LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester is set to reopen this Saturday with a brand-new ‘play session’ format in place as the nationwide lockdown continues to ease.
Special pass holders are eligible to book a day early and enjoy a sneak preview of the sessions on Friday 17th July too.
While the site, located in Barton Square at the Trafford Centre, will continue to offer the same “brick-tastic fun” that’s always been on offer, some tweaks have been made in order to make sure guests of all ages and team members are kept as safe as possible.
In line with government guidelines, the centre’s brick pits are currently not in operation, but to ensure the site still offers opportunities for imaginative play and adventure, each guest will be given their own bag of LEGO to build with during their visit.
These bags are returned once the session ends and then deep cleaned before other guests are able to use them.
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LEGOLAND Discovery Centre / Visit Manchester
All rides, 4D cinemas and other elements of the Discovery Centre remain in place for visitors of all ages to enjoy, although the Driving School is currently closed.
Guests won’t be required to wear PPE, but will have their temperature taken on arrival, and are asked to respect and adhere to all social distancing measures in place across the centre.
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As with any activity post-lockdown, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester will be asking all visitors to closely observe safety guidelines, maintain a safe distance from those outside their party, and to keep up with good hygiene practices. If any member of a visiting party displays any symptoms of COVID-19, they are asked to postpone their visit and contact the site to change the date of their play session.
Re-scheduling dates can be done at no additional cost.
Stuart Jarman, General manager at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester, said: “We are really looking forward to offering families brick-based adventures, play and learning once more this July.”
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“We’re utilising an extensive range of safety measures, designed to ensure a happy, safe and healthy experience for all of the family.”
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LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester will reopen on Saturday 18th July.
The centre will open seven days a week and run two daily play sessions, one from 10am-12pm and another from 1.30pm-3.30pm, with entry from 9.30am and 1pm respectively, and guests will need to book online to attend either session.
The entire centre will be completely cleaned before and after each event.
If you’re keen to book your session ahead of reopening this weekend, you can do so via the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester website here.
What's On
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Yard Act announce handful of new headline shows ahead of 6Music gig in Manchester
Clementine Hall
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024, including a show right here in Manchester – but not before their BBC 6Music Festival gig later this week.
We are so, SO back.
It’s been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a limited run of domestic shows for later in the year including their homecoming gig at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Friday, 6 November.
But after playing over in Yorkshire, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on the following Friday (13 Nov).
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album, Where’s My Utopia?, with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August ’24.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy.
It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have been keeping busy writing and recording their third studio LP, as well as heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives – oh, and that intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to this coming autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait. We spoke to them a little while back and know how much big stuff they’ve got further pipeline; you can see the interview HERE.
Booking just three headline slots, the handful of tour dates are as follows:
06 Nov – Leeds
13 Nov – Manchester
26 Nov – London
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday, 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday, 27 March. Sign up to grab yours right HERE.
As for those wanting to find out more about this year’s 6Music Fest, you find the full lineup and more down below.
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2020 
