlist and more

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pink Bolton gig tickets Manchester

Pop legend Pink is in Manchester as we speak ahead of her massive gigs at the University of Bolton Stadium this week, set to play not one but two shows at the Wanderers’ home ground.

Having been around since 1995 if you can believe that, the legendary Noughties singer recently released her ninth studio album, Trustfall, back in February and is now set to embark on a huge world tour entitled ‘Summer Carnival‘.

The UK leg, her first since 2019, consists of six big shows across Britain, but Manchester has the honour of not only hosting Pink for the first time in 10 years but being the one to kick off her world tour, which already consists of over 70 dates, nine different countries and runs all the way into 2024.

It might surprise a few to see that Pink’s playing at a football stadium in Bolton to get things started, but she’s played there multiple times before and while she might not have heard about the recent name change, it’s somewhere she’s more than familiar with. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Tickets for Pink’s Manchester gig

It’ll be no surprise to hear that tickets to see one of the biggest pop artists of the past 20+ years aren’t exactly abundant but, fear not, if you’re a big Pink fan there are still some available for both nights.

The bad news is, given they’re in such high demand and the gigs are literally around the corner, they’ll cost you a fair few quid, to say the least.

The cheapest seats remaining on Wednesday, 7 June will set you back £135 per person; as for the following Thursday, 8 June, not only are there still some seats available at the same price but there are even a handful of Gold Standing Tickets in The Circle that will cost you £162.

Even the VIP packages for these gigs are all sold out as there are literally hundreds of people set to raise their glass to the pop sensation’s return.

Credit: Pink (via Instagram)

Pink support acts at Bolton Stadium

As if seeing Pink wasn’t enough, the Pennsylvania songstress will be accompanied by three different support across her double-header at the UniBol Stadium.

For those of you who do manage to get a ticket, she will be joined by fellow American singer-songwriter Gayle, rising DJ and producer KidCutUp who played her last tour, as well as fellow pop hit-makers, The Script.

Talk about a warm-up act — seeing The Script is a pricey ticket on its own, let alone a trio of exciting artists and then Pink!

Their appearances on Pink’s impending tour are also among the first the Irish group will play following the passing of their guitarist and co-founder Mark Sheehan back in April, having got back on stage in Blackpool earlier this week. It’ll no doubt be just as emotional an occasion for them on Wednesday.

Predicted setlist

Now, as for what Pink will be playing on her opening night in Bolton, we don’t really have any other gigs this year to go off, however, you can bet you’ll be hearing plenty of the new album as well as plenty of the classics from down the years.

We’re not going to lie, this setlist is adjusted from her last big show at Austin City Limits back in October 2022 and based on the stuff she’s played most this year according to Setlist.fm, so there’s a fair bit of guesswork here but here’s an idea of what you might get to hear:

  • TRUSTFALL
  • Get The Party Started
  • What About Us
  • When I Get There
  • F**kin’ Perfect
  • Just Give Me a Reason
  • Never Gonna Not Dance Again
  • Please Don’t Leave Me
  • Who Knew
  • Just Like a Pill
  • Me and Bobby McGee (Kris Kristofferson) 
  • Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince cover)
  • Try
  • Turbulence
  • Funhouse
  • Raise Your Glass
  • So What (encore)

So long as we hear ‘Get The Party Started’ we’ll be happy, to be honest — top-tier banger.

Stage times

As for set times, the University of Bolton Stadium’s doors are set to open at 4.30pm, with the first of the warm-ups, KidCutUp, beginning an hour later — one of three occasions he’ll be keeping the crowd entertained over the course of the evening.

Then at 6.45pm Gayle will play a roughly half-an-hour set before KidCutUp returns for the interval. As for the big support, The Script will be taking to the stage for an hour from 7:30-8:30pm.

Making a final appearance for 20 minutes as the main event, KidCutUp will once again get the crowd ready and raring to go before Pink arrives at around 8:50pm, will the show set to end no later than 11pm.

With such an early start time and so much music to enjoy on Wednesday and Thursday, it’s going to be a brilliant couple of nights in Bolton.

KidCutUp (via Instagram)
GAYLE (via Instagram)
Pink/BBC Radio 2 (via Instagram)

Travel and parking

As for how you’re going to get to Pink’s Bolton gigs, one of the best parts about Greater Manchester is our brilliant public transport networks mean you can always get around.

With a shuttle bus running from Bolton Interchange, Chorley Railway Station and Wigan Robin Park to the stadium on both nights between 2-8pm, Big Green Coaches available from various locations, as well as Horwich Parkway as your nearest train station, there are several options for travelling to the gig.

As for if you’re driving in, there are plenty of places to drop gig-goers around the stadium and if you’re looking for parking, there are around 1800 spaces available at the stadium per night.

Parking spots, including 120 blue badge disability spaces, will be first-come-first-serve and bookable via the Evology app for £25. You can find out more information about pricing and how to book, as well as plenty of other travel information down below.

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Pink was one of the first big musical artists to ever play at Bolton Wanderer’s home stadium and helped usher the likes of The Killers, Little Mix, Coldplay, Elton John and more to join her.

With that in mind, it’s only fitting that she’s returned to the venue that she’s remained so fond of, declaring, “Manchester, I am so in love with you” after arriving in Manchester at the start of this week.

Writing in a statement on the University Bolton Stadium Hotel website, Pink said: “It’s been a long three years and I’ve missed live music so so much… So it’s finally time! I am so excited to get back to the UK and Europe to sing, cry, sweat and make new memories with my friends. It’s going to be magical!” 

The mum of two even took her daughter Willow out in Trafford Park to celebrate her 12th birthday. Even hearing her name next to random Manc boroughs still sounds a bit surreal but we’re absolutely here for it — roll on Wednesday night!

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — P!NK (via Instagram)

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